White faced heron nesting

Chick perching by the trunk in Mangaiti Gully.
Best picture available taken with an I-phone. 

In the pine trees at the back of Sexton Road (the northern end of Mangaiti Gully) a pair of White Faced Herons had a nest this summer raising two chicks to fledge. The young were seen on the 5th of February fumbling around up in the canopy flapping from branch to branch as they tested their wings all the while demanding a feed from their parents.

While many people probably think that the white-faced heron is indigenous to New Zealand, it is actually found throughout most of Australasia. It is a recent arrival being self-introduced (which classifies it as native) to New Zealand in the late 1940s.

Breeding generally takes place in the spring in New Zealand. Both sexes share the task of building the nest, incubating the eggs and caring for the young. The nest is an untidy shallow bowl, made of sticks and usually placed on a leafy branch 5–12 m high. A typical clutch has three to five pale blue eggs. Normally only one brood is raised per year. Incubation lasts approximately 25 days. The parents guard the chicks for 3–4 weeks and fledging takes place 40 days after hatching. Typical nestling predators in New Zealand include Australian magpies and harrier hawks. (Wikipedia)