Endangered dotterels pick dangerous nest spot

Look out for these tiny birds at Piha Beach this summer. Photo / File

A group of endangered New Zealand dotterels have begun nesting at a Piha site where dogs roam off-leash during the day.

Auckland Council officers have taped off the nesting site, at north Piha at the junction of the Marawhara and Wekatahi stream, and urged people and their dogs to avoid the area.

Their nesting at the site had caught biodiversity rangers by surprise, as it had been many years since the birds had moved in there.

"Northern New Zealand dotterels are highly endangered, with around 2200 remaining, and are rare to breed on the west coast, so to see Piha becoming part of their expanded breeding grounds is fantastic news," council senior biodiversity advisor Ben Paris said.

But they had chosen a spot where dogs, which often destroy nests and eggs and kill birds and chicks, had been allowed to walk between sunrise and sunset without a leash.

"We want beachgoers keep an eye out for the dotterel - make sure people and dogs avoid the taped-off dotterel nest areas and encourage them to leave the nests alone," Piha resident and Waitakere Ranges Local Board member Sandra Coney said.

"We're asking visitors and locals who access north Piha from the beachfront road to keep their dog on a leash until they get down on the wet bit and stay away from the Marawhara lagoon area," she said.

"We are fortunate that these birds have come back to Piha and we all need to be their stewards."

Eggs are incubated for about a month, but are susceptible to getting cold if parents spend too long off the eggs defending their nest from dogs and humans.

The newly hatched chicks, looking rather like bumble bees with long legs, were quickly active.

"The parents guard them, but they must find all their own food," Paris said.

"Chicks can usually fly by the age of 6 to 7 weeks, but this time may be extended if their feeding is reduced by continual disturbance."

Two or three well-camouflaged eggs were laid in a scrape in the sand, commonly among shells and driftwood just above the high tide mark.

The northern New Zealand dotterel was a nationally vulnerable shorebird found only in this country.

It was once widespread and common, but only about 2200 birds were left.

This serious decline in numbers was due to a combination of habitat loss, predation by introduced mammals and disturbance during breeding.

The northern NZ dotterel was as threatened as the better-known kokako and North Island brown kiwi.

Help protect dotterels at the beach

• Be a wet sand walker: watch where you walk and try to keep below the high tide mark
• Be a responsible dog owner: Keep dogs on leashes and out of prohibited areas
• Be a responsible beach user: Don't take vehicles such as quad bikes or 4WDs onto beaches where dotterels are known to be nesting
• Give dotterels space: leave the immediate area if you see a dotterel that looks like it's pretending to have a broken wing, as this is a sign a nest is nearby, and keep away from taped-off areas on beaches.