Kaipara Harbour - Ecology

Ecology

The Kaipara Harbour is a productive marine ecosystem, with diverse habitats and ecotones. There are tidal reaches, intertidal mudflats and sandflats, freshwater swamps, maritime rushes, reed beds and coastal scrublands. The area includes 125 square kilometres of mangrove forest. with subtidal fringes of seagrass.

• The Kaipara is named after the eating quality (kai) of the king fern (para)

• Bar-tailed godwit

• Fern bird

• Kaka beak leaves and flowers

The Kaipara is a migratory bird habitat of international significance. Forty–two coastal species are known, and up to 50,000 birds are common. Rare species use the harbour for feeding during summer before returning to the northern hemisphere to breed, such as the bar‑tailed godwit, lesser knot, and turnstone. Threatened or endangered native species, such as the North Island fernbird, fairy tern, crake, Australasian bittern, banded rail, grey‑faced petrels, banded and NZ dotterels, South Island pied oystercatcher, pied stilt, and wrybill are also present . Significant local populations of black swan, pukeko, and grey duck also breed in the area.

Land habitats adjacent to the harbour support some rare botanical species, including native orchids, the king fern, and the endangered kaka beak.

In particular, Papakanui Spit on the south head of the harbour entrance, a mobile sandspit, is important as a breeding and roosting area for the New Zealand dotterel and the fairy tern. It also has areas of pingao. The spit was an important habitat for the caspian tern. The birds have moved to other parts of Kaipara Harbour, possibly due to human disturbance. An air weapons range used by the New Zealand Defence Force is a short distance south of the spit.