Is our destroyed New Zealand wetland reforming?

Welcome to the Midnight Collective Broadsheet 168 

Actively supporting NZ’s endangered wetland birds

Just a quick note to record in fotos a change to the swampy floodplain left by the expressway construction. Here’s what used to be there… A 5-7 hectare lake 

Raumati Beach Dunelake August 2006

Here’s what replaced it in 2017.

 

That’s what the tailback looked like this morning at 8am –7km and growing.

We were initially encouraged in that first autumn  when a large number of wetland birds including putangitangi-paradise duck,  tētē-grey teal and mallard settled here, but it wasn’t to last. The diggers moved in again and redrained the area. For the last two years there have been no significant wetland birds settling or breeding here, save the ubiquitous pukeko (which predate other wetland species). All our medium to rare birds had gone.

In response we began monitoring the new native plantings.

The area was originally forested wetland, dominated by big trees including kahikatea and totara but the new plantings are primarily native understory species limited to a botanical style of landscaping design with four or five local species, then flax and toitoi. It is a big plus of course, but we are not going to get our coastal forest back.

There is a weeding programme but it is mostly confined to areas visible to the public. Elsewhere the weeds are taking back control -blackberry and lupin -  but also weeds brought in by the construction. The worst of these is the willow, but even wild turnip is now proliferating.

New settled water - how long will it last?

However this is very much a moveable feast and the big change appears to be, that this excavated area  appears to be holding water again. It has been a reasonably wet spring and now into early summer (another 40 mm overnight) and this year we have been away a lot, but the return home brought a very pleasant surprise. We have young duckling families again.

PareraX Mum with ducklings

Australasian Shoveller Mum with ducklings

Two dads (back of picture)

Here’s the Parera cross dad. Mum looks very mallardy, though he was the duck who caught our attention as you can see from this foto,

Parera cross male

He’s a parera, crossed with a mallard, but showing all the behaviour of a parera  by staying with the female. Mallards don’t do this.

The mums are very wary. We were a good 60 metres away but they soon disappeared. 

We are not sure why this water is holding. Even after heavy rain it would  quickly drain so it isn’t the result  of human intervention. A couple of things could be happening - the area may be settling and then  the drains silting up. Long may it continue. 

So Christmas has come early here in Kapiti.  

Track we were listening to while posting this -Because of You-GloriaDe Haven with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians in a draw-dropping performance, as Canadian PM Trudeau might say!!!! from New York City June 1951. 

Because of you

There’s a song in my heart

Environmental artist Jill Studd's Blog

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