Birding spots between New Plymouth and Whanganui

[Cardinal15]

Just wondering whether there are any good birding spots between New Plymouth and Whanganui/Turakina. I am also wondering whether there have been any rare birds sighted in the area. Some target species are Nankeen Night Heron, Cape Barren Goose, Black-fronted Dotterel, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Stitchbird, and Cattle Egret.

Thanks,
Cardinal15

[Peter Frost]

Hi Cardinal15,

In answer to your query:

Nankeen Night-heron: Try the "Behind the Door on 4" cafe at Upokongaro for Nankeen Night-heron. Buy a coffee and some cake and take them through to the back garden, ideally to the chairs/tables next to the back fence, overlooking the Upokongaro Stream. From there keep an eye and ear open for night-herons. You'll often hear a call before you see the birds. Although secretive, they do move around during the day (more often by creeping quietly through the tree canopy, but they do occasionally make short flights, sometimes down to the banks of the stream below). Recently, Jim Norris has been finding at least one in the holm oak, directly over the ex-car port (now with tables and chairs beneath it) at the north-easternmost corner of the garden. The holm oak is very un-oak like, having small leaves and a dense canopy, but it is the tree growing directly above the ex-car port. You may have to search this tree thoroughly from several angles, if a bird is there. Not good for photography. There is also sometimes a bird perched in the trees over or just beyond the woodshed at the far south-eastern end of the garden. Other than that, look at the macrocarpa and surrounding poplars, or go ~200m downthe Makirikiri Rd (on the south side of the village), then down through the mint and wandering willy towards the true left-hand bank of the Upokongaro Stream, and then look up into the tree canopies on the opposite bank immediately below the cafe.

Black-fronted Dotterel: visit Koitiata Lagoon, just east of the Turakina R mouth. Take the Turakina Beach Rd (turn off left immediately as you exit Turakina on SH3 heading towards New Plymouth) and drive to the small settlement of Koitiata. Park at the domain at the seaward side of the village than walk down to the beach and estuary along a well marked 4WD track. Koitiata Lagoon is on your left as you enter the driftwood-strewn beach. There is a 4WD track that branches off at this point, heading south-east and passing south of the lagoon. Given the rainfall we've been having, the water level is likely to be quite high. The Koitiata Residents' Committee have erected a bird-viewing hide near the start of the lagoon. Black-fronted and Banded Dotterel are both regularly seen on the lagoon, the latter in sometimes considerable numbers (at least for this coast) in autumn/winter. Black-fronted Dotterels can also be abundant. Please record what you see and submit one or more eBird checklists. The KRC are keen to keep track of what people see on their lagoon. (If time permits, you could also check out the swampy reserve immediately to the east of the township: Fernbird, Spotless Crake and Bittern have all been recorded there.)

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo: your best bet is to drive up Rangitatau East Rd towards Bushy Park. Turn-off is left, just after you cross the Kai Iwi stream in Kai Iwi settlement (about 17 km west of Whanganui on SH3). The cockatoos in this region are probably all descendents of a 'gang of four' that escaped from an aviary in Turakina in 1907. At this time of year, the birds are in mobs of up to 30 individuals. They will eat newly emerging pine shoots and terrorise the local pit-fruit and walnut orchardists. They could be anywhere along this road and the surrounding forest and pastures. There are usually 2-3 birds to be seen or heard at Bushy Park, 8 km up Rangitatau East Rd. If you've never visited Bushy Park, you should. It is a fully predator-proof-fenced mainland island, to which North Island Robin, Saddleback/Tīeke, Stitchbird/Hihi and, most recently, Whitehead/Pōpokotea have been translocated. The first two species have done exceptionally well and are everywhere; Stitchbird/Hihi are well established and can best be seen around the three public sugarwater feeders. I understand the the 52 Pōpokotea are also doing well. This is a reserve that you shouldn't miss. Entry is free but please consider making a donation.

As for the other species that you listed, Cape Barren Goose is a rare vagrant and you'll be extremely lucky to find one (the last record was over a decade ago). Cattle Egret is an annual visitor to two farms (Fonterra farm numbers 44010 and 44011), about 1.4 km down the Whangaehu Beach Rd. Turn left off SH3 (if you are heading to New Plymouth) at the settlement of Whangaehu and drive down, searching the paddocks onwards from about 1 km down. Numbers have been small in recent years 2-6, but they have been coming here more-or-less every year since the mid-1980s. They should be here now (normally arrive late May).

I hope this helps,

Peter

[David Riddell]

Just back from a road trip to Whanganui over Queen's Birthday, spent Saturday evening looking for night herons at Upokongaro. We arrived at 4pm hoping they might take advantage of the sunny weather to bask a bit before heading out, but there was no sign of them. Then about 4.45pm we heard one call from the carport holm oak, and 20 minutes later (about 10 minutes after sunset) it fluttered about 10 metres into a poplar where we got an excellent view of it from the stream bank below Makirikiri Rd. A few minutes later we spotted another one just a short distance downstream though we didn't see where it came from, probably because we were so fixated on the first bird. Annette meanwhile was staking out the main road side, where she saw another two birds fly in from upstream. The rest of the party went round to join her about 5.20pm and suddenly it seemed like there were night herons everywhere, several fly-overs, must have been at least six birds seen in total, possibly eight or more. We've tried this spot several times before and have only managed one single brief view in near-darkness, so this was a huge improvement - seems an excellent time to look for them right now.

We also had a night at Bushy Park and saw all the birds mentioned by Peter. The red-hot pokers are in flower at the moment and the honeyeaters (including stitchbirds) are having a field day on them - there are a lot along the edge of the homestead garden on the wetland side, also more down the hill towards the wetland. The whiteheads were in a big flock not far from the visitor centre, high in the trees and not a great view, but we saw everything else well. Thought we were going to miss the cockatoos, but just as we were leaving we spotted three in some gum trees a few hundred metres to the north - we also saw a couple driving back home up SH4, around Parikino.

Another place well worth stopping at between New Plymouth and Whanganui is Lake Rotokare - has a predator-proof fence around it and lots of saddlebacks, robins, whiteheads and stitchbirds, but the real highlights are the wetland birds, especially fernbirds and spotless crakes, which are more abundant than I've seen them anywhere.

[Peter Frost]

Thanks David, that is useful information. We (but primarily Jim Norris) are trying to keep a tab on the numbers (and ages, if discernable) of the Nankeen Night-herons at Upokongaro. This is so that we can let those who contact us, wanting to see the species, know what numbers are likely to be currently present, as well as slowly building up a picture of this species' seasonal occurrence and behaviour. The cafe at Upokongaro is the best site for people to see the birds and doesn't involve having to go onto private property, such as at Kauarapaoa/Kemp's Pole, to look for them. Of course, the cafe is also private property, but one open to the public. In going into and through the cafe to the garden at the back, one hopes that people buy at least a coffee on the way. This is the best time of year for people to see the birds, firstly because they tend to gether at certain roost sites, such as Upokongaro, so numbers are usually higher, but also because the leaflessness of many of the trees along the Upokongaro Stream makes the birds easier to see, if they venture out from their usually dense cover to sun themselves or drop down to the stream for a snack.

For those who may not know them, here is a guide to the age classes:

(418.95 KiB) Viewed 4812 times

From left to right, these are respectively, a recently fledged juvenile, still with nestling plumules showing; a first-year bird (notice the dark crown but still streaked underparts and back); a second-year bird (spotted wing coverts, some of which seem to be retained in assumed 3rd-year birds); and an adult (notice the white head plume).

eBird checklists are a useful way of reporting such sightings, but any numbers over ~3 seem to be filtered for review by a moderator, even though >3 are often seen in winter, as in your case. Providing detailed notes and photographs helps greatly, and the sighting eventually gets validated and then pops up on the Atlas eBird Explorer map.

Once again, many thanks for the information.

Peter

[Cardinal15]

Thanks Peter and David for that information. As I am not on EBIrd I will make a list and post on here when I have done it.

Cheers and Thankyou

Cardinal15

[simonnicholas]

Hi Cardinal15
I have found Black fronted Dotterel at Lake Opunake, and there are Cape Barren Geese that live in the farmland around Omata, often seen from the highway just south of town

[Cardinal15]

Thanks Simon, Peter and David for all that information. The trip was great and I added some new species to my list even though I never got to visit Turakina Beach or Bushy Park as there was not enough time. Sadly, there was nothing at Lake Opunake. There was a Cape Barren Goose at Omata and two Nankeen Night-heron were in the Holm Oak at Upokongaro so that was nice. It was really cool seeing both species. Also saw the Hihi at Lake Rotokare. There were also, I think, 1 or 2 Reef Herons at the Three Sisters north of New Plymouth. One thing that was very interesting about the birdlife in the Taranaki area was the amount of Kereru around the place.

Cheers,
Cardinal15

[Jfearn]

Hi is this post still relevant for the dotterels etc.

[Peter Frost]

Hi,

At this time of the year, you should be able to see both Banded Dotterel and Black-fronted Dotterel at the Koitiata Lagoon, just off the mouth of the Turakina River (turn left on to Turakina Beach Rd just as you leave Turakina---if you are coming from Bulls on SH3) and head for the settlement of Koitiata at the end of the road (~8 km). Access to the lagoon is via the 4WD track heading out from the domain (turn left once you reach the sand hills - blue route marked on the following graphic), or via a track leading through the Koitiata 'Reserve' (yellow route marked on the following graphic)

Directions for getting to Koitiata Lagoon and Bird Hide

Over the past year or so, there have been several sightings of individual (or two) New Zealand Dotterel.

Incidentally, the Koitiata 'Reserve' has Spotless Crake, Fernbird and, occasionally, Bittern. The first two, are usually noted through their calls. The status of the latter is uncertain. There may be a resident pair or the individuals that have been recorded may be itinerant, moving among the coastal wetlands in this region.

Good luck.

Peter