Farewell Spit Eco Tours Blog

We have been expecting to see Variable Oystercatcher chicks for the past week or two but have seen none. Until today that is!

The little rascals have been keeping well out of sight untl today. Tim and Elaine saw five pairs between them, ranging from a day or two old to just fledged.

Just through the gate and halfway between the high and low tide marks another Sunfish washed up, this is the second in a very short time and very accessable for the public as at he moment it is only a short walk from the end of the main road.

There have been numerous sightings of banded birds on the trips this summer.

More so this year than any other.

John saw a Godwit with a yellow flag or band on each leg today they were high on the left leg and low on the right.

December the 29th is the date for this Summer’s Aorere Raft Race reporting time at Beardmore’s beach is Noon for a 1.00pm start.

On the same day there will be a Market in the main street of Collingwood from 10.00am till 2.00pm.

A thresher shark almost two metres long appeared on the hightide mark halfway along the ocean beach. These sharks are characterised by the long caudal fin which can be up to 50% of the length of the fish. The tail is used to round up it’s prey by slapping the water then to stun the animals it wishes to eat e.g. small fish and squid.

The Gannet colony is about 2km. beyond the Lighthouse and on our last visit to the colony we saw the first chicks of the season.

Also nearby the first Caspian Tern babies were visible. There are about 75 pairs of Caspian Terns nesting on the end of the Spit they mate for life and can be seen all year in the vicinity.

Last week there were many Lions mane jellyfish floating around in Golden Bay.

They were about the size of a dinner plate. On the ocean beach of the Spit today there were several much larger ones.

They were a browny red colour and the same diameter as a car wheel.

I couldn’t help thinking that if they were whales there would have been a small army there to save them, but then its hard to make eye contact with a jellyfish.

As the bus approached the lighthouse at he end of Farewell Spit this evening three Orca cruised past just metres from the shore.

We wonder are they the ones seen in Nelson haven yesterday?

Two baby Banded dotterels have just hatched on the Beachfront in Collingwood.

 This is the second year that Banded Dotterels have nested here and the family looks right at home amongst the driftwood and marram grass thats foreshore.

 This particular patch of shoreline is home to a large number of  oystercatchers both Variable and South Island Pied.

A Sunfish or Mola Mola amost three metres in diameter washed up about 2 kilometers along the beach on the inter-tidal plain. Within a week or so we hope to have a photo of this one on the website. One of these shows up every two or three years.