The Firth of Thames once supported large areas of mussel beds. These beds were heavily fished using dredges from the 1920s to the 1960s and now there are only small, isolated patches of mussels left. The Firth of Thames is home to many different sorts of fish, among them snapper, mackerel, red gurnard, and flounder. It's an important fish nursery for baby snapper, spotted dogfish, and even for smooth hammerhead shark.
The Firth's 8,500 hectares of tidal mud flats support around 40,000 birds. There have been 60 different species recorded, with 24 of them being wading birds. These include godwits, the eastern curlew and the tiny red-necked stint.
Many of the migratory wading birds land at Miranda, just across the Firth from the township of Thames. The birds fly the tough 10,000 km to 12,000 km journey from the Arctic Circle to arrive in Thames in September to October. In mid-March they fly north again. Along the way, they need to stop at other mudflats to rest and feed. The bar-tailed godwits, the most common Arctic wader at Miranda, are thought to make only one stopover on their way north, in the Yellow Sea region of China and Korea. On their way south, they are believed to cross the Pacific in one long non-stop flight to New Zealand. The red knots, the second most common bird, stopover in northern Australia and the Yellow Sea as they migrate north. They make several stops on their way south. Arctic terns can fly up to one million kilometers during a 30 year lifetime.
This annual migration of the wading birds is one of nature's miracles. They survive wind, weather, huge distances, pollution and even hunting. A million Arctic migrants are shot for food each year.
There is an international movement to monitor and track the birds, and to protect their flight path. The tidal mudflats of the Manukau Harbor are another favored destination. Auckland International Airport has had to make allowances for the flight paths of these migratory wading birds.
So start planning for next winter. Follow the birds to Thames. And don't worry, there are lovely beaches further north, up the coast.