Flock to Miranda for godwits

Tucked near the bottom of the Firth of Thames is the Pu¯korokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre, which has more than 8000 hectares of inter-tidal flats that are prime real estate for many species of shorebird, most notably the bartailed godwit.

Like many celebrities, these doughty longlegged waders chase summer around the world, spending half the year in Alaska, where they breed, and the other half in New Zealand, from September.

While you can see godwits on seafoodrich inter-tidal flats elsewhere around the country, at Miranda the gatherings are exceptionally big.

On the long, wide shellbanks and mudflats here you will see thousands of them, as well as a wide variety of other species.

The Shorebird Centre is a magnet for dedicated twitchers, and anyone open to be awed by bird numbers, diversity and sheer tenacity. Enthusiastic and informed staff will answer all your questions.

Why go?

Because birds such as the one tagged 4BWWY have flapped and glided, non-stop and hungry, for 225 exhausting hours across 11,300 kilometres to get to Miranda.

Satellite tracking by Massey University of individuals shows that while a few get blown off course, the bar-tailed godwit makes the longest continuous migration of any non-seabird: 11,000-12,000km over eight or nine days. This includes the chicks, who make the journey at only four months old.

Other species of birds come here from Siberia and Central Asia, as well as other parts of New Zealand, all to take advantage of the abundance of crabs, shellfish and worms on the flats.

Insider tip

Check the charts and time your visit for within two hours either side of high tide, so the birds are roosting closer to shore and more easily spotted.

You can hire binoculars and telescopes at the centre. The three hides are a wheelchairaccessible five minutes from the car park, or half-an-hour’s stroll from the centre.

On the way/nearby

Hike in the Hunua Ranges National Park, check if the Miranda Hot Springs are open, or drive around to Thames for a poke through the Bella Street Pumphouse Museum, and enjoy some smoked mussels and local cheese and beer.

How much?

The birdwatching is free, and so is the information in the Shorebird Centre, though donations are appreciated. It’s open every day except Christmas, 9am-5pm. If you’re keen to stay over in the attached dormitory or self-contained suites, it costs from $35 a person to $135.

Best time to go

Now until March is when you’ll see the godwits, dotterels, oyster catchers, stilts, plovers, knots, spoonbills and more. In autumn and winter, see our endemic wrybill, the only bent-beaked bird. miranda