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The wrybill or ngutuparore is one of our unique New Zealand birds. It is very distinctive because it is the only bird with a sideways curved beak. It nests on the braided river beds in the South Island and it is thought that the curved bill gives it an advantage when searching under rounded river stones for insect larvae. Outside of the breeding season they gather in large flocks at various coastal estuaries and mudflats such as at Miranda or the Manawatu estuary which is where I took these phot …

The Manawatu estuary is one of the best places for seeing shore birds and waders in the lower North Island. We recently had a one night stop over at Foxton beach on our way to Wellington so had a good chance to explore the estuary and see the wonderful variety of bird life that we just don't see in Taranaki. My favourite was the bar tailed godwit, a bird which I think is absolutely amazing with its extraordinary migration from Alaska to New Zealand.Next on my list is probably the Pacific golden …