Entire island's worth of incredibly rare birds vanish after relocation to new home

Thursday, 2 July 2020

One of three incredibly rare shore plovers, or tūturuatu, spotted on Plimmerton Beach, Porirua, by bird lover Lisa Fraser.

An island’s-worth of an incredibly rare bird species have flown the coop – most missing, presumed dead.

All 29 shore plovers or tūturuatu relocated to Mana Island off the coast of Porirua since February, part of an effort to save the species, have vanished.

It appears about five survived contact with the mainland. Only about 250 of the species remain in the world.

Endangered shore plovers released back on Mana Island after the population was decimated by a rat in 2012. There are only 250 of these birds left in the wild and in captivity.

The Department of Conservation hopes to recapture some at nearby Plimmerton Beach next week.

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Wearing its leg bands is one of the tūturuatu spotted by Lisa Fraser.

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Mana Island off the coast of Porirua, previously home to endangered tūturuatu.

Shore plover recovery group leader Dave Houston said one of the challenges with moving tūturuatu to new islands was “fixing” them to their homes.

“We do that by holding them in an aviary for a week or so to try and fix them – and it doesn’t always work.”

In happier days, one of the shore plovers released onto Mana Island in February.

He said they would sometimes disappear entirely and get taken out by predators, other times they might fly away for an “OE, if you like”, but return to their island home.

None of the birds released since February remained on the island, he said.

A shore plover was also spotted at Titahi Bay, on the mainland near Mana Island.

“We have seen them in a few places. Early on, there was Miramar Peninsula, near Foxton Beach, Titahi Bay … Pāuatahanui Inlet, but Plimmerton seems to be the favourite spot.”

Relocations this year included a flight from Christchurch of five tūturuatu during lockdown, made with special dispensation.

Houston said the department would try to recapture the Plimmerton birds next week using special equipment and expert staff.

“We're also looking to put radio transmitters on the birds.”

Houston said using islands further away from the mainland would help limit dispersal “but we just don't have any that are predator free and suitable”.

They would be reviewing the latest attempts to transfer the birds. Moving tūturuatu at a younger age would likely help them stay put, but the lockdown had limited the department’s ability to move the birds when they wanted to, he said.

Hutt woman Lisa Fraser photographed three of the tūturuatu at Plimmerton on Sunday, heading there after seeing a tip on the eBird app.

She spotted a plover foraging near the fire station, she said.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was right there in front of me … and I thought ‘am I dreaming?’, I saw another one pop out from behind the rocks, and then a third one.”

She said it appeared they were now living on the beach – but she didn’t know how safe it would be for them.

“They are very under threat, especially from the Norwegian rat, and from cats.”

CLOSE TO EXTINCTION

Tūturuatu /shore plover were once common around the coastlines of New Zealand but haven’t been seen living on the mainland since the 1880s. They are highly susceptible to predation and introduced predators are the main reason for shore plover vanishing from New Zealand’s coastlines. Offshore islands are a refuge from cats and rats; however, all sites are at risk of rat invasions.

- Department of Conservation