Dotterel

The dotterel's story  

The NZ dotterel nests on beaches above the high tide mark. Their nests are just a shallow hole dug into the sand. Their eggs and speckled like the sand and are very hard to see.

Dotterel eggs. Photo: Sherley Gregory. 

The chicks are very small and look like fluffy bumblebees with long legs. They too are well camouflaged and they can run from the day they hatch. Their parents bring them sand hoppers and little crabs to eat. The chicks can’t fly until they are at least six weeks old. 

Why are New Zealand dotterels endangered?
 

• Nesting dotterels are easily disturbed. At popular beach resorts the dotterels have been driven away. There are fewer and fewer quiet beaches where dotterels can breed.
• Nesting in the sand is a huge problem. High tides wash the nests away. Although the eggs are well camouflaged hedgehogs smell them out and eat them. So do cats, stoats and rats – all introduced predators.
• People stand on the nests or drive over them in beach buggies.
• Dogs chase away the nesting birds and kill the chicks.
• Another bird faces these problems too. It is the Variable oystercatcher, a bigger native bird which nests on the sand like the dotterel does. They need help and protection too.

Both people and dotteral like beaches! 

Lots of people in New Zealand live near the beach, or go to a beach house for holidays. Every year more houses are built near the shore. This means more and more people use beaches and it’s harder and harder for the dotterels to breed.

Volunteers are helping the birds. Guided by the Department of Conservation, volunteers put up little rope fences well back from the dotterels nests so people can see where the birds are and avoid disturbing them. Usually there will be a sign on the fence saying Birds nesting, please do not disturb. If you see a fence like this, stay outside but look carefully and you may see the dotterels or their tiny chicks running on the sand.

You can help NZ dotterel

• Learn about dotterels and look out for them on the beach. Many people do not realise that birds breed on beaches and that their eggs and chicks can be run over or trodden on. If you live near a beach where dotterels breed, you can help put up dotterel fences and tell people about the birds.
• Share the beaches with the birds. Please don’t ride horses or drive cars, motor bikes and quads bikes on the beach, especially above the high tide mark. Many dotterel eggs and chicks are squashed this way – and it’s bad for the dune plants, and mean to the other people enjoying the beach.
• When dotterel are breeding, keep your dog at home or on a leash at the beach.
• If you see a dotterel fence, look but don’t go inside it. Tell your family and friends what it’s all about.
• If you see a NZ dotterel pretending to have a broken wing, it means it has a nest or chicks nearby. Move away. The birds will not go back to their nests until you have gone and the eggs can overheat or become chilled quickly.
• Tell DOC if you find eggs or chicks on the beach and they do not have a fence around them. DOC will help you put up a fence and a notice to help protect the birds
• Never pick up eggs or chicks. Even if the parent birds are not around when you find them, they will come back later. If you move their eggs or chicks, the parent birds may not be able to find them again and they will die. Parent birds are much better at looking after eggs and chicks than people are, so it is best to leave them on the beach.