This year has seen several uncommon waders on the Whanganui Estuary, the latest being a tiny, red-necked stint. I last photographed one here in 2006, so they are certainly rare in Whanganui. We do see them occasionally at Foxton and in other parts of NZ. The bird that has been here was always with four wrybill, and because these birds are so confiding, it enabled me to get very close to the red-necked stint, although the stint was quite nervous as he or she tried to hide behind the wrybill. A great little bird, that also migrates from the northern hemisphere, and is only the size of a sparrow - amazing.
