Inland Godwit

[Phil Rhodes]

A friend sent me a photo of a godwit feeding with black stilts on the Tasman River delta on the way to Mt Cook. How common is it to see these birds so far inland?

[RussCannings]

Others will know more than be but I suspect it's an annual (but scarce) thing that goes under the radar due to lack of coverage at inland sites. There have been at least 2 inland occurrences of godwit on the North Island this season.

The only time I've seen godwit inland (other than hearing them overhead at night) was a single bird at the north end of Lake Dunstan, Cromwell in 2008 when I was an exchange student at Otago.

Rusa

[philbattley]

Not common, but there have been other reports this year of a bird up that way. My bet will be that it's one of the influx of juveniles that are coating our shores this year.
Phil

[Patrick Crowe]

I recall seeing one on the banks of the Dart River in November a few years ago

[Phil Rhodes]

Thanks for the responses I will pass these on.