Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly is walking the length of Aotearoa New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail – counting every bird seen or heard along the way. In this fourth blog in the series, Colin continues south, describing birds encountered between Kerikeri and when he crossed the entrance to Whangārei Harbour.
North-eastern coasts, forests and wetlands
From Kerikeri, Te Araroa tracks down the east coast, occasionally meeting the coast – including two long pedestrian bridges across estuaries – but mainly on inland ridges or coastal slopes.
The trail provides spectacular views of many offshore islands, from Tawhiti Rahi/Poor Knights south to Aotea/Great Barrier Island.
At the entrance to Whangārei Harbour, the trail turns to the west and follows Te Whara Track along the spectacular crest of Te Whara/Bream Head.
An isolated pocket of weka
Soon after crossing from Opua to Okiato on the vehicle ferry, we started hearing then seeing weka. These are the descendants of 39 birds released in 2002. It is a mystery why this translocation succeeded when nearly all attempts to re-establish weka on the mainland have failed.
The website eBird shows weka to be present from Okiato to Russell, but locals met along the trail reported them to be present and breeding as far south as Helena Bay.
The wandering tattler
That wonderfully evocative name would work well as a by-line for this entire blog series. Yet it’s a real name, and it belongs to a very fine bird.
Wandering tattlers breed on mountain slopes in Alaska, and most spend the northern winter on tropical atolls in the Pacific Ocean. One or two reach Aotearoa New Zealand most years, including one that frequented Ocean Beach during the 2022-23 summer, where it was found and identified by local resident Cathy Mitchell.
Likely the same bird returned a few weeks ago, and Cathy and I watched it feeding on the edge of a sandy stream before flying to a nearby rock outcrop, giving its diagnostic rippling call. Cathy’s Unusual Bird Report (UBR) for the original sighting was accepted by the Birds New Zealand Records Appraisal Committee , and Cathy has already submitted a UBR for its return visit.
Reclusive denizens of Northland’s swamps and wetlands
A highlight of this section of Te Araroa Trail is the opportunity to see and hear several hard-to-find wetland bird species.
Eastern Northland is a stronghold for brown teal | pāteke, where several local populations have responded well to predator control. We found them at several sites, including a flock of 81 just outside Ngunguru.
We heard and saw fernbirds | mātātā and banded rail | moko pererū at several sites, but failed to get spotless crake | pūweto to show themselves. On our last morning before crossing Whangārei Harbour, Cathy Mitchell was able to show us an Australasian bittern | matuku-hūrepo (a very rare species) on a wetland only a few hundred metres from the trail.
A familiar call in the night
I make an effort to listen for calls of nocturnal birds at each overnight camping location. While staying at Ocean Beach, east of Whangārei, my host Cathy Mitchell joined me for a brief kiwi-call survey near her house. We heard several distant kiwi, and were very surprised to hear several Cook’s petrels | tītī calling in flight over the forest on Bream Head.
Cathy and her husband previously worked as Department of Conservation rangers on Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, which is the main breeding site for Cook’s petrel. While we could not see the birds in the darkness, we were both agreed on their identity.
Bird species added since the previous section
Grey teal | tētē-moroiti, brown teal | pāteke, grey duck | pārera, Australasian shoveler | kuruwhengi, helmeted guineafowl, banded rail | moho pererū, weka, bar-tailed godwit | kuaka, wandering tattler, reef heron | matuku moana, Australasian bittern | matuku-hūrepo, royal spoonbill | kotuku ngutupapa, kākā.
Summary statistics for section three
Cumulative totals for Te Araroa sections completed are given in parentheses.
- Days on the trail = 8 (18)
- Kilometres travelled and surveyed = 183.7 (426.2)
- eBird/Atlas checklists completed = 103 (229)
- Number of bird species = 64 (72)
- Total live birds seen or heard = 6,306 (11,956)
- Most abundant species = common myna | maina (736)
- Most abundant native species = red-billed gull | tarāpunga (394)
- Most frequent species = chaffinch | pahirini (79.6 % of checklists), followed by tūī, sacred kingfisher | kōtare, and Eurasian blackbird | manu pango (all with 76.7 %)
- Endemic bird score = 39
Other blogs in this series
- Every Last Bird – the Birds of Te Araroa Trail
- Birds of Te Araroa 1 – Cape Reinga to Kaitāia
- Birds of Te Araroa 2 – Kaitāia to Kerikeri
- Birds of Te Araroa 4 – Whangārei Harbour to Auckland
- Birds of Te Araroa 5 – Auckland to Hamilton
- Birds of Te Araroa 6 – Hamilton to Te Kūiti
- Birds of Te Araroa 7 – Te Kūiti to Taumarunui
- Birds of Te Araroa 8 – Taumarunui to National Park
- Birds of Te Araroa 9 – National Park to Whanganui
- Birds of Te Araroa 10 – Whanganui to Palmerston North
- Birds of Te Araroa 11 – Palmerston North to Wellington
- Birds of Te Araroa 12 – Cook Strait to Havelock
- Birds of Te Araroa 13 – Havelock to St Arnaud
- Birds of Te Araroa 14 – St Arnaud to Boyle Village
- Birds of Te Araroa 15 – Boyle River to Rakaia River
- Birds of Te Araroa 16 – Rakaia River to Twizel
- Birds of Te Araroa 17 – Twizel to Wānaka
- Birds of Te Araroa 18 – Wānaka to the Te Anau Highway
- Birds of Te Araroa 19 – Te Anau Highway to Bluff
- Birds of Te Araroa Trail – Every Last Word
Related blogs
The weka releases to Russell 1966-71 eventually failed, but following intensive predator control Russell Landcare released 39 weka in 2002 which have naturally spread throughout the peninsula. Some garden refugees have been unlawfully exported to the northern catchments of Kawakawa, Opua and Puketotara, and have thrived in predator-controlled areas.
Hi Colin,
I live in Russell and yes, weka are common here, nosing round much to the delight of many and the irritation of some as they riffle through our vegetable patches. The current population is not related to that introduction in the 60s which did in fact fail. The birds here now are from a second reintroduction in the early 1990s and thrive in no large part due to ongoing predator control in the Okiato, Te Wahapu and Russell areas by Russell Landcare Trust. The birds have spread well beyond the introduction area and there are reports now of weka on the Opua side – quite how they got there is a mystery, perhaps translocated by disgruntled gardeners! If you’d like to know more then talk to Lindsay Alexander of Russell or Tony Beauchamp ex DOC who were both involved in that 90s introduction. I can provide contacts if you wish.
As a post script, Russell Landcare Trust’s predator control work has been so successful that Russell Peninsula has recently been included as part of the Predator Free Pēwhairangi Whānui project with the Trust appointed to implement the programme on the peninsula.
Thanks for the interesting read, and good luck on the trail. May there be no more cyclones!
I love your photos of that beautiful coastline Colin!