Nankeen Night Heron Upokongaro

[jimmifinn]

The Nankeen Night Herons are nesting again at Upokongaro.

Although these birds are currently a difficult find, because of the summer leaf on the deciduous trees, it is often possible to get a sighting in the Holm oak that grows above the former carport at the café "Behind The Door On 4" at Upokongaro.

On 26 October I found two birds sitting together on a new nest high in Avoca Hotel side of the Holm oak canopy. That day we had gale force winds and the nest was being thrown about like the chairs on an Octopus Ride at the A & P Show. I feared for the safety of any eggs but both birds sat, riding out the storm without leaving the nest while I was there. That may have been because of a determination to prevent the eggs being thrown from the nest.

I went back on 1 November to see whether the nest was still there but although the nest seemed OK I wasn't able to see any birds in, or near it. Another nest has been established, again high in the canopy and this nest is in the centre of the crown of the tree. While I watched, a Nankeen moved along a branch and onto the nest. About two minutes later a bird moved out of the nest on the opposite side from where the original bird had entered. It is not possible to know whether a bird had entered and then left the nest or whether there had been an incubation changeover.

The nests from last season have either degraded as a result of the weather or perhaps been pilfered by the birds in order to find easy nesting material for a new nest. Only the two nests I have mentioned earlier are currently visible in this tree.

Of the six fledglings from the last nesting, only three or perhaps four, have been seen at the same time since they left their nest trees. We believe there are at least 9 adults and three juveniles present at Upokongaro, but sighting them is quite a challenge at the present time. Watching the night flights to the Whanganui River at 20 - 30 minutes after sunset is a reasonable option.

The staff at the café are very proud of the café Nankeens, and will be happy to show you where to look while you enjoy their very tasty food and great coffee.

Jim Norris

[Paul Gibson]

The birds are difficult to see at present, I have not seen any the last two visits. During winter we had 13 birds at Upokongarao, now we believe there are only three. Nesting activities have been seen in the cafe grounds, as mentioned above.

This week I released my new book on the birds - RARE BEAUTY Nankeen Night Heron in New Zealand - and we are very pleased with how it has come together. Books are available at the Upokongaro cafe. For further details see our website - http://www.upics.co.nz.

Rare Beauty Cover small.jpg (168.96 KiB) Viewed 698 times

Rare Beauty Pages small.jpg (126.43 KiB) Viewed 698 times

[jimmifinn]

The breeding season with the Nankeen Night Herons at Upokongaro has continued to progress. We now have four nests active, the same as were established last season. We will be delighted if the Nankeens can again succeed in fledging 6 chicks from the four nests as they did last season.

On Saturday we were pleased to welcome Colin and Gordon Miskelly who are hiking the Te Araroa Trail. Colin is recording all the birds along the trail and was keen to include a sample from the Upokongaro Nankeen colony. They struck a good day and saw an adult incubating on the Holm Oak nest and a juvenile bird flew as they were leaving the cafè.

The Avoca nest which was mentioned in my last posting when on Oct 26 it was thrashing about in a storn is the most advanced. Yesterday 30 December, two chicks were seen stretching and exercising their wings and it is possible a third chick was the one seen to fly towards the river by Colin Miskelly and his brother Gordon. This nest is a testament to the determination of this pair of birds who both braved the storm by sitting it out on their nest in order to save their eggs. The arrival of pre-fledglings confirm there will have been eggs when I photographed two birds on this nest, riding out the storm on 26 October.

The Holm Oak nest is being incubated and I will attach a picture of the bird we saw sitting on this nest Saturday 30 December.. This bird knew we were watching the nest and kept a close eye on us as we tried to get photos in the very low light within the Holm oak canopy.

An adult Nankeen sitting on the Holm Oak nest 30 December 3023

2023-12-30 Nankeen Holm Oak Nest IMG_3295.JPG (327.82 KiB) Viewed 525 times

There is a third nest in this tree, established after the other two and which is difficult to observe and almost impossible to see a sitting bird. It is a new nest in this canopy and is on the side facing the Upokongaro Stream I am calling it the Upokongaro Nest in order to differentiate this one from the others in this tree and to give a guide as to its location. We have seen a Nankeen approaching this nest but it is a real challenge to sight one actually on it.

A fourth nest has again been constructed in the Macrocarpa tree, as was the case last breeding season. This pair must have resented the amount of attention their very obvious nest recieved because it was in the perfect situation for our study. This time they have built it higher in the tree and normally only a few nest twigs are visible. A bonus sighting is sometimes possible when a gusty breeze moves the branches that obstruct our view.

We are looking forward to further success and more fledgings.

Jim Norris

[Peter Frost]

Just to add to what Jim has written, here are some images of this season's first cohort of chicks, one of which shows a near-fledging chick exercising its wings. From that you can see that the primaries are nearly but not quite fully grown. Note also the wispy remnant down feathers on the head of one of the chicks. This is a good sign, if anyone sees Nankeen night herons in this streaky plumage elsewhere, that the bird has recently fledged (or is about to, in this case).

Nankeen night heron chick near fledging, showing remnants of down on the crown and nape.

Nankeen Night Heron chick_near fledging_Upok_20231230_IMG5770s.jpg (719.84 KiB) Viewed 449 times

Nankeen night heron chicks near fledging; note the not-yet fully grown primary feather of the bird on the right.

Nankeen Night Heron chicks_near fledging_Upok_20231230_IMG5793s.jpg (657.48 KiB) Viewed 449 times

There is a brief recording of the yip-yip-yip begging calls of these chicks on eBird (https://ebird.org/atlasnz/checklist/S157469047). Apologies for the voices of people in the background in the cafe garden. Given the normally secretive nature of this species, but even more so when breeding, hearing chicks give this call may be the best way to discover a nesting pair, although the call is soft and given only intermittently. The alternative is to spend countless hours, like Jim, Michael O'Shea and Paul Gibson have done, gradually piecing together the evidence of breeding, but then you have to find the adults first .

Happy New Year to all.

Peter

[Nigel Milius]

Realise this is very short notice, but will be in the area tomorrow (Sundsy) and wondering if anyone has any information on whether its possible/best approach to see these birds if they're visible at all? Thanks in advance for any info, all the best, Nigel Milius

[Paul Gibson]

I was there yesterday 11 am - 12 noon and saw a number of birds. There are two chicks in the Holm Oak, above the carport, and several adults flew in and out. Adult sightings are pure chance, and we get lucky sometimes. There are also chicks in a nest in the macrocarpa tree that we could hear calling. Good luck.

[Nigel Milius]

Hi Paul. Many thanks for the reply. We're here right now watching 2 adults and a chick. Many thanks..