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Royal Spoonbill

Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 3:39 pm
by Colbol
Hi everyone
I am totally new at this and have only started looking at different species of late.
So - I was very surprised to see a Royal Spoonbill at waste water plant in Pleasant Point - South Canterbury.
Am scanning all water bodies now to see what else is out there
Cheers
Colin

Re: Royal Spoonbill

Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 8:50 am
by FraserGurney
Hi Colin, good spotting and great to hear there's another keen observer keeping an eye out for birds in Canterbury!

Cheers,
Fraser

Re: Royal Spoonbill

Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 10:31 am
by Paul Sagar
Hi Colin, great to know that there's another pair of eyes keeping watch on the birds in South Canty. Regarding Royal Spoonbills in the Pleasant Point area - Joy & I have seen them near the Pareora Gorge as well as on the Opihi R above Pleasant Point.

Cheers,
Paul

Re: Royal Spoonbill

Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 6:14 am
by Colbol
Thanks Fraser and Paul
I definitely take more time now to observe bird life around me. I must make an effort to explore more of my own back yard ;)

Re: Royal Spoonbill

Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 4:47 pm
by andrewcrossland
A spot to keep an eye on Royal Spoonbills in South Canterbury is the southern side of the Opihi Rivermouth which looks like a good potential nesting spot.

Phil Crutchley and I found 22 Royal Spoonbills at this site on 25 March when we walked in from the beach access on the south side and looked into nooks and crannies that you can’t really see into from the usual access points on the North side. Our count is at the following link. Besides the Spoonbills there was 1 Black Stilt, 83 Pied Stilts and over 400 W/F Terns.

https://ebird.org/atlasnz/checklist/S105525221

The Spoonbills were roosting in a line of trees tucked in behind the beach (circled on the map below) which looks like an excellent potential colony site.

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opihi lagoon.jpg
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spoonbill 2.jpg
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