New Zealand Dotterel.

Tuateawa is a place of many and varied pleasures. One of these is surely a walk along Waikawau Bay. Sometimes yours are the only footprints, often there are shellfish to be gathered. After a storm, amongst all the other debris, you might get a good haul of kauri gum. One thing you can always depend on is finding some N.Z.Dotterel (N.Z.D.) At last census in 2004 there were some 1700 birds of the northern race of this species in the whole of NZ. In the whole world in fact because these birds do not emigrate. There aren't huge numbers on the beach as they require a minimum of half a kilometre of beach for each breeding pair. In 1987, before conservation measures were introduced there were only five birds on the beach. The most recent census found ten breeding pairs.

It is always going to be an endangered species as it is so dependent on human management. The good news is that it does respond well although management needs to be quite intensive. Waikawau is one of only two key breeding sites on the Coromandel. Consequently it attracts a big management effort including the fencing of nesting areas and the oversight of a warden during the breeding season. Predator control is included as part of the Moehau Ecology Group's (M.E.G.) Kiwi Recovery project.

Most of the negative factors for the N.Z.D. arise from the fact that it needs to be where we want to be, the beach! Human impact from coastal development, the exercising of dogs and the use of vehicles can be major. At Whangamata last summer only one bird fledged from 29 eggs laid. Dogs were a big factor in the loss of chicks. At other local beaches vehicles probably destroy a number of nests as D.O.C. does not have the resource to monitor all breeding sites.

On Waikawau breeding results can vary. Despite best efforts predators do have an impact. The hedgehog, an animal that we tend to have some affection for, is a big nocturnal predator of eggs and chicks. More hedgehogs are trapped here than mustelids. Beatrix Potter, in humanising some members of the animal world,with characters like Mrs. Tiggy Wiggy, has probably done the rest quite a disservice!

Last season Spring Tides and following seas washed away many nests.

The N.Z.D. does have the ability to quickly replace a nestful of lost eggs and this gives it the ability to respond positively to conservation initiatives. They are quite long lived birds and so have maybe as much as twelve years to replace themselves. It has been calculated that a pair need only to average 0.326 chicks fledged per year to maintain the population. The good news is that conservation has raised this to an average figure of 0.77 chicks fledged/pair/year on Waikawau. Waikawau birds are now helping to populate other beaches. There has been a general increase in the overall N.Z.D. population since the first recovery strategy was put in place in 1993.

Should you fancy a trip to Colville around Anniversary Day or later you can get a good idea of just how successful a year the local N.Z.D. has had. At the end of the breeding season dotterel tend to flock up at Colville Bay. The new birds lack the reddish chest of the adults.