Covid made its return to daily life, keeping us confined to our neighbourhood. Fortunately there’s a path that runs along the shore and beside the local Papakura Stream for our daily exercise.
When spring came we watched as a duck had a massive hatch of 11 ducklings. Gradually this number has dwindled to just one, but it’s now big enough a month later that it will probably survive.
There were also families of pukeko. The chicks are very skittish, very fast, and very good at hiding.
Very occasionally we have seen a spoonbill, generally when the tide is out and in the distance on the mudflats. Suddenly yesterday there was a whole group of them. Initially they were far out on a sandbank, but as the tide came in they moved to sit in a tree close to us at the end of the Papakura Stream. They look like something Dr Seuss would conjure up.
The tide goes out very quickly, and if you don’t keep an eye on the time you’ll get stuck on the mudflats.
