Rare fairy tern gets 20% population boost with birth of seven chicks

Danielle Clent 11:11, Feb 13 2020

The birth of seven new fairy terns has boosted the population of one of New Zealand's rarest birds.

The birds, also called the tara-iti, have "teetered" on the brink of extinction since 1970, the Department of Conservation said.

There are fewer than 40 adult fairy terns and they continue to be critically endangered despite intensive management.

However, the latest breeding season has boosted the population by about 20 per cent.

"Seven chicks is a great season – last year (2018-2019 season) we only had two chicks fledge, so this is a big improvement," biodiversity ranger Ayla Wiles said.

Continued and watch video

New Zealand’s rarest bird on the brink of extinction: 'This is a crisis year'

David Williams of Newsroom.co.nz08:55, Jan 16 2019

Concerns over the fairy tern have prompted the Department of Conservation to re-establish a specific recovery group.

This story was originally published on Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.

A disastrous breeding season has plunged one of the world's rarest birds even deeper into crisis.

The critically endangered fairy tern/tara iti, the country's rarest native bird species with fewer than 40 individuals, has had only three chicks hatch this season.

New Zealand Fairy Tern Charitable Trust convenor Heather Rogan says one chick has gone missing, which could make this the worst breeding season in at least 27 years.

The Department of Conservation maintained on Monday that all three chicks were alive and well. If that's the case and they all fledge, this would still be the worst season since 1996-7, the last time three chicks fledged.

More worrying than the lack of chicks, Rogan says, is that breeding pairs have been decimated. She estimates there are only five pairs left across breeding sites on beaches north of Auckland – when over the last decade there have been between eight and 10 pairs.

She describes the season as "disastrous". "I would say that this is a crisis year."

Melanie Scott, who lives near Mangawhai and is a member of the group Save Te Arai, says: "We're on the verge of losing this bird."

Read on  

Rare fairy tern chick hatches in New Zealand

‘Critically endangered’ bird has been on the brink of extinction since the 1970s

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 07 December, 2017, 2:22pm

UPDATED : Thursday, 07 December, 2017, 2:24pm

Conservationists are celebrating the birth of one of New Zealand’s rarest birds at Mangawhai.

The number of one of the country’s rarest birds, the New Zealand fairy tern/tara-iti, has been boosted by a chick successfully hatching at Mangawhai, in late November.

With a total population of around just 40 birds, the NZ fairy tern is critically endangered, and has teetered on the brink of extinction since the 1970s.

Department of Conservation Mangawhai Fairy Tern Ranger Keven Drew hopes the new chick will help boost fairy tern numbers.

“Although it is early days for the chick and the risks are high, we are hopeful he or she will continue to do well and fledge later in summer,” Mr Drew said.

Fairy terns nest on shell and sand banks just above high tide, which makes them vulnerable to rats, stoats and other predators, disturbance by people, 4WD vehicles and dogs. They are also at risk from stormy weather and very high tides.

“The birds cannot be transported to predator-free offshore islands because they are very particular about where they nest, and the chicks are not raised in captivity as they have to be looked after by their parents while they learn how to fish successfully” he said.

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New Zealand Fairy Tern – critically endangered tiny tern faces new threat

By Karen Baird, Tue, 26/01/2016 - 02:22

Around half of the ten or so New Zealand Fairy Tern pairs remaining in the world breed at the beautiful Northland harbour of Mangawhai. They nest on the enormous sandspit where the Department of Conservation and NZ Fairy Tern Trust maintain a trapping programme for predators and the nests are closely monitored during the breeding season.  However in recent years the so-called Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society (MHRS) have decided they want a mangrove-free harbour and applied to the planning authorities to allow removal of mangroves. In 2012 the Environment Court allowed for some removal in the middle harbour which was carried out this past winter. Conservationists have been concerned that removal of mangroves would deplete one of their major food resources, the gobies which live and feed amongst the mangrove pneumatophores. A foraging study was carried out by Karen Baird from the New Zealand BirdLife partner, Forest & Bird in collaboration with other scientists and published in Bird Conservation International (Ismar et al, 2014: Foraging Ecology and Choice of Feeding Habitat of the New Zealand Fairy Tern Sternula nereis davisae). The study showed that NZ Fairy Terns feed their chicks on these mangrove inhabiting gobies, preying on them when they move out of the mangroves at lower tide levels and into channels and pools on the tidal flats.  

MHRS have now unveiled plans for a ‘stage two’, to remove more mangroves. This is despite a ruling already by the Environment Court that the area they’ve targeted should remain. There is increasing pressure in northern New Zealand from Tauranga northwards for councils to relax planning rules around mangroves which have previously enjoyed reasonable protection due to their high ecological values.  

Mangroves are continually the target of prejudice, considerable misunderstanding and what amounts to a concerted campaign often based on misinformation.  These negative views on mangroves include that they are: an introduced ‘pest’ plant which is taking over our northern harbours, limiting people from enjoying open space for speed boats and jet skis;  obstacles to marina developments and reclamations, and are seen by developers as reducing the attractiveness of the coastal properties they hope to sell.

Mangroves are native to New Zealand. Their ecological value as nurseries for marine life is well known, they are home to threatened bird species such as the Australasian Bittern and Banded Rail, and act as natural buffers protecting shorelines from erosion.

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Fairy tern crowned NZ Seabird of the Year

The fairy tern has won the New Zealand Seabird of the Year poll, after three weeks of close competition.

The poll is run by the independent conservation charity Forest & Bird.

The fairy tern and the Fiji petrel traded the lead in the poll several times. But a late surge saw it come out on top with 1882 votes. The Fiji petrel won 1801 votes, and 563 people voted for the little blue penguin.

The co-campaign manager for the fairy tern, conservationist and author Wade Doak, says the fairy tern’s win is great news for the species, and for the people who work so hard to protect it.

“Sadly, the dwindling numbers of fairy tern are disproportionate to their popularity, with only between 8-10 breeding pairs of the birds left,” says Wade Doak.

“However the upside is that there are plenty of people who are prepared to go to great lengths to save the fairy tern. Regardless of the conditions at Mangawhai Heads, you’ll almost always find a solitary figure – sitting on an upturned bucket – guarding a fairy tern colony.

“The courage and devotion of the public to saving these birds is incredible. Which is fortunate, because it’s entirely up to us as to whether the birds will survive,” Wade Doak says.

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Fears for rare bird in holiday season

The Department of Conservation (DOC) fears for the endangered fairy tern in Northland as the summer holiday season gets under way.

There are only 39 tara-iti left, including 12 breeding pairs, which live and nest in wildlife refuges in Northland.

Breeding season has just begun and continues until February, DOC conservation services ranger Vivienne Lepper says.

"This is a particularly vulnerable time for the birds, and with the summer influx of visitors to the area, we are asking locals to remind visitors of the laws, which include no dogs, cats or vehicles on the wildlife refuge and for people to keep their distance from the birds, their nests and their eggs."

The wildlife refuges are located at Waipu, Mangawhai, Pakiri and Papakanui Spit.

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Proposed subdivision would support, not imperil rare bird

A property developer says a proposed subdivision would support rather than imperil one of New Zealand's rarest birds.

That is despite fears the fairy tern could become extinct if the development on Te Arai Beach, south of Mangawhai proceeds.

Darby Partners principal John Darby says the new homeowners will actually help ensure birds such as the fairy terns survive.

"There's a full time ranger being funded by the land owners. The protocol for anyone residing on the site is there be no dogs or cats or other animals ... and that all the land owners are actively participating and assisting in the funding of a protection programme"

A private plan-change application went before an independent hearings panel, appointed by the Auckland Council, on Monday.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/223922/proposed-subdivision-would-support,-not-imperil-rare-bird