Solstice

Welcome to the Midnight Collective Broadsheet 23

Actively supporting NZ’s endangered wetland birds

Mid-winter solstice (Southern Hemisphere) is now little more than 10 days away and the dune lake, true to the form of previous years is beginning to fill. Three or four days of frost is already behind us yet everything is still late this year, and it remains unusually warm some days (17^oC yesterday). So autumn is still in the air and the neighbours keep on mowing their lawns. 

These images were all taken at around the same time, and compare the onset of winter over the last three years.

Dune lake -early June 2012

Dune lake -early June 2013

Dune lake -frosty early June morning 2014

They show what looks like a narrow body of water in what will become the centre of the lake, but in fact most of the area is now underwater and  impassable (in sensible footware).  There is not the same weed growth as last year -it was caused by the drought- and the swamp remains covered in thick decaying grass. In  past years a large southerly system announcing the onset of true winter has swept through in mid-to-late June, filling the lake to a level where the wetland birds begin to feel safe to congregate -those that have survived the duck shooting season that is. They seem to need a reasonable body of water in open country before they begin to settle. Even so,  despite the swamp being now back in business, a small domestic cat was still seen, hunting through it  last week. 

   

Birds  are however, beginning to loiter around the smaller wetland over the other side of the wharemauku creek, looking back the other way, from this hill.

Dune Lake -late autumn - showing new rushes centre of picture

They remain very nervous, because of duck shooting and immediately took flight as we came over the brow last week.

A development this year is the growth of a new colony of rushes seen in the green patch in the centre (above). Its rapid growth has taken us by surprise, having almost doubled in size since summer. This should provide a redoubt in the centre of the lake and perhaps enough cover for the laying of a nest or two. We imagined this pukeko to be doing just that, as it began settling out the centre of this rush, but it is still too early in the season, and it was primarily interested in hoiking the new shoots out of the centre of the rush and chewing up the juicy sugar rich ends. 

Pukeko in rushes in centre of lake

She seems to be the matriarch of this group however, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on them from here. They can start mating from around this time, with the males lining up to try their luck. But she’s very particular, needless to stay, and will stare the youngsters down, if she doesn’t think they’re up to the job.   

It is a dark and  gloomy afternoon here in Raumati Beach and has just started raining again…

Track we were listening to while posting this 
Woody Guthrie’s  Do Re Mi 

If you aint got the do re mi boys

You aint got the do re mi

You better go back to beautiful Texas

Oklahoma, Kansa, Georgia, Tenessee

California is a garden of Eden

A paradise to live in or see

But believe it or not 

You wont find it so hot

If you aint got that do re mi.

Jill Studd's blog

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