Ashburton gulls
MEMBERS OF the Ashburton branch, concerned about the degradation of the unique braided river bed ecosystems in their region, have helped out with a survey of the blackbilled gull. The national survey was carried out late last year by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. The OSNZ had been concerned that numbers of the endemic gull had been declining. The bird, often confused with the more common coastal red-billed gull, depends on braided river beds for nesting. Three nesting colonies, comprising some 5,700 birds, were found on the Ashburton River, suggesting that the local population is maintaining its numbers. The river — target of a number of planned irrigation schemes — is one of the most important braided river habitats for bird life in Canterbury, containing nationally and regionally important populations of a number of species. Vv
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/FORBI19960501.2.11.7
Bibliographic details
Forest and Bird, Issue 280, 1 May 1996, Page 13
Word Count
137Ashburton gulls Forest and Bird, Issue 280, 1 May 1996, Page 13
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