I’ve been meaning to report on the birds this year for some weeks, but the buggers keep breeding so this is an interim report.
Summer Migrants
Kuaka chilling out on the mudflats at Karepiro
Weiti godwits. A flock of over 300 birds.
Sometimes the flock could be found at Weiti, sometimes at Karepiro, and sometimes it was split between the two.
Winter Migrants
Tōrea/pied oystercatcher
The winter flock broke up and headed south early this season (4/9/23) and are already starting to return with the flock steadily building from early January, 2024. A maximum number of birds (304) was recorded on 27/3/23 with an average number of 200 staying for the winter. This is a bit lower than the long-term average. It is possible that an increased sediment load has reduced the shellfish and other mud-dwelling creatures the birds feed on, Pete Townend has certainly documented increased sediment loads, but may also be a consequence of the birds also feeding on worms in the wet grass areas of Long Bay Regional Park and the Weiti development, making it difficult to count them accurately.
Tōrea and tōrea pango foreground and (well camouflaged) kuaka on the other side of the creek.
Post-breeding flocks
Tōrea pango and tūturiwhatu/NZ dotterel gather together once the breeding season is over. Up to 36 tōrea pango were recorded (mainly at Karepiro) with an averaged sized flock in the mid-twenties. The tūturiwhatu flock averaged 20 birds.
Breeding
Pāteke
Pateke pair. Photo Linda Gates
The pāteke pair returned in January, much to our surprise due to the cat predation in the previous season and the lagoon being opened to the sea. They took up residence in the creek at the southern end of the beach and we were able to monitor them via a trailcam. Unfortunately, the female was badly injured, possibly by the much larger mallards that were also present onthe creek, and was not seen after 4/9/23 and is presumably dead. We hope that now the lagoon has been largely isolated again the pāteke may return this year.
Tõrea pango
The tōrea pango not only bred much later this year but also produced fewer eggs. I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s just one of those seasons, but could indicate a shortage of food. The pair at Okura nested late (27/11/23) but the nest was covered by sand and abandoned. It’s now too late for them to try again. The ever reliable pair at Karepiro have produced two chicks that are doing well and will hopefully fledge by the end of February. Two pairs at Weiti each produced a single chick, one of which has already fledged. The other is still quite small. Even assuming that all the chicks fledge, it’s been a below-par season for this species.
Tūturiwhatu
The tūturiwhatu have had a great year despite the storms right in the middle of the breeding season. The birds either managed to hatch chicks prior to the nests getting washed away, or had enough time to lay replacement clutches.
The two tūturiwhatu chicks at Weiti. Photo by Linda Gates.
The Okura pair synchronised their breeding with the tōrea pango pair and lost their nest too.
Two pairs at Karepiro Beach fledged two and three chicks respectively, and there are two small chicks present on the beach at the moment. Whether this is a second brood by one of the original pairs I’m not sure. Another new pair have a nest with three eggs. The female is ‘flagged’ (EDT) and was banded at Manly Beach in 2022. She’s been on the nest for a while now and I suspect the eggs may be infertile, but we shall see. Danny Aitken also told me about a nest in the grass on the subdivision, which is an interesting development. It’s something that’s happening around Auckland and if the nests can be located and protected from mowing will provide more safe breeding habitat.
Another marked female (XCE, banded at Shakespear) produced three chicks, but two were lost and only one fledged. She re-nested and laid a further three eggs but the nest came to nothing. A second pair lost their first nest to the storm but re-laid and produced two chicks, both of which have recently fledged.