The Eagle Ray, or whai repo in Te Reo Maori, is a very common sight around beaches here in Tauranga and around the North Island and top of the South Island.

Known as kaitiaki or guardians, these underwater fliers are the jet fighters of the sea and though their tails lack the lethalness of stingrays, they more than make up for it in speed and agility.

An Eagle Ray forms a pit by expelling a jet of water from its gills. Photo: Nathan Pettigrew

It's a rather handy skill to have in order to escape the jaws of their main predators, orca and sharks.

While Eagle rays do have a sting, it is likely to be protein based, and soaking the wound in hot water will help to reduce any pain.

These rays are wider than they are long and can grow to 1.5m across and vary in colour from dark brown to light with blue-ish spots.

They are often seen around estuaries and in shallow parts of the beach, where you might see an ‘eagle ray pit' - an area that looks like a shallow crater where the ray has fed on shellfish and crabs.

A jet of water is pumped through their gills, taking sand with it, where eventually a crater forms below the ray.

In the middle of these pits, it is not uncommon to find broken shells which are left behind after the feeding.

On a few occasions, as the rays search out food, I have seen them ‘clambering' over rocks or foliage in shallow water.

They always seem to make to deeper water but I have to wonder if on occasion some rays ‘strand' from being in this predicament.

As the waters cool and summer comes to an end, these rays that have come into the warmer, safer waters to breed will begin their journey offshore, only to return again next spring.

I will be waiting with camera in hand.

For me, these creatures are an awesome sight to watch and during the warmer months, they offer a kind of viewing that many people can only dream of seeing.

How lucky are we to be living in this wonderful part of the World?

Nathan Pettigrew is a Tauranga based kayaker, carver and marine explorer.