Take a Trip to New Zealand

Part 1 – Map Quest: This is a map of six continents. Let’s go continent exploring to find New Zealand. We’ll skip Antarctica – it’s not on the map. Start on the top left. Can you find North America? Go southeast, and you’re in South America. Two continents – check!

Travel east across the Atlantic Ocean, and you’ll run into Africa. Go north across a small sea to Europe, then travel east to that big blob of land. That’s Asia.

Only one continent left – Australia is the huge island at the bottom right. New Zealand is its next-door neighbor, to the southeast. This map took the longest way there, so try the short cut next.
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Did you find Australia in yellow? And New Zealand? It’s the big green island to the east.
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A dear friend from Wapakoneta just moved there. Melissa does it all, from Art to Therapy. She’s exploring New Zealand and sharing photos with her friends in Ohio, like me

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​ Part 2 – The Essence of Estuaries: They’re found all over the world wherever freshwater from rivers runs into the salty sea. They’re home to unique plants and animals who have adapted to the brackish mix of fresh and salt water.

Some estuaries form when lake and river water come together. The chemical and physical composition from the two sources is completely different. You’ll find a few estuaries around the Great Lakes, and in other places across the country and around the world. Source: What is an estuary?

Melissa took this photo at the Ahuriri Estuary in New Zealand. She said it’s a vast natural water feature that ebbs and flows with the southwest Pacific Ocean.
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​There are paved paths for bikes and people to enjoy. There’s even a wooden path that runs right through the middle of the Ahuriri Estuary.
 
   
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​Part 3 – A Few Plants: The paths along the Ahuriri Estuary are lined with Spanish broom bushes and sweet pea. 

Spanish brooms have yellow blossoms, and sweet peas are red. Their fragrance, intoxicating. 
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There are huge rows of wild fennel too. Their fluffy green leaves almost look furry from far away.
 
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Tomorrow – a few signs of things you’ll find at the estuary

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Part 4 – Signs of Life #1: These three bird photos, below, were taken of the Bar-Tailed Godwit. My friend, Melissa, took the last one, the big one.

If you’re having trouble reading the sign, me too. I blew it up so I could read it. Its two images show the Bar-Tailed Godwit feeding and flying. Here are some of the things I learned from it and from a New Zealand bird site.

- The Maori, New Zealand’s original people, called godwits Kuaka or birds of mystery. They didn’t nest on the islands, and they disappeared each winter. So they’d ask each other, “Kua kite te kohanga kuaka?” Translation – “Who has seen the nest of the kuaka?” The Maori thought godwits hung out with the spirits of the dead.

- Godwits are endangered because they’re losing the habitats along their flight path. They’re protected in New Zealand where feeding grounds are safe from pollution, construction, and predators. But they’re not safe in other places.

- When godwits are old enough to reproduce, they make an epic flight of 8 to 9-days, nonstop. They eat and refuel around the Yellow Sea. That’s China and the Korean peninsula. That’s it. They arrive in New Zealand in early September, and they fly north to Alaska in early March. That’s where they’ll nest and lay eggs. Birds four years and younger are left behind in New Zealand. 
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- The sign says dogs must be on leads and leashes. That’s because when the godwits return, they haven’t eaten for days. They’re starving, and they don’t have the energy to fly away. They’re an easy target so dogs must be leashed when they first return. But not forever.

- How do you spot them? A godwit is a large wading bird, with long legs. It’s mostly brown on top. Pale underneath. Its bill is long, tapered, and a little stuck-up. It’s pink near the head, black at the tip. Godwits are usually quiet in New Zealand, but they start calling each other when it’s time to leave. Their bodies also change. Their kidneys, liver, and intestines shrink so they can double their weight. They also get new feathers for that nonstop flight.

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Sorry, I couldn’t read the Fast Facts.
But if you want to learn more about godwits, check out these websites.

Bar-tailed godwit | Kuaka | New Zealand Birds Online….
My other source, and it includes bird calls!

The Bar-tailed Godwit’s Annual Migration Is Utterly Astounding | Audubon
Bar-tailed Godwit Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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​The sign includes: www.hbtrails.nz.... www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz.... www.doc.govt.nz

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​Part 5 – Signs of Life #2: I love this sign, and I thought I could use it like the first one. NOT! I tried reading my blown-up version, but I still had to go find information and pictures online.
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That’s where I hit the next snag. I couldn’t find the exact plant or animal I wanted. I found relatives, and I still wanted to share this sign. It goes into the estuary ecosystem and the plants and animals who live there.

So Plan B . . . I’d find the closes relative and share its link. I also found a great online encyclopedia from New Zealand. Most of the information matched up. Some of it was new, but I decided to share it anyway because I trust it.

BTW, if you want a plant or animal’s exact image, or you want to learn more about them, google their name. Add New Zealand; then search. I can’t share those images . . . think copyright. So, here’s Plan B. Fingers crossed!
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At the upper reaches of the estuary where there’s fresh water and less salt, you’ll find these plants and animals. First up, dense beds of sedge and raupo. 

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​Sedges, or Cyperaceae, are a family of grass-like plants. Flowers are often the only way to identify which sedge is which. Photo: Cyperaceae - Wikipedia
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And the encyclopedia said there are as many as 60 different kinds of sedges in New Zealand’s wetlands. I guess, an estuary is one kind of wetland. My source was a specific kind of sedge: Tussock sedge – Wetlands – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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This is a relative of raupo. I think it looks like the cat tails in Ohio. Its name – typha orientalis. You could also call it bulrush, cumbungi, or raupo. It’s found in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, China, and Russia’s far east.  Photo: Typha orientalis - Wikipedia
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And the encyclopedia said it grows in fertile swamps with high water tables. The one species from New Zealand is also native to Australia and south-east Asia. It dies down in the winter and comes back in the spring.  Raupō – Wetlands – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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I couldn’t find a marsh crab, but after looking at the New Zealand Encyclopedia, I found this name – Hemigrapsus crenulatus. Wikipedia said it’s also called the hairy-handed crab and papka huruhuru, the same two names in the encyclopedia. It also said they’re a marine crab native to New Zealand’s coastline.  Photo: Hemigrapsus crenulatus - Wikipedia
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The Te Ara Encyclopedia said the crabs are found in the intertidal zone. They hide under rocks or in the soft sands and mud. Melissa’s sign said marsh crabs live in the upper reaches of the estuary, and that they hide in the plants too. I hate when I’m not sure if the words match, so I shared both. Just in case.  Small animals of the estuary – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

 
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​Check out this bittern hunting for prey in the wetlands of New Zealand.  Photo: Australasian bittern - Wikipedia
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The Australasian bittern or matukuh have long necks and legs. They’re mottled brown with creamy throats. Notice the posture – neck stretched up to blend into the reeds, AND their eyes, they can still look down to spot tasty fish, frogs, and eels. YUM!   Australasian bittern – Wetland birds – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand



In the salty lower reaches of the estuary, you’ll find these plants and animals. First up, sea lettuce, glassworts, rushes, and reeds. 

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I couldn’t find anything about sea lettuce in Te Ara, but the estuary sign said there’s delicate sea lettuce and other algae growing here. I didn’t locate a photo of it either. Meet its northern cousin from Croatia. Both of them are named Ulva Lactuca. Photo: Sea lettuce - Wikipedia


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​You’ll also find glassworts in this part of the estuary. There was nothing in Te Ara about them, but Wikipedia said they’re succulent plants that thrive in the saltwater of sea coasts and marshes. This photo came from the Greenfields Wetlands in Dry Creek. That’s in South Australia. Photo: Glasswort - Wikipedia


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Rushes, reeds, and mangroves provide a safe breeding ground for bitterns and other birds.  Larger animals of the estuary – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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I couldn’t find an example from New Zealand, but these reeds came from an estuary off the River Tay in the United Kingdom. Photo:  Reed (plant) - Wikipedia


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Sheltered estuaries like the one at Ahuriri in New Zealand provide rich feeding grounds for birds like golden plovers, the bar-tailed godwits, and many others. Larger animals of the estuary – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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Photo: Pacific golden plover - Wikipedia


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​Birds like godwits probe the mud for shellfish, marine worms, and insect larvae. They push their beaks down deep into the sediments to find them.   Larger animals of the estuary – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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Did you notice the bird in the center? It’s red and looks nothing like the bar-tailed godwits in sign #1. That’s because it’s a male. Many males in the animal kingdom are better looking. It helps them attract females. Photo: Bar-tailed godwit - Wikipedia

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