NZ Dotterel Count

Forest and Bird, Volume 21, Issue 2, 1 May 1990, Page 6

NZ Dotterel Count

Ann Graeme

ESULTS from a New Zealand dotterel survey carried out last spring show that in northern North Island there are only 1312 known birds, underlining the threatened state of the species. A separate population of approximately 200 NZ dotterel live on Stewart Island. Volunteers from 17 Forest and Bird branches, the Ornithological Society and

Conservation Department staff walked hundreds of kilometres of upper North Island coastline in search of the threatened bird. Exceptional organisation and individual dedication was required for the succes0000000 of this important survey. The dotterel lives along sandy shorelines, where it breeds in rough depressions in the sand. In recent years it has failed to breed in many areas because of dis-

turbance by humans and dogs. The survey showed that many of the birds live on popular beaches, making breeding virtually impossible. Strategies are now being worked out to protect the species, including an extension of Forest and Bird’s successful nest-minding programme (see Forest & Bird, August 1989). 4

Number Sites Number Number of | of with NZ of NZ breeding NZ i. fee: Sites Dotterel Dotterel Dotterel Auckland 205 97 615 263 _ Auckland 60 34 275 116 _ Waikato/Coromandel 99 55 230 85 _ Bay of Plenty 43 29 192 79 _ TOTAL 407 215 1312 543