Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
Jan, the birds were east of the fence - aggregated in a slightly damp lower area just beyond where the vegetation all becomes short/green groundhugging. I misread "north" indication yesterday and searched way out west first, finding nothing of note that way except lots of wind.
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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
You are correct, Jan. Last Thursday most of the birds (and all stints, knots, and turnstones) were to the west of the fence line. I assume that conditions are changing quickly at the moment, and the birds could be somewhere else by now.
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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
Thanks for the replies guys. The lake is so difficult to search without walking long distances and birds will be moving about all the time. I might try jarvis rd as there's a long spit-thing that stays reasonably wet inside it.
- Adam C
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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
Tried Jarvis this morning but no luck. Place is like a desert! You can drive a 2wd car right down to the mud edge and drive either way. No birds in sight there other than gulls,plovers and distant swannage!
Then drove to Embankment road and found some waders in the puddle right as we got out of the car. Straight off the bat a Sharp Tailed Sandpiper was feeding amongst a few Turnstone, Banded Dots and Wrybil. Behind this there were at least 8-10 black legged stints (presumably all red necked) roosting in the grass amongst the Wrybil. I love how relaxed Wrybil are and if migrants are feeding with them they tend to be just as relaxed. Managed to get some shots on the Point and shoot attached below.
We then walked and scanned East and West from that point but I could only find one other small wrybil sized wader flock in the distance to the West but that lifted off while we at least half a K away and disappeared Southwards so I can only assume the rest of the wader flock is at the Southern, Coppers Lagoon end of the lake today.
Looked long and hard for the Curlew Sand but no joy. Always good to have something to come back for I guess!
Anyway my son got 2 new ones in his book so all in all not a bad we morning out.
Then drove to Embankment road and found some waders in the puddle right as we got out of the car. Straight off the bat a Sharp Tailed Sandpiper was feeding amongst a few Turnstone, Banded Dots and Wrybil. Behind this there were at least 8-10 black legged stints (presumably all red necked) roosting in the grass amongst the Wrybil. I love how relaxed Wrybil are and if migrants are feeding with them they tend to be just as relaxed. Managed to get some shots on the Point and shoot attached below.
We then walked and scanned East and West from that point but I could only find one other small wrybil sized wader flock in the distance to the West but that lifted off while we at least half a K away and disappeared Southwards so I can only assume the rest of the wader flock is at the Southern, Coppers Lagoon end of the lake today.
Looked long and hard for the Curlew Sand but no joy. Always good to have something to come back for I guess!
Anyway my son got 2 new ones in his book so all in all not a bad we morning out.
“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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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
hi Adam,
You should be aware that driving around on the lakeflat vegetation is no longer allowed. DOC don't like it!
The only places you can legally drive are on the paper roads, one of which goes down the now dismantled fenceline
at Embankment rd. You can look up paper rds at the Lake by looking for WET trust symposia on the WET trust site.
www.wet.org.nz
You should be aware that driving around on the lakeflat vegetation is no longer allowed. DOC don't like it!
The only places you can legally drive are on the paper roads, one of which goes down the now dismantled fenceline
at Embankment rd. You can look up paper rds at the Lake by looking for WET trust symposia on the WET trust site.
www.wet.org.nz
- Adam C
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- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 8:58 am
Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
Hi Jan. We didn't do it. Just saying you could at Jarvis as the Lake bed is like concrete. We just drove to the end of each paper road but normally can't get that far in my vehicle as it has virtually zero ground clearance! Lake bed is very dry from the last few days of high temps.
“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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Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
There were a couple of nice puddles off to the left of the 4wd tracks this morning teeming with life.
1 Curlew Sandpiper
1 Sharptailed Sandpiper
26 Rednecked stints
12 Turnstones
98 Wrybill
And in excess of 280 Banded dotts
Hopefully we’ll get some rain tonight to maintain those ponds a little longer.
1 Curlew Sandpiper
1 Sharptailed Sandpiper
26 Rednecked stints
12 Turnstones
98 Wrybill
And in excess of 280 Banded dotts
Hopefully we’ll get some rain tonight to maintain those ponds a little longer.
- Adam C
- Posts: 667
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 8:58 am
Re: Embankment Road, Lake Ellesmere
Knew that Curlew Sand was hiding yesterday! Had his wrybill mask on!
Yes those wee ponds most definitely need a top up!
Yes those wee ponds most definitely need a top up!
“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