The Pauatahanui Wetlands

                                                          Rodent control on the move!

A birder will sit on planes for hours and wonder why they do what they do after being tortured by the travel prep, long lines and heavy equipment. Well, the older ones who have been doing it longer might feel that way. Travel is work now.  It's not fun doing the airport stuff anymore.  It's rather exhausting.  But I always remind myself that the payoff will be worth it. The minute I get off that plane, I forget the hours it took to get there and my adrenaline gets going. Heidi knew I'd be itching to bird once I got off that plane.  Like the true naturalist she is, she already had a place picked out for us to explore. 
 

                                                         New Zealand Fantail-a very common endemic!

I arrived into the Wellington airport which was lovely.  It is a small airport for such an important city! I'm not complaining. I like small airports. She was there waiting for me and we took off driving along the rocky coastline where the waves crashed against the shore. As promised, it was windy and cool.  This Arizonan was happy:)

Heidi chose "wetlands" as the habitat.  What a wonderful introduction to New Zealand. We walked around the Pauatahanui Wetlands. I began to call out birds and she helped me translate bird calls.  It reminded me of our days in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  I had missed her.  It was so great catching up without all the distractions of our lives. And it was like no time had passed at all. The pic below was outside our international dorm where we were innocent naturalists who were about to begin our lives in very different places. We all shared nature in our hearts. 

Fast track through life and all grown up, we took our first selfie in over 20 years. She is honestly like extended family to me. 

All my research paid off.  We called birds left and right.  Heidi added some new ones to her New Zealand list. But she taught me their true New Zealand bird names. Swamphens can be secretive.  However, this Pūkeko, or Australasian Swamphen, gave us the stink eye! Or maybe that's just how they look.  THEY WERE EVERYWHERE around these wetlands and very easy to find. 

                                                                  Pūkeko or Australasian Swamphen

They were even crossing the roads like chickens:)

The wetlands had a lovely trail/boardwalk to view birds, jog or walk.  One of the first things I noticed was how kind the people were.  Everyone shared their sightings with us or asked me about my camera gear. 

I had SOOOO wanted to see Masked Lapwings.  I love rails, lapwings and ground birds. These lapwings look like they have an omelet flopped over their face.  

                                        Black-shouldered Lapwings OR Masked Lapwing(for now)

These birds are in good numbers and are considered least concern.  HOWEVER, they may be split down the road.  New Zealander's call them Black-shouldered Lapwings which are different from the Australian subspecies (or northern subspecies).

Lapwings are cool because they have a spur sticking out from their wings. It's a defense mechanism to fend off predators. Can you see it?

While we were walking around the wetlands, I kept thinking, "I'm in New Zealand!" This world is such an amazing place. And birds rock!  It's fun playing Carmen Sandiego around the planet. 

One of the amazing things about this incredible ebird hotspot is that the rare New Zealand Fernbird can be heard and seen at this location.  Two very excited ladies stopped on the trails to share with us that they heard the click stop call of the bird and we also got on several birds in the reeds. So cool. 

             New Zealand Fernbird is in decline due to habitat destruction and rat predation. 

In recent years, due to amazing conservation efforts, the New Zealand Fernbird and MANY other endemic birds have made a come back for nature lovers to enjoy. In the next post, I'll go into greater detail. Traps are set all over these wetlands to capture and kill mice, stoats, hedgehogs and rats.  There are people who have full time jobs doing this type of work.  While these people are checking traps every day, sanctuary sites are being created and the results?  Success!  Declining to nearly extinct birds are coming back to their old habitats again. Check out the "Stoatkiller" in the intro top pic!  He was clearing away areas where rodents could get into plover eggs.  It is a serious job with serious consequences.  I understand if some readers find this barbaric but these islands never had rodents or any mammals on them except for bats and seals....with an occasional orc escaping from Mordor. 

We hung out in some of the hides and watched skittish waterfowl like Gray and Brown Teal.  Paradise Shelduck were also present. 

If you hear a beautiful song on the island that is somewhat reminiscent of a White-throated Sparrow from North America, it's from the endemic Gray Gerigone(jeer-rig-gun-ee) or as locals call them, Gray Warbler. It's like a Bushtit, Bewick's Wren, Verdin and warbler all rolled into one. 

A heron that a person can observe in these wetlands is the White-faced Heron.  I had a patch of sun and got this stellar shot of the bird. They are seen in various water habitats around Wellington but the wetlands were the best for observations. 

For years, I have seen Black Swans in zoos across the US. Everyone knows that swans are white, right?  But not these swans!  I got so excited.  While I was in New Zealand, we got to see them fly and hang out around estuaries, ponds, rivers, lakes, etc. 

The Paradise Shelduck is really cool.  Both male and female look like different species. Below is the male Paradise Shelduck. It's as large as a small goose and when it flies, the male and female usually fly together. 

While on the trails, we had some beautiful up close views of Black Swans foraging for food along the shore. 

On my first day, I added 27 new species to my world list. It was so much fun.  We had a blast and got one of the big ones, the New Zealand Fernbird. 

In every country, including the US, I have experienced some sort of danger.  There have been close calls due to me carrying that camera. In NZ, I didn't feel that danger at all.  It was a safe and wonderful place to bird.  I arrived on that Friday.  In the morning, Mauricio, Heidi's hubby, took me to the farmer's market down the road.  We walked with our bags and had fun shopping for fresh veggies and fruits. They have some really yummy kiwi fruits that we don't get here in the US. In the next post, we'll explore Zealandia......a place that looks and feels like Jurassic Park.  Until next time.....