Letters to the Editor

Community effort for sandspit
This year after a record number of NZ fairy tern chicks have fledged, thanks go to all the locals and visitors who have contributed to this success. How good to see boaties picnicking on the edges of the sandspit and using the walkways provided by DOC.

Thanks also to DOC for their expertise and providing a paid warden, and for all the trapping of predators happening down the Te Arai/Tern Point end, and to the About Tern volunteers who help monitor the nests.

We were lucky that there were no severe storms which sap the energy and life from these fragile birds and (because the wind was not suitable for kite boarding) we had no 'predatory' kites high above the nests. This can cause the birds to abandon their nest thinking an enormous bird of prey is overhead.

Thanks go to Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society too, for not working in the estuary at this time, allowing the birds to feed themselves and teach their young to fish. This is so important because if young fairy terns are not taught this skill from their parents they will starve.

Because all eggs laid were allowed to progress to the chick and fledgling stages without disturbance or loss, the adult parents did not lay a second clutch, hence the season was shorter this year. In previous years we have seen a second and even a third clutch of eggs laid after some eggs were lost.

The sandspit is a wildlife refuge and dogs spell disaster for the birds. On December 25 a pied stilt chick was found dead close to the fairy tern nests – its neck was broken and it had puncture wounds on its head. It was removed. On December 27 I found another dead pied stilt chick in the same area with the same injuries. Dog prints were seen on the walkway leading to the scene. A dog must have chased these birds, caught them and shaken them till they died.

How did the dog get there? Perhaps an early morning swim with its owner? Or perhaps it arrived by boat. The owner may not have even known what his dog did. Dogs can, and do, kill wildlife. The community is very helpful in this regard, people with telescopes who alert us to any dog seen on the refuge. Environment Northland can be contacted on (09) 4387 513 too.

Many thanks to all these people and organizations – we can be proud of our efforts in keeping the NZ fairy tern just that little bit further away from extinction.

Christine Silvester
NZ Fairy Tern Charitable Trust
Mangawhai