Awana Bay is an important ecological, cultural and historical site on Aotea. The promontory at the northern end is of considerable cultural significance to Māori as it is a historical pā site. The Awana estuary and stream is home to pāteke and a pied shag colony. While there were once over 100 pāteke found in and around the lower Awana stream today there is a regular population of no more than 24 birds.

A few variable oyster catchers, dotterels and other sea birds frequent the beach. The cliffs at the southern end are one of the few remaining breeding sites for grey faced petrel/ōi on Aotea.  There are around 75 burrows at this site with ~45 of those active when last tested in November of 2022. While most of the coastal and inland wetlands around Awana have been lost to farming there are some remaining native vegetation remnants that need greater protection and restoration, including the ‘ecologically significant’ mānuka/Coprosma/sedge area adjacent to the road where two rare plants are found: the ground herb, Leptinella tenella, and a mānuka parasitic mistletoe, Korthalsella salicornioides.

Restoration/protective work

Restoration/protective work is being carried out at three main sites:

Grey faced petrel site/ōi (Awana cliffs)

To determine whether a burrow is active or not a method of ‘hazing’ is used by placing 3-4 bamboo skewers across the entrance. In 1998, seven of 30 burrows were found to be occupied. In July 2020, 58 of 76 burrows were active. In November 2022, 45 of 71 burrows were shown to be active using this method. Arrivals and departures of petrels from burrows at two sites were monitored from July through to December, 2020, and again from late November 2022 to mid-January 2023, using Browning Trail Cameras (Dark OPS 940 HD). Some excellent images of both adults and recently fledged chicks at these sites have been captured.

Wilding pines and pampas are significant weed issues at this site, and since the winter of 2021 significant removal work has been undertaken by the project, with most of the wilding pines now removed. There are a considerable number of young pōhutakawa growing at this site, which should now be able to grow unimpeded by the wilding pines.

Awana stream esplanade

This strip of land runs from the road entrance to the Awana campground, around the edge of the two DOC paddocks, along the true right of the lower Awana opposite the shag colony, finishing at the camping ground. This is an important area for pāteke breeding. A programme of predator control combined with native vegetation restoration work was started in mid 2019 at this site. Up until April 2023, flocks of no more than 20 birds were ever observed on the Awana stream since monitoring began in July 2019. To see a flock of around 75 birds in 2023 was truly exciting, especially after the carnage brought by Cyclone Gabrielle in February of 2023. Why there were so many birds on this occasion is not known. Longer term records indicate pāteke are on the decline on Aotea because of several factors.

Work is in progress to restore the native vegetation on the Awana stream esplanade, but this is very challenging given the density of kikuyu, occasional storm sea surge (aka June 2021), occasional cattle incursion and lack of availability of key species needed for this area including swamp ribbonwood (Plagianthus divaricatus) and Coprosoma propinqua. Since the winter of 2021 around 300 plants have been planted at this site. In the winter of 2023, mānuka (35), karakeke (11), cabbage trees (26) and red matipo (21) were planted at this site.

Rare plant site

The Esplanade strip beside the road at Awana is an ecologically important site for two rare plants: the ground herb, Leptinella tenella, and a mānuka parasitic mistletoe, Korthalsella salicornioides. The Council land has been well fenced to protect both species, but the DoC paddock was grazed by cattle up until July 2023, despite containing some of the best specimens of the dwarf mistletoe. Following discussions with the owners of the cattle about the ecological importance of the site they agreed to have the paddock closed off for restoration. In September 2023 a community agreement between DOC and AGBET was signed off, enabling the restoration of vegetation in this paddock. In 2023, mānuka (35) and red matipo (5) were planted on the Council managed esplanade strip. Mexican devil weed was removed from the far end of the esplanade.  Restoration of the DOC paddock commenced in 2023 with the planting of some karakeke (8) and cabbage trees (12).

In April 2023, Karen Deyner from the National Wetland Trust visited the Awana estuary sites to evaluate what was already growing and to provide advice on future plantings and restoration work. This advice was invaluable. We observed that sites where Leptinella was growing well were mostly under a canopy of Coprosma propinqua with moist bare soil under that canopy. This is therefore an important species to plant for restoration at this site. So in January 2023 I collected seed of this species as well as some swamp ribbonwood to try and propagate seedlings of both. While the C. propinqua germination rate was high none of the swamp ribbonwood seeds grew. A tray of the C. propinqua (~200 plants) was transferred to the Aotea Community Native Nursery late last year where they were repotted and being grown on to a size suitable for planting in 2025.