During the tour we saw: 1. pukeko; 2. welcome swallow; 3. harrier hawk; 4. blackbacked gull; 5. red-billed gull; 6. paradise shellduck; 7. Australian shoveler; 8. New Zealand scaup; 9. caspian tern; 10. white-fronted tern; 11. pied stilt; 12. spur-winged plover; plus many more

The grey warbler is just what it’s name suggests. It’s beautiful warbling call can be heard but the bird itself is very small and hard to spot, flitting from branch to branch.

The tide was out and the sand-banks were exposed. Starting from one end, the red-billed gulls have
congregated on the water’s edge, as they usually do at low tide. It’s almost as if this is their meeting place where they exchange greetings and catch up
on the local gossip.

Redpoll.
These beautiful little birds are not seen on our estuary very often. This one was photographed at the Pharazyn Reserve, just north of here, by Roger Smith.

What a grand retirement home for our 35 year old blind goose! Craig has had him for twenty-four months now and look how good he looks. He has lovely grass to walk on and nibble at, a fence to keep him safe, a blind mallard duck for company and a large pool to swim in.

In my newsletter number 93 November 2014, I wrote about a swan with three cygnets that was attacked by another aggressive swan with five babies. Our swan was grabbed at the base of its neck and the wound was there to see. This year the swan had a large well-made nest

Springtime. The weather maybe cold andmiserable but our wildlife on the Estuaryis starting to forward to the sprintime.

Kingfishers tend to spend time away from the estuary and return for the winter months. They have been fishing the edges of the river and using the fence around the weir on the Waimanu lagoon as a perch, from where they dive into the water and get their food.

When I started to write my first newsletter I never gave much thought as to where it would lead me. I just thought it might be of interest to some people. Now, one hundred episodes.

Little black shags are the vandals of the estuary and hunt the river in packs of up to sixty birds at a time, herding the little fish against the shingle banks, where there is a frenzy of feeding.