Manawatu Estuary. Foxton Beach. New Zealand.
S 40° 28.280 E 175° 14.075
60G E 350341 N 5518430
The Manawatu River Estuary is now a Ramsar site and an internationally recognised bird sanctuary, where migrating and NZ native birds enjoy the mudflats and wetlands.
Waymark Code: WMAN0B
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 01/31/2011
Views: 13
The Manawatu Estuary provides refuge for hundreds of birds on their seasonal migration, such as Godwits, Red Knots and Wrybill. It is mainly due to the critical support the estuary provides for the Wrybill that the Estuary fulfils the criteria to have it internationally recognised as a Ramsar Site.
The 1971 Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Over 1200 sites totalling 108 million hectares worldwide are now listed as Wetlands of International Importance.
The estuary is the largest in the lower North Island. In the spring migratory birds arrive from their breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia to spend the summer there. These include the bar-tailed godwit, red knot, Pacific golden plover as well as other rarer visitors such as Japanese snipe, wandering tattler, Asiatic whimbrel and various sandpipers. Manawatu is also the winter home of an estimated one per cent of the country’s total population of 4200 wrybills, and critically threatened visitors include the fairy tern and shore plover. Flocks of shoveller and grey teal seek refuge here over the shooting season, and royal spoonbills are now year round residents. There are also extensive salt marsh areas which are relatively inaccessible, giving a safe home to the rare fernbird, bittern and marsh crakes. In all, 93 species have been spotted there....info from www.nzbirds.com
Birds found at the Manawatu Estuary:
(Bird life commonly seen throughout the year in and around the estuary includes):—
Little blue penguin Eudyptula minor
Australasian Gannet Morus serrator
Black Shag Phalacrocorax carbo
Pied Shag Phalacrocorax varius
Little Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucus
Little Black Shag Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Black Swan Cygnus atratus
Paradise Duck Tadorna variegate
Mallard Duck Anas platyrhynchos
Grey Duck Anas superciliosa
Grey Teal Anas gracilis
White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
White Heron Egretta alba
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus
Australasian Harrier Circus approximans
Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor
Spur–winged Plover Vanellus miles
Pukeko Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus
Banded Dotterel Charadrius bicinctus
Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
Wrybill Anarchynchus frontalis
Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica
Knot, Calidris canutus
Turnstone, Arenaria interpres
Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus
Southern Black Backed Gull Larus dominicanus
Red-billed Gull Larus scopulinus
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
Pied Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Kingfisher Halcyon sancta
Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella.
Goldfinch Cardulelis carduelis
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Chaffinch Fringilla coelabs
Welcome Swallow Hirundo tahitica neoxena
Tui Prosthermadera novaeseelandiae
Fantail Rhipidura fulginosa
New Zealand Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
Song Thrush Turdus philomelus
Blackbird Turdus merula
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Dunnock Prunella modularis
Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Fernbird Bowdleria punctata
Silvereye Zosterops lateralis
Park Name: Manawatu Estuary.
Sponsoring Organization: National Wetland Trust
Handicap Accessible?: Yes
Website: [Web Link]
Entrance Fee: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
List any Hides, Birding Towers, or other structures to assist in Birdwatching found at the location:
Viewing Platform at end of Dawick Street. Bird viewing also available from along the estuary walkway.
Platform: S 40° 28.040 E 175° 13.775
Parking Coordinates: S 40° 28.038 E 175° 13.776
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