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