Birding On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002
Emmalee Tarry

North Island

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Miranda Shorebird Center

Miranda is a short drive north of Rotorua on the Firth of Thames. I arrived just before noon and went to the Miranda Shorebird Center to get information about finding the Wrybill. Last winter when I was on the North Island there were probably 2,500 Wrybills here. Now in November, the attendant tells me there are only 50 or so and I will be lucky to see even one.

.I arrived about an hour before high tide. I asked about where to go and how to see the Wrybill. The attendant was most unresponsive. He answered questions as briefly as possible and then went back to reading his newspaper volunteering nothing. I couldn't figure out this attitude. There was another American (not a serious birder) in the center asking questions at the time and he was getting the same treatment. Perhaps he wanted me to pay him for a guided tour, but he never mentioned any guiding opportunity. Maybe he just doesn't think it is cool to look only for the Wrybill. Birders from the northern hemisphere have many chances to see the other shorebirds. The Wrybill is the New Zealand endemic you must see while you are here.Center information sheet lists the Wrybill and the New Zealand Dotterel as target birds at Miranda.

I bought a map of the Miranda Coast for NZ$2 and purchased a book. There was also a contribution box, but the attendant's attitude was no inducement to making a contribution. Everybody has a bad day. I hope this was not an example of how birders are regularly treated here. I think anyone who comes half way around the world deserves better.

According to the map and guide I bought at the shorebird center, summer is from September to March. Winter runs from March to September. Large numbers of Wrybill ( 2,500) arrive in January and February. They are often hard to find at roost. They return to feed in the bay by the hide on a falling tide. During the summer there are generally less than 30 in the area.

Miranda Shorebird Center
RD1, Pokeno
There are accommodations at the center. Bunk House and self-contained flat.
One hour south of Auckland airport.

Phone: (64) 9 232 2781

Email: shorebird@xtra.co.nz
Web Page: http://www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/

How To Find The Wrybill

Here is what I eventually learned from others about finding the Wrybill. The best viewing is just before and after high tide. Go to the Shorebird Center and buy the orange map and Brief Guide to the Shorebirds of the Miranda Coast. Before high tide look for the bird near the hide. Make a right turn from the center and go back the way you came to the gate on the left just before the bridge. Walk the track to the hide. It is natural to look at all the birds in Stilt Pools and there are so many you will never finish. The Wrybill is rarely seen there. You need to look to the shell banks on the other side of the hide. If you don't see the bird here, go back to the road and drive past the center taking a driving track on the north side of Taramaire Creek. At the parking area leave your car and view the shell banks from the high bank on the north side of the creek.

The first day I started by taking the walking track to the hide. Not knowing how to look for the bird I spent a good deal of time looking at roosting birds in Stilt Pool. There are lots of good birds to see here. such as: New Zealand Dotterel, Bar-tailed Godwits, Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstone, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pied Stilt, Pied Oystercatcher. There was no one around to give me better advice about finding the Wrybill. Late in the afternoon I drove on to Thames to stay at the YHA hoping for better luck the next day.

The next morning fortune smiled on me because there were several birders at the Stilt Pool along with a Birdquest group from Britain led by Tony Clarke. They were watching the shell banks on the other side of the hide. When they did not see the bird there, they moved down to the Taramaire area and I followed.

Tony's group had their scopes on the bird when I arrived and they kindly shared with me before I was able to get my scope on it. The bird is amazingly hard to see because it blends with the shell beach perfectly. I was very grateful to Tony for sharing with me.

These are the shell flats on the north side of Taamaire Creek where I finally saw the Wrybill. Position yourself just on the other side of the high bank from which this picture was taken. Charging down to the creek edge will probably ruin your chances of seeing the bird and the other side of the creek is out of bounds.

BIRDQUEST
Birding Holidays Worldwide
Tony Clarke
Lancashire BB7 9QY
England, United Kingdom

Phone: 44 1254 825317
birders@birdquest.co.uk

Wrybill

The Wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis is a New Zealand endemic. It breeds on the wide, shallow river banks of the south island and disburses to the north during the winter.

It is the only bird in which the end of the long bill curves right. In this picture of the Wrybill the bill appears long and straight. You can only see the curved bill when it turns its head toward you..

This bird was one of the highlights of the trip. Thank you Tony Clarke and group for your help.

End: North Island

North Island

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