There's plenty to see and do at the estuary.
The estuary walkway provides beautiful views, and there are signs along the way providing information about some of the birds you might see.
There is a lot of interesting wildlife at the estuary. As well as birds, the estuary is also home to some interesting plants and is an important habitat for native fish.
The Manawatū Estuary Trust enjoys giving people the opportunity to learn more about this amazing environ
Many thanks to Jonathon Gribble for allowing use of photograph and Horizons for producing the map.
The population status of Fernbirds is now on the increase due in part to concentrated pest control efforts which has allowed birds to be re-introduced to areas that previously held populations. The closest being Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve where, with a little effort, they are relatively easy to observe. It is a success story for pest control and relocations.
A population is present at Fernbird Flats, and there is a robust pest control regime in the area. A brief survey carried out by Horizons in March 2025 reported good numbers. A total of 36 birds were detected in a series of 5 minute counts. A comprehensive survey is planned for spring 2025 so an accurate assessment of the entire population can be made.
More often seen than heard it is a fairly drab brown speckled bird with a long tail which, because of its preferred habitat of wetland scrub is unlikely to be confused with any other species.
Distribution is throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, including some of the islands but is a little patchy and their abundance, or otherwise is governed by suitable habitat being available. Wetland and surrounding areas have been much reduced in recent times, but it is hoped the interest in reversing this trend will benefit the species recovery.
Diet consists mainly of insects but occasionally some seed and berries.
Mātātā/New Zealand Fernbird Poodytes punctatus
Endemic. At risk-declining.
The Fernbird is one of the estuaries special birds that has a limited but concentrated distribution at the estuary The main population being at the aptly named Fernbird Flats which is an out of the way area that is relatively undisturbed.
2025 Mātātā/Fernbird monitoring – Manawatū Estuary
Annual monitoring for Mātātā/Fernbird was conducted on the 09 December 2025. It was an excellent day for monitoring, with perfect, still sunny conditions. Monitoring was undertaken by Zoë Stone (Horizons Regional Council) and four volunteers – Dave Coles (Wildlife Foxton Trust) and Leah Lee, Kirsten Olsen and Stephen Legg from the Manawatū branch of Birds NZ.
Two transects were monitored on Fernbird flats, starting at 7:30am. Along each transect, a 5-minute bird count was conducted every 100m, where we listened for 5 minutes and counted all heard and seen Mātātā.
This was the 2nd year of monitoring, and a good number of Mātātā were observed. In total, 54 individuals were recorded during 1 ½ hrs of surveying. A highlight of the morning was a nest observation. The chicks could be heard calling hidden in a salt-marsh ribbonwood bush Plagianthus divaricatus, and the parents were seen carrying food and debris to/away from nest.
On average 2.45 Mātātā were recorded per 5-minute bird count across both transects. Last year (2024) monitoring was only conducted along Transect 1, with an average of 2.7 Mātātā per count. This year, transect 1 had 3.5 mātātā