Category: General

The godwits are back

Sometime in the last two weeks our kuaka have started to return to us after breeding in Alaska and their long return journey over the Pacific Ocean. I recently counted 134 of them at Karepiro and, if things go as they usually do, will continue to increase in the coming week or two to something over 200. The adults return…

Change of Seasons

It seems a bit strange to talk about a change in seasons having just visited the Weiti chéniers and Karepiro during a howling easterly gale with the waves crashing up onto the dunes and with a decided chill to the air, but the birds definitely think spring has arrived. The pied oystercatchers/tōrea have largely dispersed southwards to their breeding grounds,…

Refurbishment of chénier fencing

The storms this year had taken their toll on the fencing at Weiti chénier (and Karepiro for that matter too) so the Stillwater Stalwarts decided to combine a working bee with the community planting day that FOOB ran on July 2nd. Linda Gates, Irene Sanders, John Marais and myself formed the work party who were ably provisioned by Lezette on…

The breach at high tide

Winter Update

Winter is definitely here even if we didn’t seem to have had a summer in Auckland. The effects of the frequent strong northeasterly blows can be seen everywhere with beach erosion and piles of debris washed high up the beaches. The Weiti chenier was particularly hard hit with a breach formed at the northern end of the lagoon, which has…

Raffle supporting FOOB

Want to cook smarter, not harder? Want to be a part of protecting rare coastal old-growth forest? Enter in the Friends of Okura Bush raffle to secure your chance to win a Thermomix! These cooking appliances give you freedom in the kitchen using step-by-step instructions to chop, blend, whip, weigh, mill, knead, mince, sear your way to becoming a kitchen…

Weiti 2023 dotterel youngster

Baby Bird Boom

What a summer! Despite the weather, this season has been a very successful one for both tuturiwhatu/NZ dotterel and tōrea pango/variable oystercatcher. Here’s a summary of successes and failures at each of the sites. Weiti chénier tōrea pango: One pair fledged two chicks tuturiwhatu: One pair fledged one chick Two other tuturiwhatu pairs nested on the chénier but the weather…

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that there’s been a baby boom at Karepiro and the Okura chénier. I’ve been struck down with covid and it’s been over three weeks since I was able to check on progress, so I was delighted to see the new additions at both these sites. Two NZ dotterel/tuturiwhatu pairs have each raised a single chick on…

Bird Update

It was with some trepidation that I visited the coast yesterday (15/11) to see what damage the spring high tide and howling northeaster had done. The water had swept over the chénier at Stillwater, so any dotterel/tūturiwhatu or oystercatcher/tōrea pango nests would have been swept away. There are still two dotterel pairs and an oystercatcher pair in residence, so hopefully…

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