Wrybill Wader Watching at Miranda Near Auckland
New Zealand’s rare wader, the Wrybill, is one of the most sought after species to see at Miranda on the Firth of Thames coast, near Auckland in New Zealand.
Miranda (about an hour’s drive southeast of the Auckland CBD), has drawn bird watchers to its coastline for more than 100 years. It is known internationally as one of the top wader watching spots in New Zealand.
Wrybill can be seen on the coast there in flocks of 20–2000+ depending on the season.
These tiny, endemic waders — the only bird with a bill that turns to the right — draw bird watchers from around the world, and are a wonderful sight, twisting and turning as a scarf of birds in the air, or quietly roosting and foraging in small groups on the mud and shellbanks.
Wrybill breed only on braided river beds in the central South Island before migrating to northern harbours each summer. Nearly half the total population is seen at Miranda during their non breeding season.
Most Accessible For Viewing
Miranda is the most accessible wader watching site near Auckland, and in peak season (October to March), is reliable for many of New Zealand’s iconic wader species. An hour each side of high tide is the best time to see waders here.
New Zealand is the southern most end of the South-East Asian Flyway route for migratory waders that breed in the northern hemisphere. For millennia, generations of waders have migrated to this country’s tidal harbours to feed during the northern winter.
More than 10,000 waders are attracted to the abundant food found in the mud of the Firth of Thames as the tide recedes. The Miranda coastline has ancient cheniers or shell banks, that were built up over the last 4500 years and are a dynamic part of the coast, adn are used as a high tide roost by the waders.
As well as the Wrybill, waders to see at Miranda in the summer season, may include thousands of Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Pied Stilts, and South Island Pied Oystercatchers. There are also smaller numbers of Turnstones, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Variable Oystercatchers, Golden Plovers, NZ Dotterel and often less common waders such as Red-necked Stint and Marsh Sandpiper visit the coast.
Other seabirds along the shellbanks often include Caspian, White-fronted, and Little Terns, White-faced Herons, and Spotted, Pied, and Little Shags (cormorants) and gull species. Arctic Skuas are also occasionally seen hunting over the Firth and stirring up the thousands of roosting waders.
Occasional visitors include Gull-billed Terns, Royal Spoonbills, the majestic Kotuku or White Heron, and there are resident Australasian Bittern and Banded Rails that are most often seen in the early morning.
Coastal birding hides
At Miranda there is a coastal reserve along the coast where two hides have been constructed for viewing the waders. The old hide has been on the coast for decades, and a new hide was constructed and opened in December 2011.
As well as the new hide, Trust volunteers have put in a carpark and trails at the southern end of the Miranda coast reserve, and upgraded and realigned the trail that leads from the Shorebird Centre to the coast.
At the northern end of this reserve, is the Miranda Shorebird Centre, run by wader expert, author and artist, Keith Woodley and staffed by volunteers of the Miranda Naturalists Trust.
The Centre offers accommodation, and interpretation displays with friendly staff on hand every day to share information on waders. The Trust also runs wader-watching related courses and events, (including an annual field course, and courses on photography and ecology)and a book-shop specialising in bird and wildlife books.
Wader Links Overseas
From the centre, the Miranda Naturalists Trust aims to promote awareness of coastal ecology, and particularly the flora and fauna of the Miranda coast. It also aims to promote shorebird ecology, and facilitate research and education.
The Trust also publishes a monthly newsletter magazine for members, and is actively involved in promoting wader education, ecology and awareness along the South-East Asian Flyway, including supportive links with Yalu Jiang Nature Reserve in China, and Nakdong Estuary at Busan in South Korea.
These partnerships are the result of decades of advocacy by Trust members, including David Lawrie, Adrian Riegen, and Keith Woodley.
