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After three difficult breeding seasons, Whangaparāoa’s Dotterel Minders (WDM) are celebrating a rare success, with one chick successfully fledging from a nest at Gulf Harbour Marina, but say new dog access rules failed at Big Manly.
The group says the 2025/26 breeding season began with an unexpected discovery when a well-known pair of New Zealand dotterels moved away from their traditional nesting area at Big Manly Beach and established a nest at the ‘Hammerhead’ in Gulf Harbour Marina.
The move was a surprise, with the pair, (flagged as EDS and ESC) believed to have relocated because of increasing pressure on their usual habitat at Big Manly from human activity and dogs.
The pair laid three eggs in September, prompting volunteers to rope off the area and install protective signs around the nest site. Two chicks eventually hatched, although one was unfortunately taken by a black-backed gull.
The marina location created its own challenges, WDM says, with large numbers of ferry passengers passing through the area each day. To protect the birds, a roster was organised and seven volunteers contributed more than 1000 hours monitoring the site during the busiest periods.
The surviving chick, later flagged as ETM, fledged in December and was the first successful breeding in three years.
While the Gulf Harbour nest provided cause for celebration, WDM says conditions at Big Manly Beach remained challenging, in spite of new dog access rules.
The remaining breeding pair nested on a narrow ledge above the beach in October. Although one chick hatched and reached the beach safely, it survived only two days before being lost, most likely to a black-backed gull.
The season also highlighted continuing concerns around dog management at Big Manly. A new two-year trial of dog access rules, supported by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, failed to deliver the protection volunteers had hoped for, WDM says.
Although an information day was held last September by Auckland Council Animal Management and WDM at the beach, with new larger signs installed and leaflets distributed, many of the wooden marker posts were vandalised or stolen.
WDM believes the rollout suffered from signs arriving too late, unclear beach markers and poor compliance from some beach users.
