NPSNZ Field Trip – Birdlings Flat
Date: 22nd February 2020
Trip Leaders: Judy & Eric
Trip Report: Maureen
Thanks to Judy and Eric for a great trip to Birdlings Flat. As well as some great opportunities for photography we learned a lot about the history and geography of the area. And thanks to Bob too for his personal recollections of living there as a child. We met at Little River and after a cup of coffee we headed to Lake Forsyth (Te Roto o Wairewa) to look for birdlife at Catons Bay, and there were shags, swans, ducks of various kinds, and pukekos.
On to Birdlings Flat and a walk along the beach – lots of white fronted terns, fishing and feeding young, and one very young black fronted tern. Out at sea a huge raft of spotted shags was seen, they were fishing, and then flying up onto the cliffs. The geology of the cliffs is another feature of the area.
After lunch beside the lake we headed down to the mineral museum for a look at the very interesting collection.
On the way home Sue and I were lucky enough to see a very large flock of spoonbills flying. Hope others saw them too.
To view more images please visit Flickr
