Tuateawa Bird Spot: New Zealand Pipit.

Pipits used to be quite common in Tuateawa and a few can still be found today. They are a bird of open country and can most often be encountered running away from you as you walk along a gravel road. Characteristically they have a bobbing motion of the tail and, when they fly, white tail feathers can be seen. They are not wildly attractive as they need good camouflage to both feed and nest on the ground.

Their diet consists largely of invertebrates and small seeds. The new pastures opened up by the early colonists were ideal for this bird. Today farmland is more rigorously managed and pesticides reduce the amount of insect life available. Even so this is a native bird that is not in serious decline.

In Tuateawa numbers seem to be down, it could well relate to the loss of grazing pressure. The open pastures with many different plant species have mostly been replaced with inpenetrable kikuyu grass in recent years. Recent subdivision work seems to have recreated a small amount of their habitat for them and it is a good place to seek them out. They are more frequent around Waikawau where farming methods have maintained a larger habitat for them.

Skylarks used to be a Tuateawa feature. Like the pipit they are also ground feeders. I wonder if they are still around? It seems to be quite a while since I can recall hearing a lark!