New Zealand Ramsar wetland
Manawatū Estuary
119 bird species recorded; the most in November.
Rudolph89 · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
92 species in January.82 species in February.90 species in March.85 species in April.79 species in May.76 species in June.76 species in July.70 species in August.79 species in September.86 species in October.102 species in November.86 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
VU
NTNTNTVU
NTNTNTVU
NTNT
VUNTNT
NT
NT
NTNTNT
NTNT
NTNTNTNTNTNT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
119 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 119Speciesrecorded more than once
- 42Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 8ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 74,358Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 2Raptors
- 27Waders
- 26Gulls & seabirds
- 13Ducks & geese
- 14Herons, ibises & grebes
- 22Songbirds
- 15Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 119 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Swamp HarrierCircus approximans
- New Zealand FalconFalco novaeseelandiae
Waders27 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
- Masked LapwingVanellus miles
- Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalus
- South Island OystercatcherHaematopus finschi
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
- Variable OystercatcherHaematopus unicolor
- WrybillAnarhynchus frontalisVU
- Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
- Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataVU
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollisNT
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Terek SandpiperXenus cinereus
- Far Eastern CurlewNumenius madagascariensis
- Gray-tailed TattlerTringa brevipes
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaVU
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Shore PloverThinornis novaeseelandiae
- Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
- Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusVU
- Double-banded PloverCharadrius bicinctusNT
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
- Japanese SnipeGallinago hardwickiiNT
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
Gulls & seabirds26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Southern Black-backed GullLarus dominicanus
- Silver GullChroicocephalus novaehollandiae
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Black-billed GullChroicocephalus bulleri
- White-fronted TernSterna striataNT
- Australasian GannetMorus serrator
- Little TernSternula albifrons
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Black-fronted TernChlidonias albostriatus
- Fairy PrionPachyptila turtur
- Australian TernGelochelidon macrotarsa
- Fluttering ShearwaterPuffinus gavia
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
- Fairy TernSternula nereisVU
- Shy albatrossThalassarche cautaNT
- Blue PenguinEudyptula minor
- Common Diving-PetrelPelecanoides urinatrix
- Buller's ShearwaterPuffinus bulleri
- Sooty shearwaterPuffinus griseus
- Antarctic FulmarFulmarus glacialoides
- Pomarine SkuaStercorarius pomarinus
- Antarctic Giant-PetrelMacronectes giganteus
- Northern Giant PetrelMacronectes halli
- Long-tailed SkuaStercorarius longicaudus
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
Ducks & geese13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Grey TealAnas gracilis
- Australasian ShovelerSpatula rhynchotis
- Black swanCygnus atratus
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- New Zealand ScaupAythya novaeseelandiae
- Cairina moschataCairina moschata
- Paradise ShelduckTadorna variegata
- Greylag GooseAnser anser
- Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
- Swan GooseAnser cygnoides
- Chestnut TealAnas castanea
- HardheadAythya australis
Herons, ibises & grebes14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
- Royal SpoonbillPlatalea regia
- Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax varius
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Little Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucos
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- New Zealand dabchickPoliocephalus rufopectus
- Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Australasian BitternBotaurus poiciloptilusVU
- Spotted ShagPhalacrocorax punctatus
- Ardea modestaArdea modesta
- Reef HeronEgretta sacra
Songbirds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxena
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicen
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Grey FantailRhipidura fuliginosa
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- Grey GerygoneGerygone igata
- SilvereyeZosterops lateralis
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- TuiProsthemadera novaeseelandiae
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- Australasian PipitAnthus novaeseelandiae
- New Zealand FernbirdPoodytes punctatus
- BellbirdAnthornis melanura
- RookCorvus frugilegus
Other birds15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Sacred KingfisherTodiramphus sanctus
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- California QuailCallipepla californica
- Shining cuckooChrysococcyx lucidus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Eastern RosellaPlatycercus eximius
- New Zealand PigeonHemiphaga novaeseelandiae
- CootFulica atra
- Spotless CrakePorzana tabuensis
- Indian PeafowlPavo cristatus
- African Collared DoveStreptopelia roseogrisea
- Brown QuailSynoicus ypsilophorus
- Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in November.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan19°/15°56 mm
- Feb20°/15°62 mm
- Mar19°/14°64 mm
- Apr17°/13°88 mm
- May15°/12°94 mm
- Jun13°/10°107 mm
- Jul12°/9°97 mm
- Aug12°/9°96 mm
- Sep13°/10°87 mm
- Oct14°/10°98 mm
- Nov16°/12°71 mm
- Dec18°/14°85 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Manawatū Estuary.
Estuary and a wetland of international significance
Manawatū Estuary is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in New Zealand.
119 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 74,358 open records.
The most recorded are the Southern Black-backed Gull, the House Sparrow and the Bar-tailed godwit.
28 species come for the summer, 13 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
8 are threatened worldwide, including Wrybill, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded in November.
Get there and watch
- Foxton Beach Holiday Parkcampsite · 1.0 km · 5 within 10 km
- Foxton Beach Motelplace to stay · 1.0 km · 4 within 10 km
- Foxton Beachnearest town · 1.3 km in a straight line
- Palmerston North Airport (PMR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 37 km in a straight lineCar hire at PMR airport (Palmerston North)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 2bird hides within 6 km
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmi site
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 11car parks within 3 km
- 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 5campsites within 10 kmFoxton Beach Holiday Park, Manawatu Caravan Club Holiday Park, Foxton NZMCA Park and 2 more
- 4places to stay within 10 kmFoxton Beach Motel, Castletown Motel, Celtic Motel and 1 more
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Manawatū Estuary.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas5 mountains within 25 kmOruarongo · 3.5 kmTaumata · 9.8 kmKara462 m · 23 kmTe Paki · 24 kmHurukakariki · 24 km
Riveryasthe river nearbyManawatū River180 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Manawatū Estuary
New Zealand
- 66Birdyas Score
- 119Species
- 42Migrants
- 8Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6747133) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 74,358 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit