Shags
When I was a young lad growing up in Upper-Hutt, we lived on the main road by Quinn’s Post. There were open paddocks from the main road to the river

I had a very keen birder from the U/K out around the estuary the other day. He had a telescope on a tripod hooked up to his digital
camera

We have had a visit from a falcon. He has been ranging around the beach area for a week or two.

The lagoon in the foreground is the Waimeha. It is surrounded in reserve land and is a wonderful secluded breeding ground for our waterfowl.

Do birds like to play or is it all looking for food, resting and mating that takes up their life?

Our estuary is doing well. Following the formation of the Waimanu lagoons in the nineteen seventies, we have had quite an influx of different species

The Christmas holidays have seen an influx of holidaymakers, with the river becoming a highway for the kayakers paddling up and down. The fishing boats launched from Otaihanga

So what happens on his day off? Well he’s off to Waikanae estuary bird tours, having been picked up in a vintage car

There have been around six royal spoonbills in our estuary for the last few months,however another seven have just flown in,

Last Month I told of how our birds had an upset by losing one of their cygnets and the other being very sick