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Vacational Trip Reports
New Zealand November-December 2008: The Lost Land of the Kiwi
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<blockquote data-quote="Andrew Whitehouse" data-source="post: 1378409" data-attributes="member: 3550"><p><strong>Day Twenty: December 12th, Miranda</strong></p><p></p><p>After the conference finished I had one and a bit days left in Auckland. I'd met a journalist from Waikato who had offered to take me around the Maungatautari reserve on Saturday. She picked me up on Friday afternoon and, without any prompting from me, suggested we head south via Miranda wetland centre on the Firth of Thames. Great, I thought. I should see a few waders there.</p><p></p><p>Off we headed. On the way I saw a couple of introduced <strong>Barbary Doves</strong> along the roadside. Miranda is quite a well-known spot for shorebirds and consists of a few pools in amongst some farmland by the shore of the Firth of Thames. Luckily the tide was reaching a high point during the evening so we were there at the right time of the day. Initially most waders were roosting on the shingle banks, with a few thousand <strong>Bar-tailed Godwits</strong> and perhaps a thousand <strong>Knot</strong> there. Other waders including both <strong>Variable</strong> and <strong>South Island Pied Oystercatchers</strong> and two <strong>New Zealand Dotterels</strong>. Also roosting on the shingle were 3 or 4 <strong>Black-billed Gulls</strong> and 3 <strong>Caspian Terns</strong>.</p><p></p><p>The waders soon flew in to the 'Stilt Pools', where there were, not surprisingly, a lot of <strong>Pied Stilts</strong>. Of greater interest were 107 <strong>Wrybills</strong> that pottered about at close range on the mud, when they weren't busy sleeping. In the austral winter a significant proportion of the world population comes to Miranda, but quite a few were remaining in the summertime. I was hoping for one or two other interesting Arctic waders and eventually picked out two gingery looking <strong>Sharp-tailed Sandpipers</strong>. Five more flew in soon after, although these were always quite distant. As we departed the Stilt Pools, 7 <strong>Royal Spoonbills</strong> cruised overhead. </p><p></p><p>1. Sleepy Wrybills</p><p>2&3. Wrybills showing how wrong their bills are</p><p>4. Some dark-rumped Bar-tailed Godwits</p><p>5. Waders roosting on the Stilt Pools.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Andrew Whitehouse, post: 1378409, member: 3550"] [b]Day Twenty: December 12th, Miranda[/b] After the conference finished I had one and a bit days left in Auckland. I'd met a journalist from Waikato who had offered to take me around the Maungatautari reserve on Saturday. She picked me up on Friday afternoon and, without any prompting from me, suggested we head south via Miranda wetland centre on the Firth of Thames. Great, I thought. I should see a few waders there. Off we headed. On the way I saw a couple of introduced [B]Barbary Doves[/B] along the roadside. Miranda is quite a well-known spot for shorebirds and consists of a few pools in amongst some farmland by the shore of the Firth of Thames. Luckily the tide was reaching a high point during the evening so we were there at the right time of the day. Initially most waders were roosting on the shingle banks, with a few thousand [B]Bar-tailed Godwits[/B] and perhaps a thousand [B]Knot[/B] there. Other waders including both [B]Variable[/B] and [B]South Island Pied Oystercatchers[/B] and two [B]New Zealand Dotterels[/B]. Also roosting on the shingle were 3 or 4 [B]Black-billed Gulls[/B] and 3 [B]Caspian Terns[/B]. The waders soon flew in to the 'Stilt Pools', where there were, not surprisingly, a lot of [B]Pied Stilts[/B]. Of greater interest were 107 [B]Wrybills[/B] that pottered about at close range on the mud, when they weren't busy sleeping. In the austral winter a significant proportion of the world population comes to Miranda, but quite a few were remaining in the summertime. I was hoping for one or two other interesting Arctic waders and eventually picked out two gingery looking [B]Sharp-tailed Sandpipers[/B]. Five more flew in soon after, although these were always quite distant. As we departed the Stilt Pools, 7 [B]Royal Spoonbills[/B] cruised overhead. 1. Sleepy Wrybills 2&3. Wrybills showing how wrong their bills are 4. Some dark-rumped Bar-tailed Godwits 5. Waders roosting on the Stilt Pools. [/QUOTE]
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New Zealand November-December 2008: The Lost Land of the Kiwi
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