BUDDING YOUNG CONSERVATIONISTS

We are just one week into the school holiday programme at Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre.

Each weekday children and their care givers have spent a couple of productive hours learning about our birds.

They have listened to stories of the shorebirds.

They have learned how to use binoculars and why birds carry flags and bands.

They have decorated cut-out birds to add to The Flock.

They have visited the hide and, helped by a band of enthusiastic volunteers, seen the real birds.

As you can see many new birds have joined The Flock. If this continues we will have over 100 new Flock members by the weekend. Numbers aren't everything though but we have passed our original goal of 600. The Flock has now reached four figures.

 As Jacques Cousteau said "People protect what they love". It is heartening to see that young people care.

Just yesterday we got to see the wonderful birds that had come to join The Flock from Ruru class, Oropi School, BOP.

These Wrybill are just a few of their birds. They are amazing. So much colour, creativity and care. Well done Ruru.
Young people can make a big difference. Tomairangi Harvey from Christchurch was just 11years old when she made an animated film about the conservation of the NZ Shore Plover/tuturuatu. Her film was so good that she won the "Best Young Film Maker" award at the Japanese Wildlife Film Festival of 2015.
Watch her film here http://theoutlookforsomeday.net/films/2014/009/

THE FLOCK VISITS OROPI

This week Jim Eagles went on a journey to Oropi in the Bay of Plenty. With him went "The Flock" from Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre.

Jim's daughter, Alex Eagles-Tully has been much involved in  the fledging a flock of birds from the Ruru team of Oropi School, to join "The Flock".

The welcoming of the new "Flock" members was a joyous event last week.

The students really enjoyed making these fantastic birds to join"The Flock" but more importantly they were thrilled to learn about them.

Many of these young enthusiasts will be coming along to Pukorokoro Miranda with their parents and siblings this school holidays to see the birds for real.

Thank you class Ruru at Oropi School for learning about and caring for our shorebirds, the birds you made to join "the Flock" are incredible.

THE SNOWBALL EFFECT

It all started with one Pukorokoro Miranda member and then it just snowballed. A short time ago Sietske de Jong, a Brownie leader heard about "The Flock"at the PM Shorebird Centre. She took the message to her Pippins and Brownies in Paeroa and they joined in.

They brought the beautiful birds they had fledged to the Shorebird Centre to join "The Flock".

The Pippins and Brownies also brought their brothers and sisters, their parents and their grandparents along as well. They all heard about the shorebirds and then they went down to the hide to see them for real. It is wonderful to have the new Flock members but even better that so many more people now know about our birds.YOU HAVE TO KNOW TO CARE and if you care about something you want to protect it.

This is Betty, another person who cares.She told the guys in the Mens' Shed in her retirement village, Resthaven Cambridge, all about "The Flock". Tom said "we can do that, we can make some shorebirds"

He wanted to know more about them so he and his wife took a trip up to the Shorebird Centre and he returned to Cambridge a supporter. Now he is known as "The Bird Man" Thank you Tom and the guys at the Resthaven Mens' Shed for caring about the birds.

This is a wrybill, people in the BRaid River Group down in the South Island do care too.
 http://braid.org.nz/
They need more people to know because this unique bird, with it's right turned bill is NATIONALLY VULNERABLE.
Wrybill were going along nicely in NZ until people arrived with their pest animals and plants. Before that their only predators were other birds who hunted by sight. Nesting wrybill have almost perfect camouflage.

Can you find this one? Thank you Steve Atwood and the Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare Group for the photo. Another group of folk who care https://www.facebook.com/ashleyrivercare/
Wrybill aren't used to feral cats and other predators who hunt at night using smell.Sadly many wrybill are killed on their nests and their eggs and chicks are eaten.

The Braid group do care.They would like help so they started their own wing of The Flock. It is growing which is good news for wrybills and all the other birds in the braided rivers of Canterbury.
 YOU can help by fledging a bird for The Flock. There is a great opportunity at Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre during the school holidays. Find out more.http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2016/school-holiday-fun/auckland

The first holiday week 11-15 July the tides are good to see our shorebirds. 2,000 Wrybill in flight is a breath-taking and unforgettable experience. https://www.facebook.com/MirandaShorebirdCentre/videos/1138855132794853/ 
WE NEED TO KEEP THE BIRDS COMING! 
www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/theflock 

DAI SENT US A LETTER FROM WALES

"Following the Flock" has just had a letter from Dai inWales, UK.
Dai lived at the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre in January and February. He was a volunteer shorebird guide and he showed lots of visitors our shorebirds and told them about their lives and the threats they face.
He saw the Flock when it was very small and he has been following it's growth on the newsletter.  http://us13.campaign-archive2.com/?u=00755df772c73d2efa5941750&id=62b649cb15&e=a9f3c7a112

Dai does a lot of bird stuff in Wales. There are wonderful islands like Skomer and Skokholm Islands.

The birds there are mostly seabirds like this puffin.

However young people there love their birds just like you love our shorebirds.

Dai wanted you to see some of the decorated birds made by the pupils of the Coastlands school at St. Ishmaels, Pembrokeshire.

Can you guess which one is a puffin? There are some great ideas here but wait until you see what Oropi School has been up to. Find out about how to join The Flock www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/theflock

THE FLOCK GOES ON ITS FIRST ROAD TRIP

It's a long way from Pukorokoro Miranda to Napier but The Flock had a very good reason to visit.
Over Queen's Birthday weekend many "birders" gathered from all over New Zealand to take part in BirdsNZ annual conference.

We were able to tell them of The Flock Project and the great progress it had made. The talk went well and now birders throughout NZ know about The Flock.

The Flock made a great show when it appeared on the Napier foreshore early one morning.

One of the characters in The Flock is Godwin Kuaka Godwit. This is probably a good time to explain how he got his name.
Every year Forest and Bird holds a competition to choose the "Bird of the Year" Last year competition was fierce. "Go Godwit!" a supporter typed but it came out as "Go Godwin!" That is how he got his name, Godwit won and is "Bird of the Year 2015-16" Godwin wears a crown and he is almost as handsome as real godwits.

On The Flocks way home Godwin decided to visit Pukaha Mount Bruce. Lots of conservation work for bush birds like kokako and kiwi happens here.

Godwin Kuaka Godwit, as a shorebird ambassador, was really pleased to meet Manukura, the white kiwi, he is a very important bush bird and even has his own Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/ManukuraWhiteKiwi/

 Godwin Kuaka Godwit and The Flock will soon be back at the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre helping to "Keep the Birds Coming".www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/theflocknz  
#theflocknz
They had a great road trip but were very sorry to miss the Pippin Brownies from Paeroa who brought their own very special birds to join The Flock yesterday.

Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust gets in on the act!

Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust’s (MBCT’s )‘Boomer Boys’ have made 96 birds (that’s 24 bar-tailed godwits, 24 wrybills, 24 South Island pied oystercatchers, and 24 red knots) in the Trust’s Boomer Businesses, a community shed for men and women aged over 50.

Boomer Boy Jack with the cutouts.

And the MBCT's Alzheimer’s group has primed them, making them ready for painting and decorating.

Getting the birds primed for decoration.

Pukorokoro Miranda is planning to invite students from Manukau schools to decorate them - and take the time to learn about the amazing shorebirds on their doorstep.

Anita Curlett, project manager at MBCT, told us a bit about why they are helping out with The Flock: "With our theme being ‘Water for Life’, Southern Seabirds Solutions and Forest and Bird partnered with us at Eye on Nature to share their message why Seabirds are important. We feel that The Flock continues on with our concept this year and is a hugely important environmental issue to support."

The Alzheimer's group are "loving and getting right into this new project" according to Anita.

"Sometimes this is all it takes, for these men and women, to feel useful and needed in their local community."

Auckland’s harbours are important habitats for shorebirds. They congregate on the Manukau harbour from Waiuku, Karaka, up through to Ambury Park and to heavily populated north shores of the Manukau. Ambury Regional Park is a great spot in Auckland for getting a good look at godwits, wrybills, red knots and even spoonbills!

MBCT does a huge amount of work to keep Auckland beautiful. It recently organised a clean up of Manukau's Puhinui Stream, setting the New Zealand record for the largest number of volunteers – 1900 – at an environmental clean-up! Wow!

A big thanks to the Boomer Boys, the Alzheimer's group and MBCT for contributing to The Flock!

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED

So much has happened. It is difficult to know where to start.
The Pippin Brownies from Paeroa finished their birds. There are just a few Pippins so they each made 2 birds.

The "Boomer Boys" of the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust are busy cutting out "birds". A big smile here from Jack. Their Alzheimer's Group will be priming them for the local schools

Pukorokoro Miranda now has a new Flock Team member. Krystal Glen is our Educator and will be visiting schools which are within travelling distance of the Shorebird Centre. If your school would like Krystal to visit please contact her pmnteducator@gmail.com

Nearly all  the Wrybill in the world can be found at Pukorokoro Miranda or the Manukau Harbour. They breed in the braided rivers of the South Island. We wouldn't have so many if it weren't for the amazing efforts of the Braider rivers Group in mid-Canterbury.
http://braid.org.nz/the-flock/ We are thrilled that they have started their own wing or The Flock NZ. It took flight on Tuesday with enthusiastic support. Looking forward to progress reports.

There are two new non-bird additions to The Flock. These are the predators responsible for so much damage to our endemic shorebirds.

 

Have a great holiday weekend. The PM Flock is also on holiday. It is visiting the BirdsNZ Conference in Napier.www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/theflock    #theflocknz