Mostly just stuff I am doing to help the planet
Here is a one page instructional guide on how to read coloured bird bands. Band observations should be sent to bandingoffice@doc.govt.nz. Many birds now have ELFs (Engraved Leg Flags) sightings of ELFs on New Zealand dotterel (even if you can not read the letters on the flag) should also be sent to the Department of Conservation banding office.
Additional notes for Tara iti / NZ Fairy tern (2024):
B = Blue (blue can fade to gray)
K = Black
M = Metal
pG = Pale green
L = Lime green
I have been helping Forest & Bird campaign for the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan. I talk about some of the work I am doing in the Gulf here.
I have been working with Northern New Zealand dotterel (NNZD) for nearly five years now. I know this bird really well but I had to look a lot closer when I decided to try and make a decoy. Southern New Zealand dotterel (SNZD) are in big trouble with a small and declining population. I decided to see if a decoy would work to help capture SNZD which have been difficult to catch outside of breeding season. A well placed decoy could help position one or more birds near a leg-hold noose-mat trap or in position for a canon net.
I put the decoy about 20m away from some NNZD at Point England and on both occasions each NNZD walked over to the decoy (with head bobs) in less than two minutes. They stayed just less than 1M away for two minutes before I removed the decoy.
I need to fix the beak, refine the plumage and add spikes to the removable legs but so far it looks promising.
UPDATE: I have made a small flock of them. They are not quite right but should do the job.
I have been 3d printing New Zealand fairy tern decoys. It’s been a great challenge and a very worthwhile project. With help I have documented the why’s and hows on the Gulf Journal.
The population of any given species needs to be strong enough to handle destructive natural and made made events. Without this resilience one event can wipe a species of the face of the planet forever. In New Zealand our rarest endemic breeding bird is the New Zealand fairy tern. With a population of only 40 birds this is the breakdown for the 2017-18 season.
It’s a fragile population with too many males (1:2 ratio). The other major concern is that during breeding season 80% of the population is on the same 40km stretch of coast. Here is where the breeding happened in 2017-18:
East coast:
Waipu 2
Mangawhai 5
Pakiri 1
West coast:
Papakanui 2
The fragility is particularly exposed when we think about the threat of an oil spill from the RMS Niagara. This wreck is a time bomb just off the coast from this critical breeding habitat. Even a small amount of the submerged oil could easily cover the fairy terns breeding grounds for weeks, starving the birds to death in a matter of days.
Book recommendation: This book by a NZ adventurer and herpetologist is awesome. It’s a refreshingly honest collection of great adventures and scientific discoveries. I throughly enjoyed Tony’s detailed descriptions of New Zealand’s treasures, his passion is inspirational. I really appreciated him sharing the highs & lows of what has been an outstanding career… so far. Get it here.
I made iNaturalists observation of the week. Read about leaf-veined slugs here.
I have been working with Destination Great Barrier Island and the Great Barrier Island Local Board to create a new brand and website for Aotea/Great Barrier Island. The project leverages the Island’s new status as a Dark Sky Sanctuary (one of only three in the world). I spent a lot of time on the Island photographing places, nature and the night sky. I have been really inspired by the people, there are many environment advantages to small communities. Isolation and sustainability go hand-in-hand to create a more resilient system. The Island is already leading the way for how to live off-the-grid and as ecotourism grows I expect to see more green growth leadership on the Island.