New Zealand Dotterel

New Zealand Dotterel

New Zealand dotterels are endemic to New Zealand, which means they are only found in the wild in New Zealand.

New Zealand dotterels used to be common around many areas of New Zealand, but they are now an endangered species, and are only found in a few places. There are less New Zealand dotterels than there are kokako or yellow-eyed penguins.

The New Zealand dotterels need help from people, so they do not become extinct.
Keep reading to learn how you can help the New Zealand dotterels...

New Zealand dotterels are known as 'shorebirds' because they spend most of their time at the beach and around the seashore. They do not spend much time in forests or cities.

The Maori name for New Zealand dotterel is tuturiwhatu pukunui.

The scientific name for the New Zealand dotterel is Charadrius obscurus.

There are two types of New Zealand dotterel - Northern and Southern.

Southern New Zealand dotterel
The Southern New Zealand dotterel is only found on Stewart Island. It nests on the ground on mountain tops. There are only about 60 Southern New Zealand dotterels. Because they are so rare the Department of Conservation employs people especially to look after them.

Northern New Zealand dotterel
Northern NZ dotterel are found around the coast in the Waikato, Auckland and Northland regions. In the year 2000 there were only about 1300 Northern NZ dotterels. There are more Northern NZ dotterel than Southern NZ dotterel, but they are still endangered. And because of people and predators the population is going down each year.

Northern NZ dotterel nest on beaches above the high tide mark. Their nests are not made of twigs and moss like nests in trees, but are just a shallow hole dug into the sand.

Parent birds lay eggs in the spring and summer, between October and early January. Chicks hatch 28 days after the eggs have been laid. Because nests are on the ground the chicks have strong legs and can walk the day they hatch. When they are young they are very small and look like fluffy bumblebees with long legs. They can usually fly within 6-8 weeks.

New Zealand dotterel eggs and the chicks are the same colour as the sand around them and are very hard to see. This protects them from bigger birds (such as Black Backed Gulls) that eat eggs and young chicks. But being well-camouflaged also makes it easy for people to accidentally stand on nests or drive over them.

Why are Northern New Zealand dotterel endangered?
	Northern New Zealand dotterel are endangered because: Many beaches dotterel used to nest on have been built over by houses, motorways, jetties and wharves. Introduced predators (such as cats, stoats, ferrets, hedgehogs and rats) eat many eggs and chicks. This means that there are less and less adult birds. People disturb the breeding dotterel or destroy the nests.

People on beaches

Lots of people in New Zealand live near the beach, or go to a beach house for holidays. Every year more houses are built near the shore. This means more and more people use beaches that dotterel try to breed on.

Parent birds will not go near chicks or eggs while people are around because they do not want people to know where their chicks and eggs are. If parent birds are away from the nest for a long time the eggs or chicks can get too cold or too hot and may die.

When people are near a nest with eggs or newly hatched chicks, the parent dotterels will sometimes pretend they have a broken wing and try to lead people away from the nest. If you see a bird pretending it has a broken wing the best thing to do is to follow the bird, being careful you don’t tread on eggs or young chicks as you go. The parent bird will stop calling and pretending it has a broken wing once you are far enough away from its eggs and chicks that it is not worried you will step on them. Please don't try to find the nest.

When people are near older chicks, parent dotterels tell their chicks to hide. If people are around all the time, chicks may not spend enough time feeding. This means they grow more slowly. Chicks that grow slowly take longer before they can fly and are more at risk from predators. Some may die. If you know of a beach where there are dotterel chicks, it is best to avoid the area where the chicks are so their parents can make sure they get enough food. Let the Department of Conservation and other people that visit the beach know too.

Vehicles and horses on beaches

Some people ride horses and drive cars, motor bikes and quads bikes on some beaches where dotterel try to breed. It is nearly impossible for people to tell where a dotterel nest is when they are driving a vehicle along a beach. They don't avoid the nests, so dotterel chicks and eggs are killed by vehicles.

Scientists who studied an Australian dotterel species on a beach in Australia learnt that 8 out of every 10 eggs laid by the Australian dotterel were run over before it hatched. We don’t know how many New Zealand dotterel eggs are run over by vehicles because no one has studied it.

It is best not to ride or drive along beaches in the summer between October and February, as this is when eggs and chicks are likely to be around.

What you can do to help save New Zealand dotterels

Many people do not realise that birds breed on beaches and that their eggs and chicks can be run over or trodden on. If you live near a beach where there are dotterels over the summer, let people know that they may be nesting there and ask them to avoid walking above the high tide mark.
Don’t stay in areas of the beach when parent birds seem upset that you are there. Birds that are pretending to be injured always have chicks or eggs nearby. The parent birds will not go back to the eggs or chicks while people are near. Without their parents, dotterel eggs and chicks are more likely to die from chilling or overheating. They may not get enough food and predators can be attracted to areas when parent birds are calling a lot.
Do not take your dog on beaches where there are dotterel during the summer. They may try to pick dotterel chicks up in their mouths and kill or scare them, or they could chase adult birds away from their chicks. If you take your dog onto the beach make sure it is on a lead so it can’t chase birds.
If you see someone driving or riding horses on a beach where you have seen dotterels, let them know that there may be nests around and ask them to drive or ride below the high tide mark.

What to do if you find eggs or chicks on the beach

If you find a nest, mark it with a sign or fence. Make sure that signs or fences are not too close to nests (50 metres, or 100 steps, away from a nest is a good distance). Dotterels do not like nesting next to signs and fences, and people may come close to the nest to read the sign and accidentally stand on the nest. Please tell your local Department of Conservation office about the nest you have found.

Do NOT pick up eggs or chicks. Even if the parent birds are not around when you find them, they will come back later. If you move their eggs or chicks, the parent birds may not be able to find them again and they will die. Parent birds are much better at looking after eggs and chicks than humans are, so it is best to leave them on the beach. The only exception is if you know for certain that both parent birds have been killed (for example, if you see both parents being killed by a cat or a stoat). If you see this, ring your nearest Department of Conservation office.

The dotterel photos on this page are from the book 'Shorebirds of New Zealand'. By Brian Chudleigh. This book can be purchased directly from the author, price $28.45. Phone: 07-549 0916. Post: Levley Lane, Katikati.