7:10 am
on 22 April 2019
The
feisty northern dotterel, once one of the country's rarest birds, is no longer
a threatened species.
Against
all odds, the small mainland birds have thrived in coastal communities where
volunteer dotterel minders trap predators and ensure the birds nests are
protected in the dunes.
Conservation
scientist John Dowding was instrumental in setting up the dotterel protection
programme, and presented the latest research at the annual New Zealand Dotterel
Forum held in Auckland last week. The research was based on a series of
dotterel population census he undertook from 1989.
He said
the northern dotterel population is estimated to be 2500 - double the number in
the 1980s, and a target reached 15 years earlier than expected.
The
bird's conservation status has improved to 'at risk and recovering' - a
turnaround Dr Dowding said is a wonderful achievement.
"They're
not one of our rarest birds anymore, and that's reflected in the change in the
threat status we actually calling them recovering now because they've come back
from a little over a thousand birds and importantly a negative population
trend, they were declining," Dr Dowding said.
"It's
wonderful, there's no other word for it. It's one of relatively few species on
the mainland that we can point to and say look our conservation management has
made a huge difference here, and it's turned a species around."
Dr
Dowding said the dotterel have captured the imagination of the public, who have
helped protect the species.
"We
underestimated the extent to which the community would get involved. We didn't
realise that quite so many people would become passionate about these birds and
help them.
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