Ask Phoebe: Endangered birds have protected home near harbour bridge

Auckland Harbour Bridge. Photo / Steven McNicholl

On the approach to the harbour bridge from the North Shore, there is a small green shed on the left. Do you know what this is for? From memory, I think this may be left over from the days of bridge tolls. The patch of land around it could do with a bit of landscaping. Kim Netzler, North Shore.

The Transport Agency says the shed is on a patch of land occupied by the endangered and protected New Zealand dotterel and access to nesting sites near the shed is either banned or restricted. The agency says the area must remain undisturbed to help the birds survive.

What is going on with the pedestrian walkway across the Northern Motorway from Jacobs Ladder to Westhaven? We have been waiting for it to open for months. Hannah Markham, St Marys Bay.

How very timely. It's due to open on Saturday. Construction on the $7.9 million footbridge was stopped last January after fine lines were found in 11 of the 306 acrylic panels used to clad the footbridge. Tests showed the crazing had not affected the strength of the panels and the Transport Agency resumed construction of the footbridge in October.

Is it possible that there are shining cuckoos in the Auckland urban area? I thought I heard them in Western Springs and Avondale. Jacqui Dunn, Auckland.

Shining cuckoos, or pipiwharauroa, have been seen on the North Shore and in Mt Eden, as well as the central city. They are more populous in areas just outside the city boundaries, and in rural areas.