The Manawatu Estuary is a well known birding location recognised for the large variety of birds which can be easily seen – 93 species have been identified here! A public viewing platform overlooking the estuary is located at the end of Dawick Street.
From here sand banks and a large area of salt marsh can be viewed. It is a significant home to rare birds and a good breeding place for native fish.
The estuary is a feeding ground for Eastern bar-tailed Godwits and also Knots from Alaska and Siberia. Every year a Welcome and Farewell to the Birds is held to give the public a close-up view of the different migratory species. These events are held close to the equinox each March (Farewell) and October (Welcome). In 2005 the Manawatu Estuary was listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as a Wetland of International Importance.
(Information from the National Wetland Trust of New Zealand and the Department of Conservation).
To qualify for this cache:
Send your answers to the CO. You may then log your find and post your photo, but please do not include these answers in your log - thank you. The CO will contact you if there are any issues.
1. How many birds are illustrated on the signboard as being “All year round birds?”
2. Using the information on the signboard (or your own knowledge!) describe the species of birds you are able to observe at the time of your visit. Include an indication of numbers, e.g. “many” or “few”.
3. Please post a photo taken during your visit. Your face is not required to be visible, e.g. you can be pointing at the view, or include a label with your username.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.