We were up at 0540 (yes! 05401!!) and headed out in the rain
to try our luck with bittern. We headed
to an area on the southern shore of Lake Taupo, and as we slowly headed down a
road I spotted one moving quite quickly for cover. Unfortunately, due to the rain on the windows
it wasn’t possible to see the bird from the back and within seconds it had disappeared
never to be seen again. We did hear at
least 3-4 different males booming which was a real treat, but didn’t manage to
find one despite checking a bunch of different places. We were so close to one male booming that you
could hear the inhale before the boom which was pretty cool.
We then headed back and packed the vehicle, and headed on to
a site to find fernbird. We had
fantastic views of a bird for several minutes as he sat still in the open
branches of a bush would you believe it!
We then headed south towards Ruatiti to spend some time looking for blue
duck. Approaching the river it became
apparent that the rain we had been having had had an effect on the water levels
and the river was higher than it normally is this time of year. We stopped at every spot you could look down
into the river, and not a blue duck to be seen!
Don’t think I’ve ever searched so much of the river for so little
effect! We got to the bridge over the
river and managed to spot a duck right up at the end of the river. Grabbing the scopes we got onto the bird as
it fed in the fast flow, before hauling out on a rock for a bit. A couple of shining-bronze cuckoos were a slight
distraction, but when another rain shower came through I was suddenly standing
in the rain alone!
We headed down to the Domain for a spot of lunch and then
checked the area for more ducks, but not a one to be seen. We heard a couple of robins from the camping
area, and there were whitehead, bellbird, and fantails zipping around the place
to keep us occupied.
We then decided to head for Foxton Beach to have a look at
the Manawatu Estuary where Sav had found a great knot the previous day. We drove through the very scenic (and they were
caught actually taking photos through the van window as we drove would you believe
it!) Parapara’s towards Wanganui, with the odd rain storm coming through. We arrived at the Manawatu Estuary to find
the tide right in and the godwit and knot out on the mudflats gathering in a
flock. It didn’t take long and the great
knot was spotted, being pretty obvious with big black spots still present on
the breast. A stunning bird and clearly
bigger with a longer drooping bill than the red knots. Love it when a plan comes together...still no
rooks though! We took some time to check
out the wrybill properly as well, as they are pretty approachable here and had
great views of them in the scope just a few metres away.
We then decided to head for Feilding to our Motel, where we
checked in, had a breather before dinner and then had a dinner in town with Sav
and Jody.
Bird of the day – Blue
duck x6, shining-bronze cuckoo x1, Australasian bittern x1
Day total – Seen
=56 + 4 heard (Australasian bittern, common pheasant, NI robin, whitehead); new
for the trip = 2; total for the trip to date = 127
The 'good' were watching the blue duck... |
But what is this guy doing? Is he botanising??!! This is a BIRDING tour! ;) |
The duck that was watched by some... |
Great knot (left) with group of red knot |
A bit closer |
Great knot again |
No comments:
Post a Comment