Pekapeka Wetlands - Hastings

Last time I was up Hastings way I passed what looked to be a new walkway of some sort that was in the process of being built. This time I was able to stop and visit. The Pekapeka Wetlands have been turned into a place to be with nature. You can walk across the board walks, sit and relax in the sunshine and enjoy the birds going about their daily tasks around you.

Juvenile black swans feeding on the weeds.

The Welcome Swallows were doing their best to chase us away from one area. It was near a bird watching hide that had been built in the middle of some really tall vegetation making it impossible to see any birds, but I suspect the swallows had a nest in their somewhere. They were dive bombing us trying to move us on. It worked, we moved.

Welcome Swallows

The Australian Coots were a delight to see because this family was a bit older than the ones we photographed in Palmerston North. The chicks were at their juvenile stage where they had lost their ugly faces and orange feathers and now looked sleek and black like the parent birds, just missing the white front plate.

Australian Coots - parent and four juveniles

It was also the first time I had photographed a Dabchick. While I got to see it quite a bit as it motored away from us all the time then dove into the water, it was very hard to get a good shot of. I think it was underwater as much as it was on top. Cute little guy though.

Dabchick

There is obviously more development happening in and around the wetlands and I am sure it is going to get better and better from a photographer's point of view. I loved that there was seating where we could just sit and wait for the bird life to grow accustomed to our being there with them and move closer to us. Bird photography often requires a huge amount of patience and this is a place I will go back to.

Australian Coot - adult

Australian Coot - Juvenile

Goldfinch at the carpark of the wetlands

Australian Coots

When I first saw the coot I thought it was a small pukeko, but the colouring is all different, so I had a second look. I had seen photos of the Australian coot before but never really taken much notice of them before in the wild. Amazing what a camera will do for your perspective. There were many Australian coots in the lagoon by the convention venue, some nesting so close you could almost touch them.

Unfortunately the light was not great for much of the weekend but that didn't stop me from taking as many shots as I could in the time I had. If it wasn't for my back I would have been down on the ground getting more eye level shots but I have limitations and while it is frustrating, I have to work within them.

The first nest had about six eggs in it. I kept hoping they would hatch over the weekend but no such luck. The parent birds too turns sitting on the eggs and for those who were patient there was the opportunity of photographing the change over. The cameras didn't seem to bother the birds which was a bonus!

The second nest had just one chick with a face only a mother could love! It really was an ugly ball of fluff with its bright orange face. Both of its parents were busy bringing it food to eat and constantly repairing the nest. It was a full time job!

There were a few other families of coots about the lagoon, and all at various ages ranging from very young chicks to late teens. The chicks really don't resemble their parents much until just before they reach adulthood and get their adult feathers.