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Visitors and residents at Omaha are being asked to take extra care around the Mangatāwhiri Spit as the nesting season for shorebirds, which starts in spring and extends through to February, gets underway.
The Omaha Shorebird Protection Trust has already seen 15 pairs of northern dotterels staking out territories, getting ready to breed.
Shorebird nests are just shallow scrapes in the sand, making them hard to spot and very vulnerable to disturbance.’
Successful breeding depends on minimising disturbances from predators such as rats and domestic cats, as well as human activity, and keeping dogs out of the sanctuary.
People are asked to give taped-off breeding areas a wide berth, because the birds need space so they can safely hatch and raise their chicks. Omaha spit is a site of international importance for shorebird protection.
