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Auckland Council has confirmed that there will be temporary changes made to dog access rules at Big Manly and Tindalls Beaches as part of a plan to increase protection for native shorebirds.
For the past five years, a team of volunteers led by Derek Kelsey have looked after New Zealand dotterels on these beaches, raising awareness amongst the community and installing fencing, signs and pest traps around nests. However despite their efforts, losses have occurred, and nesting success has been limited by a number of factors, some of which are natural hazards like high tides. However, disturbance by people and dogs has had the biggest impact, he says.
“Dotterels leave their nests, a small scrape in the sand, whenever a dog approaches, leaving the eggs vulnerable to overheating and predation. With Big Manly being such a popular beach, a solution needed to be found to suit these particular circumstances,” Derek says.
Forest & Bird’s Whangaparāoa Dotterel Minders worked with Dog Friends Auckland and Council to develop a unique proposal, presented to the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board by Forest & Bird’s Jenny Hanwell earlier this year. This solution was intended as an alternative to Council’s proposed dog ban on parts of Big Manly and Tindalls Beaches put forward as part of the public consultation on dog access in February.
Under the new rule for these beaches, wherever a nest is created, a fenced area will be installed, along with red markers (up to 50m away from the nest where feasible), prohibiting dog access to that area. In addition, a 200m dogs on leads zone will be marked by orange posts.
Dog Friends Auckland’s Claire Teirney says “this temporary change provides a more flexible option for dog walkers, and ensures that protection for shorebirds is increased without unnecessary restrictions in areas where they aren’t nesting.”
Dotterel minder volunteer Di Waring recently discovered one of the Big Manly dotterel pairs had moved to the Hammerhead reserve at Gulf Harbour Marina to nest. “There are no dog access restrictions here, so we have installed signsto make people aware. Dotterels are protected under the Wildlife Act so we hope that locals and visitors will respect the birds and give them a fighting chance to raise chicks” she says.
Di provides regular updates on local facebook pages, including the Whangaparaoa Dotterel Minders group, and it is expected that the eggs will hatch around the third week of October.
Forest & Bird’s Jenny Hanwell saysthe team is delighted to be working in partnership with Council on this initiative and isgrateful to Hibiscus & Bays Local Board for their support. “While there is more to be done, an increase in shorebird protection all around the country is encouraging, with several beaches being closed to dogs during the breeding season, including Auckland’s Ōrere Point,” she says. However we recognise in busy urban areas like this, a compromise is needed. We hope that beach users will respect the new rules and share their space with these charismatic little birds that are only found in New Zealand, and are very much at risk”.
