Endangered New Zealand Dotterel
“Did you see the pod of orcas?” The nice expat English gentleman sharing the bird hide inquires. “They were in the middle of the channel. Probably eating stingrays.” No, we missed them by minutes. But we’d come for birds and we found those in abundance.
The Miranda Seabird Coast acts as sometimes home to a number of coastal bird species, several of them endangered. The Man, braving the high winds went out in search of camera fodder as I sat snug in the bird hide. He came back with tales of orcas, which I’d already heard, and some shots of the endangered New Zealand Dotterel and elegantly long-legged grey herons.
Grey Heron in Flight
A gaggle of elderly Americans were also spotted near the bird hide. Obviously on a package tour, they were busy swapping ages “I’ll be 72 next month.” “Oh yeah? I’m 83!” in a bizarrely competitive way you only see among denizens of the USA.
More concerned about outdoing each other on age and number of diseases survived than spying birds, the tour group disappeared at the first sign of increasing wind. As the breeze increased, they grabbed their walkers and headed back to the car park at speed.
The Man had also wrangled some shots of nesting sea gulls. Word on the beach is that these unfortunate birds nest in shelly parts of the beach that aren’t nearly far enough into land, so their nests are often swept away by any larger than normal tide. Maybe they will be lucky this year.
Expanse of nesting gulls
Exertion Factor: Practically nil. A five minute walk from the parking lot across a cow paddock on flat ground. The oldies managed it with their walkers well enough.
Physical Blocks: None to speak of.
Mental Blocks: As long as you weren’t overly frightened by the Hitchcock classic or savagely attacked by a canary as a child, you’ll be fine.
Time of Year: Year round with sightings of different birds through the seasons.
Terns in Flight
Gear: Camera with a zoom or binoculars. A hat. You ALWAYS need a hat in New Zealand.
Fantastic Factor: 2/10 unless you are a massive birder. A pleasant day out though! If you are a birder, this is could be your dream come true. People come from all over the world to birdwatch at Miranda. More information can be had at the Miranda Shorebird Centre. Hard core birders will be happy to know cheap accomodation is available at the Centre.
Cost: Nada, zip, nil.
Maximum Weight: N/A.
