White-winged black tern in full breeding plumage at Lake Ellesmere

Sighted off Selwyn River Mouth - stunning bird

Gull-billed Tern at Lake Forsyth

A record count of 15 birds- very elegant

white-eyed duck

Bird sighted today at Kaiapoi Lakes- a vagrant from Australia-closley related to scaup. Adult male bird in stunning plumage

Request for sightings of marked SIPO and wrybill

Request for sightings of marked SIPO (South Island Pied Oystercatchers) and Wrybill-
Peter Langlands




As part of a wading bird productivity study (conducted by Contact Energy) on the upper reaches of the Rangitata thirty pairs of SIPO and thirty pairs of wrybill were monitored over the 2011 breeding season. The adult birds and their chicks have been individually marked with alpha-numeric bands. The alpha numeric bands have been placed on the birds right tibia and have a letter (A or C) followed by two numbers. The background for the bands is white with the letters and numbers in black. In addition a DOC metal band has been placed on the birds left tibia.
Any sightings of banded birds with information the location and dates of the sighting, along with any photographs, would be appreciated and will provide valuable data on the movements, and survivorship of both these wading bird species outside of the breeding season. Already wrybills banded on the Upper Rangitata River have been sighted at Foxton Beach and Miranda.
Either a telescope with 20X magnification or telephoto lens on a camera (400mm) will assist with the reading of these bands. Please forward sightings to Peter Langlands- E: langlands@xtra.co.nz - all band recoveries will be acknowledged with information on the birds banding details and will be collated and forwarded to DOC Banding Office.
The alpha-numeric bands have been used instead of colour bands. These bands are relatively new in NZ but have been used extensively for bird banding in Europe (with the bands being manufactured in Poland).
Photograph of bands on wrybill (Foxton bird) and SIPO.

black-fronted dotterel

Recently sighted at Hurunui River mouth

Hurunui River Mouth

Situated 120 kilometres north of Christchurch (1.5 hours drive)- the Hurunui River-mouth is a spot worth calling into. The mouth is accessed from the north side -where there is a camping ground, and is only a 10 minute detour from State Highway One which links Christchurch to Kaikoura. The river flows into a bar lagoon before entering the sea some 1.5kilometres north of the camping ground.There are some high cliffs and a carpark which over looks the bar lagoon. An ideal location for scoping. You can also drive or walk to an area where the river enters the lagoon and there are several mud covered gravel spits which have a range of waders on them- this is ideal habiatat for waders moving along the coast and a location with a high potential for rarities. Recently I sighted several black-fronted dotterels. A recommended birding location over the next month for waders. A wide range of seabirds also pass by and giant petrels are often sighted. The Hurunui Rivermouth is undoubtedly one of the more scenic river mouths on the South Island's east coast and well worth the 10 minute detour.

Waimakariri River mouth ( Kairaki Beach)

Spectacular sight as 5 Arctic skuas chased one White-fronted tern. About 10 Arctic skuas in total and about 500 White-fronted terns. Also a flock of about 200 Hutton's Shearwaters in the breakers just north of the river mouth - the first time I have seen shearwaters at the Waimak Mouth. Would pick it as being a good spot for rarities with many coastal and wading birds moving through.
Cheers

Kairaki Beach

There is a wide range of shorebirds and seabirds at this location at the moment. I have noticed wader and tern flocks at this location recently - even at low tide. A location that appear to have a high turn over of birds passing through and at the moment a recommended birding spot and a pleasant beach walk especially early in the morning or in the evening.

click on map to expand to see access points.