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only do they take the eggs and “ Not kill the chicks, but they also kill the adult birds. ” Dr Marie Ward
Council pussyfoots over dotterel destruction A refusal by Auckland Council to seriously address the cat problem on the Omaha Spit could sound the death knell for the area as a breeding site for the threatened NZ dotterel/tūturiwhatu. There are an estimated 26 breeding pairs at Omaha, which potentially means more than 200 eggs are laid in any one season – dotterel can lay up to four times in a season depending on the success of their eggs. In both the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, only eight chicks fledged and since then, the number has continued to decline. Only two chicks have so far fledged this season. Omaha Shorebird Protection Trust volunteer Dr Marie Ward believes that without some intervention, Omaha, once described as a “rare and special place” for dotterel, will cease to be a breeding site within two years. While the dotterel chicks face numerous threats to their survival – quad bikes, picnickers disrupting the chicks’ feeding habits, fishermen breaking the gate on the
Council inertia
Auckland Council is shirking its responsibilities as managers of the reserve by refusing to:
• Extend the predator proof fence to the low water mark to make it harder for cats to access the area
• Trap cats in the reserve, as it does in regional parks
• Close the reserve to the public during the dotterel breeding season
Without these measures, Omaha Spit’s future as a breeding ground for the endangered NZ dotterel is doomed. pest-proof fence and driving through the area in 4WDs, joggers and walkers, stray dogs, domestic dogs off-leash, drones, hedgehogs, weasels, stoats, hedgehogs and storms – the shorebird trust says cats by far are causing the greatest damage. Not only do they take the eggs and kill the chicks, but they also kill the adult birds. “If a cat approaches a male sitting on a
clutch of eggs, he will often stay too long trying to protect the nest so the cat will get both the bird and the eggs,” Ward says. Trust volunteers have found the carcasses of numerous dotterel on the public side of the pest-proof fence and have reams of photos from sensor cameras of cats with birds in their mouths. Despite this evidence, council, which
administers the reserve, remains complacent. Biosecurity principal advisor Imogen Bassett says trapping or shooting the cats is not an option because they are likely to be “much-loved” family pets. Council also has no intention of extending the predator-proof fence to the low water mark “due to the cost and the impact this would have on users of the beach and the area between high tide and low tide”. “We are, however, concerned about the risk that cats pose to threatened shorebirds, and that is why we’ve been working closely with the community to raise awareness of the importance of responsible pet ownership,” Bassett says. Unfortunately, this community education approach, which has been in place for more than 10 years, has done little to save the birds. In some cases, the cats in the reserve have been identified and the owners approached, with mixed results. Some owners are apologetic and take steps to continued page 2
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