The Wetland at Raumati Beach

Welcome to the Midnight Collective Broadsheet 2

actively supporting NZ's endangered wetland birds 



Raumati Beach Dune Lake

This is a panorama of the wetland taken in November last year. It is set beside a track about 5 minutes walk from the centre of town (to left of picture) and around 10 minutes to the beach (the other way). 5km offshore is NZ’s premier conservation estate, the island of Kapiti; (named Entry Island by Capt Cook in 1769). It is playing a leading role in saving and rehabilitating New Zealand’s most endangered birds. 

 

This dune lake is very modified from an original life as a swamp forest though an original line of sandhills, now covered in blackberry, can be seen winding along the top end of the lake. Stumps of the original trees are still in the wetland while the spring fed creek beside it, (just visible bottom left), probably flowed through the forest, keeping it under water all year.  The creek has been straightened into a drain. These days the wetland dries up from mid-January (usually) through to mid-April and in this photo, it is about a third its maximum size. Half the lake is hidden in the brown rushes and at  its fullest extent it covers around 7 hectares.

We have been careful not to identify the precise location because it isn’t accessible to vehicle traffic and the wetland birds at the lake are wild and shy away from human contact. We want to keep it that way, at least for the limited life left to it. At this time of the year it is full of bird tucker which attracts waterbirds like teal, grey duck, mallard, dabchick, scaup and shags and then also, because it is a shallow lake, waders like pied stilt, white faced heron and royal spoonbills.

We are especially interested in recording and trying to understand the wild lives of these wetland birds and will post stories of our encounters onto this site. In the past two weeks however, we have been taken over by a developing drama down at a nearby artificial pond. 

NZ Scaup (female) - Frances Jill Studd - Watercolour on paper  

Here an orphaned NZ scaup has precipitated a surprising turn of events amongst the resident (introduced) mallard ducks. Scaup, (sometimes called Black Teal) are a charming endemic diving duck, about three quarters the size of a mallard and previously extinct from this coast. They are now making a comeback. Two pair turned up at the dune lake in November. Its been a great year for waterbirds because the summer has been quite wet (so far) and they are fit and feisty with glossy feather coats. We will follow this scaup waif's progress in the next post, as we put the finishing touches to a short film on the imbroglio. 

 

Meanwhile  an appetizer has been provided in the watercolour from our resident artist - Jill Studd. You will find her artwork on francesjillstudd.com or keep up with her current activities at francesjillstudd@blogspot.co.nz