After strange nocturnal rumblings in some
of the bunkhouse rooms, most were up early and out to see the forest start to
come alive as the sun got up.
Photographers headed out and snapped away at saddleback, kokako,
stitchbird, and even a pair of roosting morepork were found. So a good start to the day!
After a quick clean, tidy and packing up at
the bunkhouse, we all headed down to the wharf to meet the water taxi, which
took us back towards Gulf Harbour. But
on the way we passed slowly through a massive flock of birds which were feeding
in association with kahawai which were obviously feeding right on the surface
and bringing a lot of smaller things to the surface. Gannets were diving into the water, and
flesh-footed, Buller’s and fluttering shearwaters were all over the sea, with
the odd white-fronted tern, and just a single Arctic skua. A real spectacle as we passed slowly through
the flock.
Arriving back at Gulf Harbour we reloaded
the van and then headed off towards Auckland.
A not so quick stop at a petrol station for fuel and lunch (managed to
freeze the computer system when paying!), and we then passed over what was
apparently a ‘secondary highlight’ which was the Auckland Harbour bridge, which
with the sun shining gave great views out over Auckland City. We arrived at our accomodation in Miranda,
checked in, and then headed down to the Miranda Shorebird Centre to say hello
to Keith and spend some money on books and other souveners. They have a great selection of books and
other things, so definitely worth stopping in at. We also checked the board for the latest
sightings, and then went down to the Stilt Pond to see what we could find.
The tide was slowly coming in, but had a
long way to go, so we scanned the mudflats in front of the hide. Massive numbers of bar-tailed godwit and red
knot were visible out on the mudflats, feeding busily. But a little closer we managed to find our
real target for the day – wrybill! We
had some nice views of these great little shorebirds feeding on the mud not too
far off, a real treat. We then managed
to find a few red-necked stint, sharp-tailed sandpiper, and curlew sandpiper,
as well as a lot of banded dotterel. As
it was still very warm, and the tide still had a way to go, we headed back to
the accomodation for a little while, although some of the photographers decided
to stay out and try their luck with buff-banded rail.
When we arrived back at wader roost, the
tide was really starting to push things in, and over the course of the next two
hours we had stunning views of all of the shorebirds right up in front of us as
they were pushed in. There was also a
large group of pied oystercatchers, and a few black-billed gulls, and small
groups of wrybill were continuously flying over us towards the Stilt Ponds. As the birds got pushed up with the tide they
started to fly around and we had stunning views and photo opportunities of the
birds wheeling around in front of us.
The sun was getting low, the bellies were rumbling, and it was time to
head off for dinner…a spot of fish and chips at the Kaiaua Fish Shop! Delicious!
Day
total – Seen = 68 (fernbird); new for the trip = 7;
total for the trip to date = 98
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| Morepork looking on sleepily from its roost |
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| Male stitchbird with tail cocked |
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| Juvenile black-billed gull in flight |
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| Scattered over the mudflats |
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| Large flock of pied oystercatchers takes to the wing |
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| Bar-tailed godwits in flight |
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| More godwits in flight |
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| Mixed flock of bar-tailed godwits and red knot in flight |
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| Godwit and knot on the rising tide |
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| Bar-tailed godwits in flight |
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| Godwit |
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| Godwit in flight |
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