'Total nesting failure' - disastrous breeding season for vulnerable Kaikōura birds

Monday, 7 December 2020

North Canterbury researchers are devastated after the “total nesting failure” of a species of vulnerable native birds on a local beach.

Preliminary monitoring of the banded dotterel population at Kaikōura’s South Bay revealed that the 2020 breeding season has been the worst on record.

For the first time, not a single chick has survived, mainly because they have fallen prey to cats, though nests have also been lost to hedgehogs and washed away by the tide.

Volunteer and researcher Ailsa Howard has been studying the birds for the past six years, and ramping up protection measures each breeding season to try to ensure their survival.

**READ MORE:

* Banded dotterel slaying 'a devastating loss' for Kaikōura study

* Researcher uses night cam footage to find friend's cat eating vulnerable dotterel eggs

* South Bay banded dotterel chicks nearly wiped out by cats

**

“I do this because I care deeply, so this cuts me right to the bone emotionally.”

Just two years ago in 2018, 25 pairs of banded dotterels bred on the strip of beach, Howard said.

In 2020 the same area has seen a drop of 40 per cent, to just 15 pairs.

Banded dotterels are deemed nationally vulnerable, the total population thought to be in the order of 18,000 birds and declining.

Howard wants New Zealand to start looking at laws to address the problem of predation, but said she is aware public opinion among cat lovers is not on her side.

She and her team even fielded death threats after a feral cat was trapped by a volunteer, even though it was rehomed rather than being put down.

“It’s very much a cultural thing, it’s enshrined that cats have a right to hunt. Birds are protected by law too, but it’s almost like anything done by cats is ignored.

“If someone let a dog out in a kiwi colony, it’d be an offence.”

Howard would like authorities to consider making it mandatory to keep cats inside at night, spaying females and humanely removing feral cats from the wild.

“I’m aware stepping forward has a sense of danger … I’ve had my private Facebook hacked.

“Cats are precious to people, but we have to change the nature of how we look after cats.”

Howard will be presenting her data to Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury and Kaikōura District Council staff on Monday night.

Of the 43 nests at South Bay, only three managed to get hatched chicks out of the nest. Seven chicks were immediately killed by cats.

“Nine chicks were killed in the nest at hatching, with the additional loss of two adult birds,” Howard said.

“Thirty eight of 43 nests have failed, and we currently have just five incubating eggs. So far we have recorded complete nesting failure at South Bay, with no fledglings.”

Howard said there is an ongoing misconception in the community that banded dotterels are doing well in Kaikōura, so volunteers decided to check north of nearby Gooch’s Beach with a thermal imaging scope.

“We recorded three chicks and one fledgling in this area, which is still a very low number considering the number of pairs over this considerable stretch … however it is a marginally better result than South Bay.”

She said while nest mortality seems to be slightly lower on this beach, the chicks are reasonably small and not guaranteed to survive, and there were no multiple chick families.

“This overall trend has worrying implications for the dotterels, and other shorebird species, of Kaikōura … there is little reproductive success regardless of the site.”

Howard said despite the grim results, she is trying to stay positive.

“It’s important to keep the hope alive, and use the information for change.”