Welcome to the Midnight
Collective Broadsheet 161
Actively
supporting NZ’s endangered wetland birds
We used to have a dune lake here at Raumati Beach on the Kapiti Coast and here are some images from before its destruction. These are from late October 2012 – 6 years
ago now
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| Dunelake Oct 2012 |
This gives an idea of the
size of the lake which was 5-7 hectares, a key factor in attracting such a variety of wetland birds. This has reduced to two small ponds in a large flood plain and the
birds have abandoned the area. In this foto you can see pukeko with their
chicks, a pied stilt pair and a lone mallard. Three or four pair of pied stilts
usually called this home in spring/summer with two or more nests set. They would
return in August but we haven’t seen any for 18 months now. Close proximity to the expressway may be a factor.
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| Putangitangi - Paradise Duck pair Oct 2012 |
Two pair bred in 2016 and we counted around 60 youngsters flocking the
following autumn, before the powers-that-be, in their wisdom, drained the back area. We’ve seen nothing of these birds for a while now.
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| Mallard mum with chicks Oct 2012 |
There were usually 6-8 mallard nests in this area but only one sighting of ducklings here so far. This dunelake hosted over 50 birds with up to 15 different
species on the lake. During a walk this morning we saw two mallard pairs then this lone male shoveller on one of the ponds.
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| Male shoveller |
He looks like a
youngster from last year and seemed a little lost so may be hanging around with his partner on her nest close by.
What we did see however were
plenty of these…
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| Pukeko |
Pukeko now have a clear run
on this much extended flood plain. They usually scatter if disturbed because there's plenty of dogs come down the path, but this
time of the year put up a fight which means there’s a nest nearby. One small feisty male
charged straight at us before backing off. Pukeko are a top predator here and
take any (and all) local chicks to feed to their own young. This is why they are culled from around our endangered
species, like their cousins the critically endangered takahe (300 survivors). So
even if there are other species nesting here, the youngsters probably won’t survive unless their canny mothers can get them into the relative safety of the Wharemauku creek.
There are more positive
developments however with the native plantings and then the opening up of the
area to marine life from the Wharemauku. The plantings are designed for beautification and noise reduction using a limited number of species. And these are planted regimentally. Still it's better than nothing and some areas away from public view are thriving.
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| Kiekie left with native rushes flax and occasional toetoe |
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| Understory shrubs |
There’s manuka in full white flower, mixed
with a limited variety of understory. The idea is for these shrubs to establish and ‘shade
out’ the weeds beneath, but its not working yet as you can see from these fotos, where the weeds are beginning to win.
And then there’s willow
that will destroy this area if it isn’t taken out soon.
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| Willow begin to run... |
What is missing from this
replanting is any clear understanding that this is a duneland swamp forest. It would have
originally contained large forest trees including totara and kahikatea (the
stumps were dug out of the swamp on excavation) then hardy duneland plants and shrubs, including orchids and gentians. Here’s
one duneland plant that could have been used to help smother the rampant weed growth.
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| Native spinach |
This is a colony of native spinach established 4km away at the Waikanae estuary. (Cook used this plant to combat scurvy in his crew). Other hardy native duneland species would survive the severe coastal summers that killed off or stunted, some of
the leafier native species last year. It is a wetter spring so far this year and
many of the plantings are showing the benefit of that – though the coming summer will
still be a test for even the more established shrubs…
But here’s a positive foto to
end with.
This white faced heron has been regularly reported down at the
southern end of the flood plain over the last few months. She's drying off on the drain railing -way to
close to the expressway for our liking – but she seems to find plenty to eat down
this end.
Track we were listening to
while posting this? We’ve given it all over to Amy Winehouse – how difficult it
is to listen to this stuff now! What gifts – lost to this world; but then you hear that plaintive voice evoking Carol King at her most bitter sweet - Tonight
you're mine, completely... and she's back amongst with Carole King at their most bittersweet. Yes we sure will, be loving you tomorrow…
