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The sole dotterel (tūturiwhatu) egg remaining at Tindalls Bay disappeared overnight on Friday, November 8.
Forest and Bird volunteer Derek Kelsey discovered the empty nest and found the parent birds missing as well. He said that closer inspection revealed no sign of egg shells, which could have indicated the nest was predated by a black-backed gull, cat or hedgehog. The parent birds were later found by volunteers, alive and well, though concern remains over the dog paw prints that Kelsey spotted within the fenced off area.
“We know that these are popular beaches, and not the best place for dotterels to have nested, but they have few places to nest since the peninsula has become so busy and this is where they have chosen,” Forest and Bird spokesperson Jenny Hanwell said.
Every year, residents across the Hibiscus Coast closely follow the plight of these plucky birds on Facebook.
Manly resident Di Waring, who posts the social media updates, said that support from the community has been overwhelming.
”They have really taken these little birds into their hearts and recognise how lucky we are to have them here,” she says.
Forest and Bird dotterel minders reported a difficult start to the breeding season, with the first nest being flooded at high tide, although this one egg had survived. Kelsey and the group of minders trained through Auckland Council’s dotterel programme, had installed fencing, signs supplied by Council, and built a sandbag wall around the nest to protect the last egg.
“Dotterels are protected under the Wildlife Act 1953, making it an offence to disturb them, but neither the Department of Conservation or Council have the capacity to enforce this on a daily basis, so it takes the whole community to come together to give these birds a chance.
“When people and dogs get too close to nests the birds will leave the eggs (or chicks) to distract the threat, leaving the nest vulnerable to predators and over-heating in some cases,” Hanwell said.
Three pairs of Northern New Zealand dotterels (tūturiwhatu) reside in the Big Manly/Tindalls Beach area, and the group said they expect there to be more nests, including from this resilient pair who have raised chicks before. Hanwell said the birds would try to nest one or two more times if the first nest failed. Last year, all attempts failed but the year before, four chicks hatched from two nests, and two survived. Other dotterel nesting sites in the region include Waiwera and Shakespear Regional Park.
“Nest sites will be well marked and we are simply asking people to keep their distance, as the birds are so easily disturbed, and ensure dogs don’t go anywhere near the birds. In particular, we all need to remember to keep our pets off the beaches during the day and under control when the bylaw comes in on December 1,” Hanwell said.
The Department of Conservation site says the dotterel population is recovering, though it is an endangered species with only around 2500 birds in the country.
“Dotterels are rarer than some species of kiwi, but sadly there is a dangerous minority that just don’t care. I wonder if their attitude would be as thoughtless if there were kiwi on the beaches?” Waring said.
Hanwell and the group of dotterel minders invite readers who notice a nest, or who would like to get involved in protecting the dotterels, to email j.hanwell@forestandbird.org.nz
