Pest traps used to help dotterel breeding season
Sunday, 26 May 2013
The Department of Conservation leads the Rena Recovery wildlife
programme. This programme supports a number of established
community initiatives to protect endangered species which were
affected by the Rena oil spill. One major focus is the breeding
success of New Zealand dotterel along Bay of Plenty beaches.
New Zealand dotterel are small shorebirds that nest along the
coastline of the upper North Island, including Bay of Plenty. They
are threatened by introduced mammal predators, loss of breeding
habitat, and are often disturbed or endangered by vehicles and
other human activities on the beach.
Sixty of these birds were caught as a pre-emptive measure when the
Rena cargo ship first grounded, and twenty of these birds came from
Maketu. They were held in captivity for two months to ensure they
were not affected by oil washing ashore. Sadly three of the Maketū
birds died while in captivity.
As a result of all of this disruption, the dotterel breeding last
season was not very successful, in particular due to the smaller
numbers of birds at breeding sites during October and November
2011.
Rena Recovery is supporting programmes that will help the
dotterel breeding season get back to normal post-Rena.
One of the most effective techniques to improve breeding success
is to set traps to reduce the number of predators near breeding
sites.
Julian Fitter, a passionate environmentalist and community
volunteer, is helping with the pest trapping programme at Maketū
spit and at Dotterel Point in Pukehina.
Julian is a man who wears many hats and it is through his role as
Chairman of the Maketū Ongatoro Wetlands Society and as the Eastern
Bay of Plenty Shorebirds Coordinator, that he has come to help with
the Rena Recovery programme.
"We are quite pleased with the breeding season this summer,
considering the disruptions of last season. The dotterel that were
in captivity seem to have fallen back into their usual routine.
Some appear to have left the Maketū nesting site, but more have
been counted at the Pukehina site, so I think we are still tracking
ok," he said.
"We have placed traps in the fences across Maketū spit, and we
have also put some right down the spit. These traps are for
catching hedgehogs, stoats and rats which are the main predators of
dotterel eggs and chicks."
The traps, funded by Rena Recovery, will be used for many years
and Julian is hopeful the Maketū Ongatoro Wetlands Society will
continue its work to protect dotterel with the support from the
community to achieve their ultimate goal of establishing the area
as a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance.
