West Coast village going dark to save baby seabirds blinded by street lights

Monday, 2 November 2020

The Westland Petrel Conservation Trust and DOC release fledglings found disoriented, but others are not so lucky and can be hit by a car or eaten by predators.

Westland petrel chicks embarking on an 11,000km trip across the Pacific are dying as soon as they set off because of street lights in busy South Island tourist town.

In what is believed to be a New Zealand first, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency proposing to turn off the streetlights in Punakaiki from November to January when the fledglings leave their nest burrows.

They become disoriented by the light and crash-land on to road, where they are often severely injured, struck by cars or eaten by predators.

The fledglings are born in burrows dug into the hillsides of the West Coast village – home to the popular pancake rocks. The parents arrive from South America every March to breed, prompting locals to celebrate with a festival.

**READ MORE:

Westland Petrel fledglings get disoriented and crash land because of street lights in Punakaiki.

* Seabirds released on Mana Island to establish breeding population

* LED street lights cut council costs but shine lost for some

* Crash-landed birds massacred by early morning traffic

Westland Petrel Conservation Trust chairman Bruce Menteath said NZTA had finally taken notice of advocates, who had been campaigning for years about the dangers of streetlights.

About a dozen fledging birds each year were found dead after crash landing, he said. They can’t relaunch themselves because they need to take off from a height.

“They navigate by the sun, stars and moon, so when they see the lights they get disoriented and circle around and crash land. We’re talking about hundreds of birds over the years,” he said.

A group of young Westland petrels rescued and due for release.

Some birds, if they were not killed or injured, would starve or be killed by cats or dogs while wandering around looking for a launch site.

There are about 6000 breeding pairs in New Zealand.

Menteath said the installation of LED lights last summer had made the issue much worse.

“The West Coast night sky is as good as you can get in New Zealand so a lot of people were unhappy with the new brighter LED lights,” he said.

Margaret Austin, who led the project that culminated in the Aoraki-Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, said the blue-white 4000K LED bulbs were detrimental not only to nocturnal animals but also to human health. Footpaths could be lit up using bollards with downward directed lights using only as much illumination as needed, she said.

An NZTA spokeswoman said the Punakaiki trial was triggered by the replacement of six of 15 street lights last summer. The LEDs were more attractive to the endangered birds than the old lights.

Hutton's shearwater birds are also susceptible to crash landing after becoming disoriented by street lights.

Hoods were trialled to keep the light away from the birdpaths, but that did not work.

This summer, motorists would be advised to take extra care and signs would put on either side of the 3.4km section of highway affected. Longer-term, NZTA was investigating low-emission lighting in environmentally sensitive areas, the spokeswoman said.

Punakaiki Beach Camp owner Craig Findlay said he was in favour of helping the Westland petrels but was concerned about people walking on the uneven footpaths without streetlights.

“The footpaths are a tripping hazard and need to be fixed first. It’s a health and safety issue,” he said.

NZTA said the footpaths would be upgraded as part of a proposed shared path/cycleway for the village. It urged people walking at night to carry torches for their own safety.

Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said the birds were special to the area and needed protection.

“It’s busy in the summer but Punakaiki has a fairly quiet nightlife, but in saying that you don’t want it to feel like a ghost town if people are rolling through and looking for a meal or for people to feel unsafe walking at night,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust is concerned about Kaikōura’s streetlights endangering seabirds.

Hutton's shearwaters returning from their over-winter migration to Australia and young birds leaving their mountain burrows crash land after becoming disoriented by artificial lights in the town.

NZTA said it would not be turning off the lights in Kaikōura because it had a lot more traffic and people than Punakaiki.

The trust urged Kaikōura residents to turn off non-essential outside lights, close curtains at night, keep cats and dogs inside at night and drive carefully particularly from mid-March to early April.