June-July 2022 Fossicking Trip: 2) Birdlings Flat

Location of Birdlings Flat. Source: Google Maps.

From an information sign at the carpark. This shows the stretch of beach I walked today.

The thick fog meant I couldn’t see the Banks Peninsula cliffs until I got very close.

What I would have seen if the fog was not there.

Second beach visit on my South Island fossicking trip was Birdlings Flat. I arrived there at 9 a.m. on Thursday (23 June) in thick fog with the temperature below zero. I was aware that the mouth of the canal from Lake Forsyth/Wairewa had been dug out recently to flush out the lake. The last part of the canal follows a path under the Banks Peninsula cliffs (see photo above, second from left), so I walked over that way. At one point, looking back, I spotted a small seal pup struggling up the beach, maybe looking for a rest from the heavy swells.

Small seal pup struggling up the beach behind me.

Getting closer to the cliffs…

Birdlings Flat stones, mainly greywacke.

Looking down on the canal dug from Lake Forsyth/Wairewa. The sea had piled up stones to cut it off.

The view from down in the canal.

Turning around and looking at the stones thrown up by the sea to block the canal outlet.

More Birdlings Flat greywacke (mainly).

I spent 80 minutes on the beach – the fog kept the stones wet though the lack of sun made it hard to spot them. I didn’t find any agates (not unusual for me) but found some nice jaspers and quartzites.

Brecciated jasper.

Quartzite.

Another jasper.

Quartzite.

Quartzite.

Brecciated stone.

Quartzite.

Unknown.

Some background on Birdlings Flat for those who don’t know it can be found here in TumbleStoneTwo. Driving further south, my next stops for Thursday will be Timaru and Kakanui.

Waves at the foot of the cliffs.

The bridge over the canal, at the lake end.

Looking into the foggy distance.

TumbleStoneTwo webpage on Birdlings Flat.

A shortened version of this Post first appeared in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The next Post in this Series is on my visit to Timaru South. A Series Index is here.