Ashley River Mouth

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.
Richard Fenner
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Ashley River Mouth

Postby Richard Fenner » Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:08 am

I'm going to be in Christchurch early December and had Ashley River mouth on my list of places to check out - could anyone give me some directions on where to go to get the best access and views and whether a scope is essential? Also are the Black stilt and Sanderling still there?
Thanks
Richard
Davidthomas
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby Davidthomas » Sun Nov 17, 2019 9:00 pm

Hi Richard. Drive down to the Waikuku beach reserve here:
https://goo.gl/maps/cf6WKuohT3HdgQ9n6

And from there just wander out on the Estuary side of the big sand spit. From there you should be able to see the waders you’re after. Low tide isn’t the best, but is better than high tide generally, unless you can get there about an hour and a half to two post or pre high tide as it restricts the area they can be in.

The black stilt is probably up river breeding at the moment, but the sanderling is still showing well, and three is a greater sand plover in basic plumage also hanging about currently.
DLCallahan
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby DLCallahan » Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:31 am

Richard Fenner wrote:I'm going to be in Christchurch early December and had Ashley River mouth on my list of places to check out - could anyone give me some directions on where to go to get the best access and views and whether a scope is essential? Also are the Black stilt and Sanderling still there?
Thanks
Richard


Had a thorough look for the Black Stilts at this site on 12 November on a descending tide and couldn't see it, though there is much else to see there. D
DLCallahan
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby DLCallahan » Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:33 am

*see them (sorry)
Richard Fenner
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby Richard Fenner » Thu Nov 21, 2019 9:21 am

Davidthomas wrote:Hi Richard. Drive down to the Waikuku beach reserve here:
https://goo.gl/maps/cf6WKuohT3HdgQ9n6

And from there just wander out on the Estuary side of the big sand spit. From there you should be able to see the waders you’re after. Low tide isn’t the best, but is better than high tide generally, unless you can get there about an hour and a half to two post or pre high tide as it restricts the area they can be in.

The black stilt is probably up river breeding at the moment, but the sanderling is still showing well, and three is a greater sand plover in basic plumage also hanging about currently.

Thanks David, very helpful
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Oscar Thomas
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Ashley River Mouth 2020/2021

Postby Oscar Thomas » Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:50 am

No sign of any of the regulars at Ashley yesterday afternoon but the highlights were as below:
~50 Bar-tailed Godwit
2 Lesser Knot
1 Pacific Golden Plover
1 Wrybill
6 Banded Dotterel
~10 Black-fronted Terns
5 Little Black Shags

I've attached photos of the lone Golden Plover on the off-chance that it could be turned into an American, the bird was more buffy-silver than gold and had a bold white eye stripe. There was also one tern that caught my eye with a strong dark carpal bar and primaries like a Common Tern, but I don't think the bill/head structure are correct. Would be keen to hear what others think about these two.
tern.jpg
tern.jpg (535.1 KiB) Viewed 2378 times
gp3.jpg
gp3.jpg (368.43 KiB) Viewed 2378 times
gp2.jpg
gp2.jpg (380.22 KiB) Viewed 2378 times
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AngryBird45
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Location: Waimakariri District, Canterbury
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby AngryBird45 » Tue Nov 10, 2020 8:06 am

Where were you at the estuary?
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.
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Oscar Thomas
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby Oscar Thomas » Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:21 am

Walked north from Waikuku Beach carpark about 20 minutes towards the spit tip, along the right side of the estuary.

In addition to this Adam Colley had a go this morning and turned up the Sanderling! So I’ll be headed back this afternoon.
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AngryBird45
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Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby AngryBird45 » Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:43 am

Have there been any major birds seen to the left of the Estuary? I have only been on the right side.
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.
SueCourtney
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Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:12 am

Re: Ashley River Mouth

Postby SueCourtney » Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:35 am

Thank you. This is helpful also for me as I hope to be here on Dec 7th.

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