New Zealand fairy tern: Stormy weather threatens eggs of country's rarest bird

Friday, 13 November 2020

The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has never been truer than for the country's rarest bird, the tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern.

With fewer than 40 birds in existence, every egg counts for the small coastal-dwelling bird, which has teetered on the brink of extinction since the 1980s.

So when heavy rain and severe winds were forecast for Northland last Thursday, Department of Conservation rangers took matters into their own hands, transferring nine eggs from beach nests to Auckland Zoo for incubation.

13112020 news photo supplied by Auckland Zoo. Auckland Zoo bird keeper Catherine Francescon helps care for the precious eggs of the nearly extinct tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern.

“It’s been a dramatic start to our fairy tern season, but with quick action we have the nine eggs in a safe environment at the zoo,” ranger Shelley Ogle said.

**READ MORE:

The New Zealand fairy tern (tara iti) nest in small scratchings on the beach – hiding them from the view of natural predators flying above but making them vulnerable to introduced pests and humans. (File photo)

* NZ fairy tern: Pilots flouting new rules could drive rarest bird to extinction

* New Zealand fairy tern: Battle lines drawn to help protect country's rarest bird

* Man-made nest sites to boost breeding for endangered fairy tern/tara iti

Each New Zealand fairy tern chick that manages to hatch this year will be precious. (File photo)

* Billionaire’s golf tourism vision for Mangawhai

“We will keep an eye on the weather, the adult birds and the eggs over the coming weeks, with the aim of moving the eggs back to a safe beach nest prior to hatching.”

Tara iti nest on shell and sand banks, sometimes just above spring high tide, leaving them vulnerable to stormy weather coinciding with very high tides and strong winds.

The birds are also vulnerable to predation and disturbance by people, vehicles and aircraft, so all nest sites are fenced off and the main breeding ground at Mangawhai is protected by new no-fly rules.

A dedicated team of seven DOC fairy tern rangers and numerous community volunteers have been busy since September, trapping for predators near the nesting area, fencing off nesting sites and preventing nesting birds from being disturbed.

The birds will continue to be monitored during the breeding season.

Auckland Zoo works closely with DOC on many threatened native species’ recovery programmes, and is delighted its bird keepers can contribute their specialist knowledge to help the tara iti, said birds team leader Carl Ashworth.

“Our part in this great team effort is incubating these eggs under the exact climatic conditions – even temperature and high humidity – they would be under in the wild.

“As ‘egg parents’ we’re also mimicking the parents’ behaviour by turning the eggs several times a day and setting the incubators on a ‘slow rocker’ to replicate how their parents naturally move.”

The rocking movement also helps mix up the nutrients and protein within the egg, which the embryo feeds on while it’s developing, he said.

“Everything is geared to ensuring the eggs develop as they need, ahead of their being returned to wild nests, where they’ll hopefully go on to successfully hatch and fledge.”

Once widespread around the North Island and on the eastern South Island, the New Zealand fairy tern now breeds at only four main nesting sites, found at Kaipara Harbour’s Papakanui Spit, Pakiri Beach in north Auckland, and Waipū and Mangawhai sandspits in Northland.

To protect the bird, people are asked to stay out of taped-off or fenced areas, use designated walkways, follow dog and vehicle bylaws, and remove bait and rubbish from the beach to deter rats and other predators.