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White Heron Sanctuary | |
| Mt Cook. Tasman Sea |
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The White Heron Sanctuary at the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve is the only White Heron nesting colony in NZ. White herons have not spread out to form new breeding colonies elsewhere, although they disperse widely during winter before returning to Waitangiroto to nest. Amongst unique lowland rainforest, part of New Zealand's South Westland World Heritage area, the White Herons along with the Royal Spoonbill and Little Shag all gather at this sanctuary August/September to start courtship and nesting. The White Heron nest in kamahi, mahoe and kowhai trees, and in the crowns of tree ferns. Females lay three to five pale blue-green eggs in September or October, and both sexes share incubation. When the chicks hatch, they are fed by both parents until they fledge at around 42 days.
The male gathers nesting material, mostly sticks and reeds, sometimes taken from an old nest, the female weaves it into a large, shallow bowl or platform which varies in its shape and structural integrity according to species. The Okarito spoonbills build their nests in the exposed canopy of the tallest kahikatea trees and regularly lose all their eggs or chicks in storms. They usually lay three off-white eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the hatchlings. The chick has a black face, and the bill has not yet developed its characteristic shape. Chicks fledge when seven weeks old, but are fed by their parents for a few more weeks. The primary cause of brood failure appears not to be predation but starvation. They have extended their range and now breed in a number of other places and numbers seem to be increasing every year.
The only access to the sanctuary is with the White Heron Sanctuary Tours which run under concession with the Department of Conservation.
On the 4th of Nov 2007, a cloudy day, lovely light for photography on the white of the Herons. Some Herons were still courting while other Herons already had chicks hatched. The Spoonbills, some were still courting and building nests and some were already sitting in nests. The Little Shags were already sitting in nests, I did not see any building nests.
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White Herons courting & nesting 9895 Chicks in the lower nest. |
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Courting 0033
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Courting 0037 |
Courting 0038 |
Courting 9793 |
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Courting 9794
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White Heron with 3 chicks 9953 |
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Royal Spoonbill Courting 9995 |
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All images on this site are copyright to Kathleen Shepherd and may not be copied or reproduced in any form without permission. |
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