Miranda, (about an hour’s drive southeast of the Auckland CBD), has drawn bird watchers to its coastline for more than 100 years. It is known internationally as one of the top wader watching spots in New Zealand.
Wrybill can be seen on the coast in flocks of 20-2000+ depending on the season. These tiny, endemic waders - the only bird with a bill that turns to the right - draw bird watchers from around the world, and are a wonderful sight, twisting and turning as a scarf of birds in the air, or quietly roosting and foraging in small groups on the mud and shellbanks.
Most Accessible For Viewing
Miranda is the most accessible wader watching site near Auckland, and in peak season (October to March), is reliable for many of New Zealand’s iconic wader species. An hour each side of high tide is the best time to see waders here.
Wrybill breed only on braided river beds in the central South Island before migrating to northern harbours each summer. Nearly half the total population is seen at Miranda during their non breeding season.
New Zealand is the southern most end of the South-East Asian Flyway route for migratory waders that breed in the northern hemisphere.
For millennia, generations of waders have migrated to this country’s tidal harbours to feed during the northern winter. Much has been written about the birds’ 11,000+ kilometre direct migration back to New Zealand - the longest wader migration in the world.
Abundant Food Available
More than 10,000 waders are attracted to the abundant food found in the mud of the Firth of Thames as the tide recedes. The Miranda coastline has ancient cheniers or shell banks, that were built up over the last 4500 years and are a dynamic part of the coast. These are used as a high tide roost by the waders.
As well as the Wrybill, waders to see here in the summer season, may include thousands of Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Pied Stilts, and South Island Pied Oystercatchers. There are also smaller numbers of Turnstones, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Variable Oystercatchers, Golden Plovers, NZ Dotterel and often less common waders such as Red-necked Stint and Marsh Sandpiper visit the coast.
Other seabirds along the shellbanks often include Caspian, White-fronted, and Little Terns, White-faced Herons, and Spotted, Pied, and Little Shags (cormorants) and gull species. Arctic Skuas are occasionally seen hunting over the Firth and stirring up the thousands of roosting waders.
Occasional visitors include Gull-billed Terns, Royal Spoonbills, and the majestic Kotuku or White Heron, and there are resident Australasian Bittern and Banded Rails that are most often seen in the early morning.
New Hide Just Opened
At Miranda there is a large coastal reserve where two hides have been constructed over-looking the main sandbanks, for viewing the waders. The old hide has been on the coast for decades, and a new hide was constructed and opened in December 2011.
As well as the new hide, Miranda Naturalists Trust volunteers have put in a new carpark and trails at the southern end of the Miranda coast reserve, and upgraded and realigned the trail that leads from the Shorebird Centre to the coast.
The Miranda Shorebird Centre is located at the northern end of this reserve, and is managed by wader expert, author and artist, Keith Woodley with Trust volunteers helping during the week.
The Centre offers accommodation, and interpretation displays with friendly staff on hand every day to share information on waders. The Trust also runs wader-watching related courses and events, (including an annual field course, and courses on photography and ecology), as well as a book-shop specialising in bird and wildlife books.
Wader Links Overseas
From the centre, the Miranda Naturalists Trust aims to promote awareness of coastal ecology, and particularly the flora and fauna of the Miranda coast. It also promotes shorebird ecology, and facilitates research and education.
The Trust publishes a monthly newsletter magazine for members, and is actively involved in promoting wader education, ecology and awareness along the South-East Asian Flyway, including supportive links with Yalu Jiang Nature Reserve in China, and Nakdong Estuary at Busan in South Korea.
These partnerships are the result of decades of advocacy by Trust members, including David Lawrie, Adrian Riegen, and Keith Woodley.
References
For more information, visit the Miranda Naturalists Trust website.
