Wild for Taranaki general manager Danielle Gibas. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Community-based trapping efforts are being credited with vulnerable coastal birds - the tūturiwhatu (Northern New Zealand dotterel) and ōi (grey-faced petrel) - extending their range and returning in increasing numbers to Taranaki.
Ōi are being spotted as far south as Ōpunake, while tūturiwhatu have climbed in number from one or two individual birds 30 years ago to about 50 today, with 15 breeding pairs.
Ōi are nocturnal seabirds, which nest in burrows and are known for their distinctive call.
Wild for Taranaki general manager Danielle Gibas said, until recently, it was thought their southern-most colony was at Tongapōrutu in North Taranaki.
"The Rapanui Grey-Face Petrel Trust have established a fence around a colony," she said. "We knew that was the southern-most mainland colony for a long time and people had a hunch the at birds were travelling further south.
"This year, they are turning up all over the place and we've found a number of additional burrows as well, which is incredibly exciting."
She said ōi returned at this time of year to mate, and were most likely heard or spotted flying in pairs above coastal cliffs. Their exact number was hard to calculate.
"We know, at Rapanui, when the fence was put in in 2003, they only had eight burrows, which would be 16 individual birds.
"We now have 150 burrows with that fenceline, so much so that the birds have overflowed and are coming further down the coast. We're talking definitely hundreds.
"They look for a specific soil type, so they're able to burrow into it. They'll look for vegetation cover and they also need a vantage point to be able to take off."
Ōi or grey-faced petrel are clumsy and vulnerable to stray dogs. Photo: Shaun Lee
Gibas said ōi were clumsy on land and public needed to look out for them.
"When the birds land and are wandering around, they are so incredibly vulnerable, completely defenceless.
"Really, the message is please keep your dogs on the lead, especially around coastal vegetation. If you can keep your dog on the lead, or inside and under control that will make an incredible difference."
Wild for Taranaki field worker Emily Roberts. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
At the Waiwhakaiho rivermouth, Wild for Taranaki field worker Emily Roberts had her eyes peeled for another elusive manu scooting among the driftwood.
"Oh, look there's one there," she said. "Come to say hello.
"This is a beautiful tūturiwhatu. It's having a bit of a feed on the sandhoppers.
"They are also known as the New Zealand dotterel - there's about 2500 in the country and they are only found here."
Not so long ago, tūturiwhatu were rarely seen in Taranaki.
"Previously, census data indicates we've only had really small numbers in Taranaki," Roberts said. "In the 2011 census, there was only eight birds, but since 2017, we've noticed there's a few more around.
"Lots of conservation volunteers mainly have worked to protect these manu and now we reckon there's around 50 of them."
This summer, four Waiwhakaiho dotterels were banded.
"Since then, three of them have stayed reasonably local, but one of them has flown all the way up to Port Waikato, so that's over 200km away.
"It looks like, in terms of the tūturiwhatu population, we've actually got a quite connected west coast."
The relationship works both ways.
The tūturiwhatu or Northern NZ dotterel were down to 11 in a 2011 census. Photo: supplied/wild for taranaki
"There was also another dotterel with an engraved leg flag that was called JAM that turned up around the Taranaki coast," she said.
"It turns out JAM was banded at Bethells Beach or Te Henga near Auckland, and has turned up here and successfully raised chicks as well."
The message for the public regarding the dotterels was similar to the grey-faced petrels - keep dogs on a leash, cats inside and avoid disturbing the manu.
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