Christmas 2022
Despite our relative silence over the last three years we are still getting lots of interest in the back story of what happened to our rare dunelake during the construction of a local expressway. This area has changed radically and though there is now a replanted 'swamp' that looks back to the time when there used to be one here, our wild wetland birds haven't returned.
There has been a marked decrease in these populations in the wider area -of scaup, dabchick, teal and even mallard and very little nesting going on despite the big increase in reserve cover for this to happen. We aren't sure why this is but probably due to a number of factors - including the opening up of the area to human (and dog) access and the proximity of the expressway.
We are still very active down here but necessarily keeping a low profile as we monitor the reviving wetland ngahere (forest) and bring in a wider variety of our duneland swamp plants that weren't part of the original plantings. One of the pleasures has been to see the increasing self seeding of native trees and then after five years - the first nests of fantail and waxeye in the spring. We are also seeing tui who seem to be building in the area.
But there are big problems on the horizon. There's little point in replanting native areas unless they are properly managed long term and the increase in willows in this wetland will drain it in the long term. These were cut back once only - but this was a folly because it simply spreads the willow. They need to be poisoned and the area is now essentially left untended, (except where people start complaining about overgrown pathways making life difficult for their e-bikes!!!!). So it is reverting back into a weeded up area.
But all is not lost because we are also seeing a build up of insect life. Spiders in particular, but also dragon fly and stick insects. One youthful stick insect attached itself to a back pack and had to be walked all the way back from the car!!!
We've posted WHAM on our Xmas video and why not? Some songs just get better and better...
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