Wellington Public Transport Big Day

General birdwatching discussion, help with bird identification, and all other things relating to wild birds and birding in NZ that don't fit in one of the other forums.
Byrd
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Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:53 pm
Location: Wellington

Re: Wellington Public Transport Big Day

Postby Byrd » Wed Jan 08, 2025 11:50 am

Michael Szabo wrote:In the spirit of helping to improve on this, at this time of year it should be possible to get almost all the same species you saw walking to/from Red Rocks from the western entrance to Island Bay by the 'Mermaid Rocks'. That spot is closer to the #1 bus stop and involves a much shorter walk which should save you about an hour. It's also a good spot to seawatch from and I often see Sacred Kingfisher and Reef Heron from there. Check the beach for NZ Pipit, they are sometimes seen there after strong westerlies.

I find that the only place I usually see the pipits is down at the Red Rocks end of that beach, which is why I start with that. Also because it's at the start you can walk down there before dawn and before the buses are running, so you don't waste too much time. But then if you don't see a Pipit it does feel like wasted effort!
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Michael Szabo
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Re: Wellington Public Transport Big Day

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Jan 08, 2025 12:13 pm

Yes, the Red Rocks car park and the first 100-200m of adjacent beach is more reliable for NZ Pipit, so if you start there early to get them there then walk to IB you should get much the same birds but with less walking.

A question that occurs to me is whether using one of the commercial e-scooters is permissable as public transport - that would get you from the Red Rocks car park to IB even faster!
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