White-winged black tern sighted in Upper Rangitata

A stunningly marked bird. A pair was sighted feeding with black-fronted terns at the riffle next to Deep Stream in December - An uncommon n\migrant to New Zealand from South -east Asia.

black stilt - Upper Rangitata

Photographed leaning low into a NW gale !

Black Stilt - Kahi sighted in upper Rangitata

An exciting sighting on 15 November was of a pure black stilt in the upper Rangitata. The bird was colour banded and I am awaiting banding details from DOC- the first black stilt sighted in the upper Rangitata for some time ! The bird was single and may just be passing through. Black stilts disappeared from the upper Rangitata as a breeding species about 50 years ago- hopefully with the future recovery of the species they may breed again in the upper Rangitata River- a braided river environment to which the birds have naturally evoloved.

Upper Rangitata- braided river wilderness

The upper Rangitata- fresh snow- very invigorating !

First wrybill chick for season -2011

Banded dotterel just returned from holiday in South Australia

Sighted a banded dotterel last week banded in South Austraila in the upper Rangitata River - just shows how dependent our wading birds are on a range of habitats for their survival . I will post photos of bird in due course.
Good to be back for fourth season in upper Rangitata- a true braided river wilderness.

No new kid on the block

For me the upper Ashburton lakes has been an area that has fascinated me since the early 1980's when I used to go up with my father on fishing trips to Lake Heron and Camp.. Found this blast from the past- doing a black-billed gull colony count on the upper South Branch of the Ashburton river -1989

Brook Trout

Lake Emily has outstanding values for its brook trout fishery- beautiful fish and great eating ,with apricot coloured flesh, although I only kept two last year. always a joy to catch and a treat to eat !

Lake Denny

One of the lesser known lakes in the Ashburton group- A shallow lake with some good wetland plant habitats. I have only visited this lake once in 2005

Kayaking in winter- Lake Heron

Another blast from the past- winter 1998 on Lake Heron- a magical days kayaking- winters stillness with the kayaks bow shattering the ice and breaking the silence. In the photo- kayaking buddy Glen McKinley.

Magical day on Deep Creek - 1998

Well over a decade ago- Deep Creek is a magical fishing location. I will never forget this day when I played a 10 pound rainbow trout for two hours in a big whirl pool- It is the diversity of spring creeks in the upper Rangitata Catchment that add a lot to the upper rivers' productivity. The layering of the cloud on the Ben McLeod range is striking- "land of the long white cloud "

Crested grebe adult and juvenile

Crested grebes are one of the notable birds within the lakes of OTW- but over the last decade have established breeding sites in lowland areas such as Lakes Ellesmere and Forsyth and have also increased dramatically in numbers within Otago and the MacKenzie- notably Lake Benmore. Willows that over hang the water are an important habitat requirement for breeding grebes.

Lake Emily

Set amidst red tussocks and sedge wetlands Emily is an outstanding lake with sweeping views across a tussock landscape. The lake is notable in being one of the best lake fisheries for brook trout in New Zealand.

Lake Heron- the jewel in the crown

Of all the lakes in the Ashburton Group , Lake Heron is the most scenic and ecologically diverse. A spectacular high country lake framed by vibrantly coloured red tussocks with sedges dotted along its shoreline. A site of national importance to the New Zealand scaup- a small diving duck.

wrybills

Overall the upper Rangitata stands out as being one of the most important sites for breeding wrybill in New Zealand-for those interested in wrybill I also have a wrybill blog-


http://wrybill.blogspot.com/

A nationally important site for black-fronted terns

About 5-7% of New Zealand's breeding population of black-fronted terns is located in the upper Rangitata -OTW Catchment. These agile and elegant birds really animate the river valleys.

O Tu wharekai- Upper Rangitata River

The attached map- courtesy of Map toaster-NZ shows the are referred to in this blog- 120 000 hectares of high country wilderness due west of Christchurch.

Blue ducks extinct ?

Data to date would suggest that over the last 10 years blue ducks have become locally extinct in the Upper Rangitata catchment. A sad loss for the sites bio-diversity.

RAMSAR-Rated as internationally important habitat

Upper Rangitata River is of outstanding value for wildlife. Rated as internationally important habitat under RAMSAR Convention criteria. A special pace for the conservation of endangered species- notably wrybill and black-fronted tern. Sadly in three years of monitoring black-billed gulls have failed to breed in the upper Rangitata River with a residual population of only 250-300 birds remaining.

Bittern heard booming in upper Rangitata Valley 2010

Good news that bittern are still present in the upper Rangitata Valley-

Lake Emma- a jewel in the crown of the Ashburton Lakes