The small shag on the driftwood didn't look quite right. Instead of a white chest it had an all-black body with just a white throat. It turns out it was a native Kawaupaka | Little shag: A small shag with a short yellow bill, black feet, a relatively long tail and multiple plumage variations. For comparison, here's a photo of a Kawau | Pied Shag at Waikawa Beach. Plenty of white, and a grey bill.
It's a rare but very special visitor to Waikawa Beach: a Kōtuku | White heron. It was hanging round the river today [23 May 2024].
We see one for a few days every few years. These are Native birds whose Conservation Status is Nationally Critical. ‘Nationally Critical’ classifies the most severely threatened species that are in an immediate high risk of extinction. Outside its breeding area on the West Coast: it is ‘He kotuku rerenga tahi’ or the bird of single flight, implying something seen perhaps once in a lifetime.
If you look very carefully in the right part of the estuary (essentially in front of 1 Reay Mackay Grove) you might spot dotterels by the little lagoon. They’re not always there. The other day though there were several Banded Dotterels. This morning they’d been replaced by 5 Black-fronted dotterels. Just as hard to see, just as prone to dashing about, but very handsome. Black-fronted dotterels are smaller and more dainty than banded dotterels and are recognisable by the striking Y-shaped black plumage on the chest contrasting with white plumage above and below, and a conspicuous black stripe through the eye that extends back to the hind neck.
Photo of 'Chip' from 15 April 2023 at Waikawa Beach in Horowhenua. Yellow band on right leg, silver band on left. Sometimes, if you get a good enough look at a bird at Waikawa Beach, you might spot that it's wearing leg bands. This indicates that some researcher somewhere is interested in that bird. Back in December 2023 I reported the above photo to the Banding Office and received this reply: Thank you for reporting the finding of a banded bird, and for providing some stunning photos, which shows the metal band and coloured band so well.
Two pied stilts. Spotted today feeding and resting at the Estuary: 1 white-faced heron; 4 banded dotterels; 1 NZ Dotterel; a dozen pied stilts; a dozen variable oystercatchers; numerous gulls and swallows; half a dozen godwits; 80-100 white-fronted terns; 2 caspian terns; 50 or so South Island Pied Oystercatchers; several pied shags. 3 Banded Dotterels.
Game bird hunting season opens Saturday 04 May 2024. Shooting always starts around dawn, so if you have nervous animals be alert early on 04 May 2024 for the sounds of gunfire. Information from Fish & Game NZ — Game Bird Season.
This Taranui | Caspian Tern was fishing in the river this afternoon. It spent a while hovering over the water, swooping down, sometimes immersing itself completely. Near the river were flocks of South Island Pied Oystercatchers, White-fronted Terns, and even a dozen or so Pied Stilts, all in a group.
This Tarapirohe | Black-fronted Tern resting at Waikawa Beach is a Nationally Endangered bird. This summer the estuary from shore to sea has been abundant with hundreds of birds feeding and resting — more than 20 species, not counting common birds like magpies or pigeons, or Shovelers, Paradise Shelducks and other ducks. We’ve seen flocks of Dotterels, Oystercatchers, Terns, and Godwits. It’s not too surprising we see all these birds: Waikawa Estuary is roughly 25 Km from Foxton Estuary and 20 Km from Waikanae Estuary, as the bird flies.
At this time of year we see flocks of White-fronted Terns hanging out in the estuary near the sea, but on 22 February 2024 this bird was sitting apart from the flock. Looking closer, it was a bit different, but has been confirmed as a juvenile Tarapirohe | Black-fronted Tern. That's a new addition to the Big List of Birds. New Zealand status: Endemic Conservation status: Nationally Endangered Length: 28 cm; Weight: 95 g; A medium-small blue-grey tern with a forked tail, short orange legs and bright orange pointed decurved bill.
Some good news … in the last few months the Pied Stilts have raised 3 chicks to adults, and Oystercatchers raised a group of 3 chicks and a group of two. Then today I spotted two more brand new Oystercatcher chicks! This must be the most successful season we’ve ever had! And although they may or may not be breeding here, there are a lot of Dotterels around, and a White-Faced Heron and Royal Spoonbill have been visiting the Estuary too.
There have been a couple of Matuku moana | White-faced heron, down at the lake and in the estuary lately. Have you seen them yet? These two seem rather shy and ‘flighty’. Down at the lakes they tend to scurry down to the lake edge and hide behind the longer grass. Otherwise they just fly off to the other side of the lake.
One of the Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher pairs has managed to produce two chicks. They are now hanging out in a sheltered area where spinifex were just recently planted. Two Oystercatcher chicks near an adult amongst driftwood, sand and young grasses. 12 December 2023.
Very small baby bird sitting on beach. Photo by Corne Ferreira, December 2022, and used with permission. The Pied Stilts have three chicks out in front of roughly #1 Reay Mackay Grove. All my efforts to take photos have failed, but then I rediscovered this post from 12 months ago: Take care for the Pied Stilt chicks. That post included magnificent photos by a visitor. NZ Dotterel warns me away.
Well, we seem to have our first chicks of the season: a couple of tiny Poaka | Pied Stilt. Photos are a bit fuzzy, thanks to the heat haze, I’m afraid. Look out for the chicks if you’re heading down to the beach. You’ll know you’re in about the right place if the adult stilts dive-bomb you. Single chick in the water. Two chicks on the bank, with swallows swooping around.
Glossy Ibis feeding in a lake. Photo by Kezna Cameron and used with permission. Local resident Kezna Cameron spotted a Glossy ibis on the lake on 27 November 2023, and gave me permission to post her photos. She managed to grab a few shots of the very hungry bird just as it was getting dark. It seems to have moved on overnight. Keep your eyes peeled. Update 30 November 2023: Kezna managed some even better photos today.
I was taking photos at the estuary today of what I thought were Pohowera | Banded dotterel. They didn't look quite right though and on checking I discovered they were actually Black-fronted dotterel. I've never seen them at Waikawa Beach before, as far as I know. They look like a sort of more upmarket Banded Dotterel. These tiny Native, Naturally Uncommon birds are hard to see and dart about surprisingly fast.
A few of the two dozen Godwits feeding at the river mouth. Coming up to summer is a wonderful time to see birds reappearing at the estuary. I couldn’t get them all in one shot, but this morning a couple of dozen Kuaka | Godwit were feeding at the river mouth. Duck and Shoveler in the estuary. Also in the estuary were various ducks, Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler, Paradise Shelducks, Pohowera | Banded dotterel, Poaka | Pied Stilt.
One wonderful feature of spring is that the birds start coming back. on Tuesday 17 October 2023 I saw a dozen Ngutuparore | Wrybills. Back on 30 September 2023 I spotted Pohowera | Banded dotterels at the edge of the estuary. See The birds are returning to the shore. These birds are confusing though: Banded Dotterel, Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel and Wrybill. We get them all, and they're all similar: small birds that dash about feeding in the sand.
Seasonal birds are starting to show up again at last. Down on the beach recently we've seen not only the usual Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher, Tōrea | South Island Pied Oystercatcher and gulls but yesterday I also spotted: Kuaka | Godwit, Spur-winged Plover and Tuturiwhatu | Banded dotterel. 3 Godwits patrol the sand looking for food. Conservation status: Declining. Eastern bar-tailed godwits breed on upland and coastal tundra on the western rim of Alaska … Juveniles arrive in New Zealand after their first trans-Pacific flight when barely four months old.
With spring the birds are starting to show up again. Down at the Strathnaver lakes, Waimarie and Te Puna a te Ora, this afternoon I spotted a black swan pair with half-grown cygnet, Pāpango | New Zealand scaup, Australian coot, and some ducks. Not too far from there a pair of Barbary dove were hanging out on a driveway. Black swan on the lake. Black swan inverted in the lake.
In August 2022 I spotted a Kererū at Waikawa Beach for the first time. This year there are two! They've been hanging out in Tree Lucerne down near Lake Waimarie at the west end of Strathnaver Drive.
Shooting always starts around dawn, so if you have nervous animals be alert early on 06 May 2023 for the sounds of gunfire. Information from Fish & Game NZ — Game Bird Season: Saturday 6th May is Opening day. We always hear gunfire from Lake Huritini at the south end of Walkers Lane.
Part of the flock of terns, with sea as backdrop. It’s autumn so we’re seeing different birds on the beach now.
On the beach this morning was a sizeable flock of the fairly sleek black-capped Tara | White-fronted Tern. The photo shows about 1/3 of the flock. Nearby was a pair of the much chunkier Taranui | Caspian Tern with their distinctive orange beaks — I suspect an adult and a youngster.
Another very common bird everywhere is the Tāringi | Common starling: Length: 21 cm; Weight: 85 g Similar species: Common myna | Maina, Song thrush | Manu-kai-hua-rakau A medium-sized glossy iridescent black songbird with tiny white spots, a tapering pointed yellow bill (black in winter and in juveniles), and a short tail and orange-red legs. Males have dark eyes and females have a pale brown edge to the iris; juveniles leaving the nest are pale greyish brown and lack white spots.