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 11th blog in the series, Colin describes birds encountered on the short section between Whanganui and Palmerston North.
Walking country roads
After crossing the Whanganui River via the City Bridge, Te Araroa Trail heads up and over Durie Hill then east through farmland north of State Highway 3. Our run of mainly fine weather since Cape Reinga had a hiccup on the first day of this section, before three fine days across the Rangitīkei and Manawatū plains to Palmerston North.
Near Fordell the trail turns south, crosses SH3, and heads down the Whangaehu Valley to the coast.
Cows – real and not
Most of the section is through productive farmland, as well as passing through the towns of Bulls then Feilding. We encountered a touch of rural whimsy on the outskirts of Feilding, enjoying our lunch next to grazing tin cows.
Palmerston North and Massey University campus
Te Araroa Trail enters Palmerston North from the north (Bunnythorpe) and cuts through 4 km of suburbia before following the edge of the Manawatū River for 6 km. The trail departs the city through a small patch of forest on the Massey University campus.
Wild coastline
The most interesting wildlife habitat of the section is about 17 km of black sand coastline between the Whangaehu and Rangitīkei Rivers. This included a waist-deep wade across the rain-swollen Turakina River at Koitiata. We last touched on the coast on the Manukau Harbour, Auckland, 32 long days ago.
Birds of the Rangitīkei coast
The southern black-backed gull | karoro was by far the most abundant bird along the coast, centred on a large colony west of the Turakina River. I estimated at least 1350 adults and 820 chicks to be present, but the rain and wind made for challenging counting conditions. Partly due to the large number of scavenging gulls, I found only three dead seabirds along 17 km of coast (a fairy prion | tītī wainui, a Buller’s shearwater | rako, and a little penguin | kororā).
The birding highlight of the coast was two pairs of black-fronted dotterels either side of the Turakina River mouth. This pretty little wader colonised New Zealand from Australia in the 1950s, but still has a very restricted distribution. Apart from a single bird seen in the lower Whanganui River (see previous blog), these birds and three on the Manawatū River are likely to be the only of this species we will encounter on Te Araroa Trail. Other wading birds on this section of coast included 36 pied stilts | poaka, a flock of 16 bar-tailed godwits | kuaka, 15 variable oystercatchers | tōrea pango, and 9 banded dotterels | pohowera.
Migrating spoonbills
Also of interest on the coast were two high-flying royal spoonbills | kōtuku ngutupapa following the coastline north. Spoonbills have become an increasingly familiar sight at estuaries and river mouths throughout the country. However, the bulk of the population breeds in the south of the South Island and overwinters on the large harbours of the northern North Island. These two birds were likely migrating north from their breeding grounds.
Birds of the Manawatū River and Massey University campus
The trail offered only occasional glimpses of the river, but this was enough to find three more black-fronted dotterels, 32 spur-winged plovers, 13 pied stilts | poaka, and a single banded dotterel | pohowera.
Birds in the forest on Massey University campus included 2 bellbirds | korimako and a shining cuckoo | pīpīwharauroa, as well as tūī, New Zealand fantail | pīwakawaka, grey warbler | riroriro, and sacred kingfisher | kotare.
Farmland birds
The less said about the boring birds of the rest of the section the
Bird species added since the previous section
Nil.
Summary statistics for section ten
Cumulative totals for Te Araroa sections completed are given in parentheses.
- Days on the trail = 4 (60)
- Kilometres travelled and surveyed = 117.2 (1575.9)
- eBird/Atlas checklists completed = 68 (857)
- Number of bird species = 48 (96)
- Total live birds seen or heard = 8642 (63,913)
- Most abundant species = southern black-backed gull | karoro (2702) followed by house sparrow | tiu (1870)
- Most abundant endemic species = New Zealand fantail | pīwakawaka (77), followed by tūī (75)
- Most frequent species = house sparrow | tiu (95.2 % of checklists), followed by European goldfinch | kōurarini (88.9 %)
- Most frequent native species = silvereye | tauhou (52.4% of checklists)
- Most frequent endemic species = New Zealand fantail | pīwakawaka (50.8 % of checklists)
- Endemic bird score = 25
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 3 – Kerikeri to Whangārei Harbour
- 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 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
Very interesting to hear about the Royal Spoonbills. I hadn’t realised they nested only in the south of the south island and migrated to and from the northern harbours. There seem to be so many here and there throughout the country. There seems to be a permanent presence of at Pauatahanui, near Wellington and at the Travis wetland in Christchurch.