Up with the birds

Spent several hours this morning flying along the Tutaekuri River here in Hawkes Bay.  I am working with the Hawkes Bay Regional Council on a contract involving local rivers, and this morning several of us did a flight by helicopter along most of the river, from the headwaters to the sea.  Some really spectacular scenery, with a lot more native forest along much of the river, much more than I had expected.  It was nice to see lots of NZ pigeon (even from the air), with a small colony of great cormorant (large black shags), and in the lower reaches a good number of pied stilt, banded and black-fronted dotterel, and even good numbers of grey teal and Australasian shoveler.  No photos of the birds, but a few aerials anyway.  Looking pretty green after all that rain, but it wont last long once those Nor-Wester winds start!

I'll be surveying parts of the river by foot over the next few days, so lets hope the weather holds!