Plumed Whistling Ducks - Levin

[sav]

Hi all,

Just had a pretty reliable call about 5 Plumed (Grass) Whistling Ducks seen this morning at 0800 at Lake Horrowhenua in Levin. The birds were at the water’s edge by the car park at the end of the main road in from Levin centre. They were not present when looked for again at 1300.

[Brent Stephenson]

Just talked with Sav again who has just been informed the ducks were in the same place again this morning around 0830. Please stay....think I was about the only one to miss the Central Hawkes Bay birds in early 2007! Interesting to note there was 5 of them and roughly the same time of year.

Cheers,

[Brent Stephenson]

And again...Sav just rang and gripped me off! Ducks still there 1600 on 26 Jan, looking very settled on the shore of the lake. Basically the centre of the little loop right by the lake at the end of Queen Street West coming out of Levin. Tempted to get on the bike...

Cheers,

[Brent Stephenson]

Hi all,

Well I really feel like I've joined the ranks of 'twitchers' now...the urge to get to Levin was too much and so I packed the camera and jumped on the bike. It rained horrendously the whole way from Havelock North to the manawatu Gorge, and as I headed through the gorge my teeth were starting to chatter...I thought back to Emmett & Medhurst in the late 1950s in London, not quiet a Matchless 350 motorcycle, but hey. Soaked to the skin I searched Lake Horowhenua fruitlessly from about 1840 to 1930, but no sign despite finding the exact spot Sav had seen them just a few hours earlier. Apparently, Sue the original finder had not seen them there at 1700, so I reckon Sav may have scared them away!

Stayed the night at Sav's place and checked again this morning...they had been there the previous two mornings at 0800, but not today. No plumed whistlers in sight from 0745 to 0835 on 27 Jan. A small consolation was a single CATTLE EGRET showing some breeding colour just by the entrance to the lakeside area. At the least the ride home was a bit less wet!

Cheers,

[ledzep]

Like Brent I also felt the need to travel to Levin after work last night. Got there around 6.30 pm (Wed 27th), considerably drier than Brent (I was in a car). No sign of the Whistling Ducks. 2 Black Fronted Dotterel right on the lake shore in front of the parking area (beside a patch of bare ground). Guess they have flown off into the Wairarapa somewhere.

[igor]

Had a quick look on my way past last night (31 Jan). No sign of the ducks, but there was an immature black-fronted tern hawking for insects over the lake. The cattle egret was also present in its usual paddock by the park entrance.

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Stopped off (just in case) a few hrs ago and saw no interesting ducks. The cattle egret was in the paddock with some cattle.

[Brent Stephenson]

Hi all,

Stopped in again yesterday (21 Feb) just to check Lake Horowhenua. No plumed whistlers, but there were 3 royal spoonbill and a great egret. Big numbers of waterfowl and about 30+ little black cormorants roosting near the carpark. Also a single black-fronted dotterel seen along the shoreline. No sign of the single cattle egret seen there earlier.

Cheers,

[igor]

When I stopped off yesterday afternoon the cattle egret was in place in the paddock, but no sign of a white heron!