For those romantics out there ... E7 is alive and well and currently at Little Waihi - Murray Smith, Loretta Garrett and I found her amongst 500 bartails yesterday. I'd not seen her for a long time and thought she might have died, she was not in a good state the last winter having lost a leg. She's obviously made a good recovery and looked well, even chubby!
There were some serious woops woops when we picked her up in the flock. This bird is a icon and a star, Dave hope you don't mind if we hang onto her for a bit longer.
All the usuals still around, as reported recently - though we had a couple of arctic skuas offshore to round the off the day.
All the best
Tim
ps good turnout from the local OSNZ too - a perfect Bay of Plenty day ...
Little Waihi/Maketu - E7
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Tim Barnard
Little Waihi/Maketu - E7
Last edited by Tim Barnard on Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Jan
- Posts: 1875
- Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 am
- Location: Christchurch
Re: E7 at Little Waihi
How much of a leg exactly? There was one at the Avon/Heathcote that had lost ALL her leg, right up to
the hip it seemed. She did not turn up for long, poor bird. In the big flock we have there at present,
there are at least 4 injured birds, 2 with clams clinging on to a foot or a beak, 1 with a ?dislocated hip,
and 1 with an inturned foot. None of these can feed properly or roost comfortably. Presumably some will
survive as it is possible for birds to carry on semi-normally with half a leg, for eg.
There is a Red-billed gull in the Chch. Botanic gardens with no feet. Must live on hand-outs.
the hip it seemed. She did not turn up for long, poor bird. In the big flock we have there at present,
there are at least 4 injured birds, 2 with clams clinging on to a foot or a beak, 1 with a ?dislocated hip,
and 1 with an inturned foot. None of these can feed properly or roost comfortably. Presumably some will
survive as it is possible for birds to carry on semi-normally with half a leg, for eg.
There is a Red-billed gull in the Chch. Botanic gardens with no feet. Must live on hand-outs.
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi
Hi Jan,
Just about all of it. She is doing very well though and as I said, seems in good shape. Last April she was driven away from the mob - very much on the outside - she was quite ill and I really didn't expect her to survive. But almost a year on, she is obviously doing OK and adapting to life on one leg very well indeed.
This is one very special bird... we were wondering if she will try to go back this year??
Cheers
Tim
Just about all of it. She is doing very well though and as I said, seems in good shape. Last April she was driven away from the mob - very much on the outside - she was quite ill and I really didn't expect her to survive. But almost a year on, she is obviously doing OK and adapting to life on one leg very well indeed.
This is one very special bird... we were wondering if she will try to go back this year??
Cheers
Tim
Last edited by Tim Barnard on Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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philbattley
- Posts: 667
- Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:21 pm
Re: E7 at Little Waihi
Hi Tim,
Great to hear that E7 is hanging in there. A bit of history on her for those who may not be aware. She is the world record-holding migrant bird, who we satellite tracked in 2007. She made the longest flight of any of the bird we tracked on the way north (Miranda to Yalu Jiang in China, ~10,200 km), then, after breeding in Alaska, broke that by 500 km on the way back to the Firth of Thames. Back 'home' in NZ she was a bit of a recluse, living on the very muddy southern shores. It took a lot of looking and luck before anyone saw her. But by Feb, when the tides are very big and the birds heavy, she was seen back at Miranda where she had been caught a year earlier.
That September she was seen (by me) back at Miranda, very early in the month. By the state of her plumage she had probably just pitched up from migration. I got some photos of her, and in retrospect it is evident that her right leg was hanging oddly with her foot a bit curled up. As I only saw her standing or flying any lameness was undetectable. Later that summer Tim found her in the Bay of Plenty, minus the leg. So she seemingly had come back from migration with an injury and subsequently lost the leg.
It s not uncommon to see godwits lacking the lower leg, and I suspect that shooting in Alaska may be the cause of some of these injuries. Such birds are usually shunned by the others around and may hang out with other species on the edges of gdowit flocks. Moving from the soft and muddy Firth to the sandy flats of Little Waihi is probably a sensible move for a leg-limited bird.
Tim - keep your eye on the flock mid-March to late March. Would be great to know if she migrates again this year.
Cheers, Phil
Great to hear that E7 is hanging in there. A bit of history on her for those who may not be aware. She is the world record-holding migrant bird, who we satellite tracked in 2007. She made the longest flight of any of the bird we tracked on the way north (Miranda to Yalu Jiang in China, ~10,200 km), then, after breeding in Alaska, broke that by 500 km on the way back to the Firth of Thames. Back 'home' in NZ she was a bit of a recluse, living on the very muddy southern shores. It took a lot of looking and luck before anyone saw her. But by Feb, when the tides are very big and the birds heavy, she was seen back at Miranda where she had been caught a year earlier.
That September she was seen (by me) back at Miranda, very early in the month. By the state of her plumage she had probably just pitched up from migration. I got some photos of her, and in retrospect it is evident that her right leg was hanging oddly with her foot a bit curled up. As I only saw her standing or flying any lameness was undetectable. Later that summer Tim found her in the Bay of Plenty, minus the leg. So she seemingly had come back from migration with an injury and subsequently lost the leg.
It s not uncommon to see godwits lacking the lower leg, and I suspect that shooting in Alaska may be the cause of some of these injuries. Such birds are usually shunned by the others around and may hang out with other species on the edges of gdowit flocks. Moving from the soft and muddy Firth to the sandy flats of Little Waihi is probably a sensible move for a leg-limited bird.
Tim - keep your eye on the flock mid-March to late March. Would be great to know if she migrates again this year.
Cheers, Phil
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi
Hi everyone,
E7 still present at Maketu on saturday, probably decided that the BoP is home now ...
Cheers
Tim
E7 still present at Maketu on saturday, probably decided that the BoP is home now ...
Cheers
Tim
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi
E7 still going and at Little Waihi this morning - hopping around ...
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Tim Barnard
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi/Maketu
Phil Hammond found E7 behind the Marae with the sanderling at Maketu tonight ...
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi/Maketu
Hi
A photo for E7 fans from yesterday and if you haven't read Keith's excellent book 'Godwits' - you should get a copy... its a great publication and beautifully written ... even has a section on the E7 story...
Cheers
Tim
A photo for E7 fans from yesterday and if you haven't read Keith's excellent book 'Godwits' - you should get a copy... its a great publication and beautifully written ... even has a section on the E7 story...
Cheers
Tim
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Tim Barnard
Re: E7 at Little Waihi/Maketu
She is still alive and well at Little Waihi ... in retirement ... present on the island today