Winter Months
Posted on Sep 15, 2017 | 0 commentsI had a few bike rides along the Tasman Great Taste Trail, some Brightwater way and others out to Rabbit Island. They are always good on a fresh winter’s morning, especially along the Waimea Inlet. On one of the rides to Brightwater my back tyre gave up the ghost resulting in about a seven kilometre walk home. At least it wasn’t raining! The tyre itself had travelled around 3500 kilometres so I guess it was time for a change.
On the inlet rides one can expect to see a number of different seabirds and to observe the way the native plantings are progressing. Shags, and once we watched a white heron patiently waiting for small fish going upstream with the tide.
Motueka Spit Black shag.
Before the godwits took off for their long flight to Siberia we had a wander out along the Motueka Spit coming across a black shags, Canada geese, dotterels, white faced herons, pied stilts plus many knots and godwits too.
Motueka Spit Dotterel.
The rainfall over the winter months has seen an increase: May average was 123mm but this May we had 174mm; June was quite dry with the average 168mm but only 16mm fell; it made up somewhat in July with the average for this month being 82mm but 191mm fell and the August monthly average was 114mm but we had 139mm.
Rabbit Island winter beach.
Up Will’s Gully
It’s been a busy time with planting natives and to the end of July 553 but this doesn’t include a number of Hook Grass and Bush Lawyer little plants. Hook Grass? Yep, why not and the same regarding Bush lawyer too. It’s a nuisance when people or their dogs cut corners along the track especially when we have small plants growing. Anyway, the Bush Lawyer has nice blackberry type fruit besides being prickly! The Hook Grass doesn’t have prickles but I’m sure anyone with hairy legs who tramp around the wild places will be very aware of it?
Kevin and Will work on some track repairs with some recent plantings in the background.
Some weed spraying around the plants and track improvements along the way. The Hollow Tree steps were put in, a small deck by McGlashen’s dam on the Bottoms Track and some repairs here and there. Another volunteer, David B has been making lots of new signs for along the walking tracks in the Richmond Hills and now he has been installing some over our way. Hopefully, the idiots who have been damaging and removing our old signs will go away and leave us alone.