ON MY recent trip to New Zealand(NZ), the one bird that I was very keen to see was the NZ Shore Plover.
This small bird is one of the most threatened shorebirds in the world.
The best chance a member of the public has of seeing this bird, is a small population which exists on an offshore island known as Motutapu.
After some extensive research which meant chartering a private boat and walking a further five kilometres (with no guarantees), I felt extremely lucky to finally see one of the small birds in my binoculars.
The population on Motutapu Island is a translocated population which has been undertaken by the Department of Conservation.
A small number of the shore plovers have been breeding but their existence is a fragile one. These small birds have orange beaks and legs with a white circle on the top of its head.
If you are ever in New Zealand and see one of these birds, please enjoy your views from a distance as they can be sensitive to human disturbance.
Having worked with shorebirds in Australia for nearly ten years, the other place that I wanted to visit whilst in New Zealand was the Pukorokoro (Miranda) Shorebird centre.
This centre is located on the shores of the Firth of Thames, in the North Island.
Work is done in this area to educate visitors about shorebirds and to protect vital areas nearby which the shorebirds depend on to feed and roost.
At the time of my visit, there was approximate 5,000 Bar-tailed Godwits and 5,000 Oystercatchers that were coming into roost at a site which the centre manages.
Also, about half of the world’s population of Wrybill was visiting the area.
For someone like myself seeing so many birds in one place was truly inspiring and it is testament to the work which is being done by the people in the area to protect the birds.
I would totally recommend a visit.
The best times to see the birds is between September and March.
New Zealand is a country where most of its native wildlife is birds.
Without the conservation work that has been done in the last 40 years, many of these birds would be extinct.
I certainly take my hats off to the ‘Kiwis’ for the work they do as they are truly world leaders in how to undertake bird conservation.
