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
Over time this section will include content that will point readers to areas of research that has either been done or projects that are in progress. It will also include sections on how and where to record sightings and areas where identification of species can be found or questions asked. This page is still under development but please feel free to contact the developer via the submission form under the support MET tab with any additional groups or sites that you feel should be included. With global warming and the more expansive movements of some animals and plants that seems to be occurring, recording programs which, at the moment seem not to be relevant to the area are included as they may be in the future, bearing in mind that in the past couple of years Sea Turtles and Sea Snakes have been found on local beaches and in December 2023 a Hector's/Maui Dolphin was seen off the coast.
RECORDING SITES
Links are included but may take on the form of a logo rather than the standard method adopted throughout the rest of the website.
Currently, records submitted go to a central database which feeds into the New Zealand Bird Atlas. When this finishes in 2024 records will still be stored and data used for a variety data sets. Registration is required and once this is done, the easiest way to get started is to click on the submit button, then using the "find it on a map" section, locate the recording site and give it a name. This will then be registered and can be found from your drop-down list on that page. Press continue and what follows is self-explanatory.
This is a global database and can be used to enter sightings from anywhere in the world and also allows species to be searched for and location species lists give an idea of what is in an area that may be of interest.
Again this is a global database in which records can be entered from anywhere in the world and also to search for species and location lists. Registration is required but is fairly straight forward. Once done, open site and click add observation and follow instructions, Once this is done entries can be made, ideally with a photograph as this then allows verification of the species,.
The Estuary is a very important area for migrating birds and over the years much research has been done on these global travelers, many of which have covered over a hundred thousand kilometers in their lifetime. New technology is now being used to track these birds but can't be applied to all because of the expensive involved. For many years metal bands have been used, inscribed with a unique number and the ringing scheme to which the details are related to, in the case of Aotearoa New Zealand it is the Department of Conservation. More recently colour bands of various types are applied to birds legs. Where metal banded birds really need to be caught again to read with certainty, coloured bands can be read in the field and submitted to DoC on the
sightings form which lists all the information required and how to read the band layout correctly. The Estuary is an ideal place to participate but please take a photograph if you can and submit along with sightings form. Limited details are list under each species accounts.
After a major weather event the group of animals most likely to be affected are sea birds, species that live most of their lives on the open ocean, only coming ashore to breed. Individuals can be washed up on beaches and although, most are dead, they can still provide valuable data so please record fatalities via Seabird Beach Patrol Scheme. Identification can, in some case, be made by shape of the bill which is quite distinctive in many species. Thank to Birds NZ four identification cards (no.1 no.2 no.3 no.4) are available here. These can be downloaded and laminated or photographs taken and referred too later but please record. If a band is present please record on the form listed above
A tagging program operates for New Zealand Sea Lions and while they are mostly restricted to the lower South Island they are becoming more numerous with reports of individuals wandering further afield so keep an eye for any plastic flipper tags if you are lucky enough to see one. Other means of tracking are employed but are used only by professionals with the right equipment. Remember the safety guidelines of not approaching closer than 10 m but photographs can be taken and enlarged on a computer which will help in reading the number. Details can be recorded on Sea Lion Tags which also has heaps of other interesting information. The Sea Lion Trust is also a good general website
ARDS is the Amphibian and Reptile Distribution Scheme administered by DOC to plot distribution and occurrence of these species that are reported from Aotearoa New Zealand. Frogs (endemic and introduced), geckos, skinks, Tuatara, sea snakes and sea turtles are included and data can be found on the atlas via a drop-down list of over a hundred species with both common and scientific names given for easy location. Each species contains data and a map, which unfortunately gives a location and not actual sites where recorded. Difficult with common species but for sparsely recorded species such as sea snakes and sea turtles would have been good. A recording form for observations is given here.
Found exclusively in certain coastal waters around the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, Māui Dolphin is the world's smallest and rarest dolphin, with an estimated 65 individuals left in the wild. Hector's Dolphin is very similar and found mainly around the South Island with a few stragglers making it further north. Both being the only dolphins in Aotearoa New Zealand to have a rounded dorsal fin so both are easily identifiable as a species and because of their rarity any sightings should be recorded. This can be done using a link via this page which also contains other valuable information and links. See Mammals for reporting other whale and dolphin sightings.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Many Facebook groups have been set up to cover a wide range of subjects, mainly on a national basis but are included because they could be relevant to the the area and are useful to upload photographs on if you want an identification. Likewise many national conservation organisations have posts which are also worth seeing. As such, listed below are a number of sites but please use the search tool on Facebook to check them out - some you need to join before being able to open but each will explain, None are included as links as an extra safeguard and it is up to the individual to make the choice.
Manawatū Estuary Trust Wildlife Foxton Trust Forest and Bird
New Zealand Native Orchids New Zealand Bird Identification Insects and Invertebrates of New Zealand
Native Plants of Aotearoa (New Zealand) New Zealand Garden Bird Survey New Zealand Lizard Identification
Mushrooms of New Zealand New Zealand Birders Wildlife of New Zealand
The New Zealand Epiphyte Network Fernbirds Orca Watch New Zealand
Environmental Protection Authority NZ Cetacean Spotting NZ-Whale and Dolphin Watch New Zealand Bittern Conservation New Zealand Nature New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Watch-Wellington Godwits New Zealand Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust
FOXTON BEACH/ESTUARY SPECIES LIST
Most records that are available just give Foxton Beach as a location but would be good, with help, to go through this list and give each a code(s) of where seen. The list can be viewed here but please bare in mind that it is far from complete and still a work in progress that needs peer reviewing, but is included as an excel file for people to have a look at and get an idea of how valuable an area this is. There are notations in some area for further research which will be followed up at some point. There are still species to classify correctly (and to add) and arrange so please take at face value but contact me via the form under the Support MET tab if you have any comments. Up-dates will be added as and when but feel free to download.