The Seabird Coast, also known as the Wharekawa Coast,
is a beach area situated on the
Firth of Thames in the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, lies about three kilometres from the small town of
Miranda. It is the location of the
Miranda Shorebird Centre and is well known for its
godwits.
On 18 November 1769,
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
landed on the Seabird Coast as a part of the
first voyage, as the
HMS ''Endeavour'' circumnavigated New Zealand.
Godwits migrate in huge flocks to and fro between New Zealand and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. Some of the weaker ones give up and stop at Australia or China. The most famous godwit, known as E7, has flown all the way from Alaska to New Zealand non-stop. Most other birds stop at China on the way.
Many bird-spotting posts are placed around the beach for bird watching, and a bird sanctuary located nearby provides for injured birds.
The New Zealand government purposely limits the local population for the sake of the godwits.
Reference
Beaches of Waikato
Firth of Thames
{{Waikato-geo-stub