Foxton Estuary welcome to returning birds comes with warning

Thursday, 19 October 2017

Godwits are returning from their northern hemisphere habitats.

A warning about taking Manawatū's ecological 'gemstone' for granted accompanies an invitation to welcome back the Foxton Estuary's migratory birds on Saturday.

The shoreline birds are returning from their northern hemisphere wintering grounds to the protected Ramsar site at the mouth of the Manawatū River, after spending eight or more straight days on the wing.

Kelvin Lane of the Manawatū Estuary Trust said the 250-hectare site is the southern hemisphere habitat of many bird species, and hosts birds that travel south to north within New Zealand.

With as many as 93 species identified, the estuary was declared an international Ramsar site in 2005.

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The migratory birds are being officially welcomed back at 11am on Saturday at the end of Robbie St in Foxton Beach, by members of the public and the Estuary Trust, and staff from Massey University and Department of Conservation.

'One of the threatened native species that relies on the estuary as a stopover is the wrybill. At last count there were fewer than 4000 of these birds left in the world, but at least 1 per cent of that population has been seen at the Manawatū Estuary,' Lane said

While spotting scopes will help make Saturday's viewing an enjoyable experience, Lane feared environmental degradation of the river mouth could be at a tipping point.

'International people like it because of the variety of birds you can see there, and because it's easy to access, but because it has always been there, we've taken it for granted.

'There are algae blooms in the estuary, while we've lost bi-valves [pipis and cockles] and crustaceans. We are fighting to maintain the integrity of the estuary, and we're losing the battle.'

Bird numbers are also falling.

Dr Phil Battley, Massey University ecologist and co-ordinator for the International Study of Migratory Birds, who will be at Saturday's welcome, said it was 'not unreasonable to be concerned' about the state of the estuary.

National populations of red knots had fallen by 50 per cent in the last 30 years. The fall could be due to international factors. However, the drop in local godwit populations had not been reflected nationally.

'There used to be 500 godwits at the estuary, now there are around 200.'

Battley said it seemed that possibly due to a number of disturbances disrupting the birds, along with other factors that had yet to be established, the godwits were choosing to breed elsewhere.