Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
- AngryBird45
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2020 10:50 am
- Location: Waimakariri District, Canterbury
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Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Just wondering, how do you get to the tip of Kaitorete Spit?
133 birds on my life list since 17 June 2020, latest bird Common Tern.
93 birds on my 2024 year list as of 6:50pm 13 January, latest bird Indian Peafowl.
15 y/o birder from the Waimak and Paradise Shelduck campaigner: facebook.com/paradiseshelduck.
93 birds on my 2024 year list as of 6:50pm 13 January, latest bird Indian Peafowl.
15 y/o birder from the Waimak and Paradise Shelduck campaigner: facebook.com/paradiseshelduck.
- Adam C
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 8:58 am
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Hi Angrybird. You can drive right to the end in a 2WD from the birdlings flat turn off but the track is best suited to a 4WD. Just drive around the soft shigly bits towards the end of the track. They have just dumped a heap of very rough gravel on the main road out so I'd make sure to have a spare tyre on you as getting a flat is far more likely than getting stuck at the moment.
The image attached shows the area where most of the Birds are and the blue x's show where most of the waders will be. Please keep away from the end (red Circle) where the colony is. There are 3-4 gates to go through so please close them behind you. It can be quite an exposed area so check the weather etc pretty carefully before a trip
Often it's a long drive for not much but can, occasionally produce a few gems
The image attached shows the area where most of the Birds are and the blue x's show where most of the waders will be. Please keep away from the end (red Circle) where the colony is. There are 3-4 gates to go through so please close them behind you. It can be quite an exposed area so check the weather etc pretty carefully before a trip
Often it's a long drive for not much but can, occasionally produce a few gems
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”
Samuel Ullman
Samuel Ullman
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- Posts: 139
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:33 pm
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Interestingly there was no gull colony present when I visited today. Highlights were 15 turnstones and 6 red-necked stints.
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- Posts: 2132
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
- Location: Christchurch
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
That’s a concern - was the lake super high?
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- Posts: 139
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:33 pm
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Yeah, I was surprised to only see a handful of black-billed gulls after reading about the colony on here. The lake was slightly higher than the last couple of times I've been out there, but I've seen it much higher before.
- Adam C
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 8:58 am
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Wonder if it was more of a staging event?
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”
Samuel Ullman
Samuel Ullman
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- Posts: 2132
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
- Location: Christchurch
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
No, they don’t stage like wrybill do. The flock was densely packed,courting, copulating, flying up and then en masse- all classic colony establishment behaviour. They may have been flooded off and given up, or disturbed.
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- Posts: 1871
- Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 am
- Location: Christchurch
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
Wouldn't be surprised if morons on trail bikes or the like had a go at them 'bloody seagulls'. I don't think it's rained that much lately to raise the lake level and the inflow is only from the foothills, not the Alps.
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- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 1:33 pm
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
The lake is currently open to the sea with a good flow.
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- Posts: 2132
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
- Location: Christchurch
Re: Lake Ellesmere 2021/2022
They opened the lake because I sent a fairly blunt email to all the agencies and stakeholders. It’s good that they did. It needs to drop a bit to provide wader habitat and then fill up to secure the bittern nesting habitat.
The issue was the big winds pushing the lake waters and with the depth it was, although still below threshold, the winds were just pushing a lot of water on to that side of the lake.
The issue was the big winds pushing the lake waters and with the depth it was, although still below threshold, the winds were just pushing a lot of water on to that side of the lake.