TOSSI – Think like a bird

After months of restrictions, there are thousands of us who can’t wait to escape the confines of our neighbourhoods and head to the bush, beach or bach. Already, locked in Aucklanders have flocked to beaches where the birds and the bees normally get on with the business of breeding, but this season the crowds are taking their toll on native wildlife.

Tūturiwhatu (northern New Zealand dotterel) is an endemic shorebird that also likes to hang out at the beach and sometimes breeding pairs are forced to share their nesting space with humans

I have dotterels nesting near my home, and to learn more about them I chatted with TOSSI chairperson and Tāwharanui citizen scientist, Alison Stanes. She has a lifetime of knowledge gained from monitoring, observing and informally researching tūturiwhatu, currently classified as “at risk (recovering)” by the Department of Conservation.

For decades, Alison has been a champion of the often overlooked shorebird, particularly because there are only about 2500 of them left – less than many species of kiwi. Conservationists avoid anthropomorphising wildlife, but Alison admits she finds dotterels’ behaviour endearing, and she has even witnessed what appears to be grieving when mates or chicks die. Being camouflaged offers some protection from native predators, such as black-backed gulls, but unfortunately humans and our four-legged friends can inadvertently disturb nests and crush eggs. Alison suggests that to avoid this we need to think like a bird – in other words consider where a bird builds a safe nest and watch how it behaves when protecting it. To sustain their population each breeding pair of dotterels needs to successfully fledge about one chick biennially. From experience, Alison says introducing cordons is the best way to protect chicks.

In 2001, Andrea Lord’s thesis Effects of human approaches to nests of northern New Zealand dotterels provided clear evidence that people and especially dogs do affect dotterels’ ability to breed. The study suggested disruption of incubation would be greatly minimised if dogs were banned within a 100-metre radius of dotterel nesting sites, and human access within a 50-metre radius on busy beaches, and 70 metres on remote beaches. When people set up for a day near a fenced-off dotterel area or hang their towels on the ropes, protective adults get stressed. If a tūturiwhatu is faking an injured wing and making a song and dance – follow its lead away from its nest. The exhausting diversion tactics leave eggs exposed to the elements and predators, thus reducing the chances of them successfully hatching.

Tāwharanui is a protected environment but tūturiwhatu still experience numerous challenges.

Hopefully, during the anticipated busy summer, beachgoers everywhere will observe the signs and ropes to give a struggling native bird the space it needs to get on with breeding.