The Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Coromandel District team has put out the call for informal volunteer ‘dotterel watchers’ as the shore-dwelling birds’ breeding season gets underway.
Amy Blair, DOC’s Coromandel Supervisor, says the search for residents keen to become dotterel watchers coincides with Conservation Week, which this year puts an emphasis on giving back to nature and the work of volunteers, who make a vital contribution to conservation work across the country.
New Zealand’s wildlife is in crisis, with more than 4,000 of our native animals and plants threatened or at risk. Conservation Week is a chance to bring everyone together to do something, big or small, to create change.
“The dotterel breeding season is upon us, running from September to March – and that’s why we need the extra surveillance from our communities,” says Amy Blair.
“We can’t monitor the beaches where dotterels are found all the time, so having volunteer dotterel watchers in our seaside locations is vital to protecting these precious little birds and their offspring.”
There are 43 sites across the peninsula which are either monitored by DOC, volunteers, or a combination of both. Coincidentally, there are also 43 dotterel-watching volunteers supporting DOC’s efforts – but not all beaches are covered, and more volunteers are needed.
The main objectives of the dotterel programme and its volunteers are to fence off nesting sites, install signage to warn and educate the public and, most importantly, provide a fledgling count at the end of the season to gauge productivity. The time commitment for volunteers is a couple of hours each week.
Once chicks can fly, at around six weeks old, they tend to fly away to flocking sites at quiet, food-rich beaches and bays. Amy Blair says if watchers don’t see them physically fly for more than 10 seconds, it’s difficult to prove they have fledged successfully.
“Dotterel Ranger Frouk Miller and I can only make it to each beach once a week so it’s easy for us to miss this vital milestone, which is why our volunteers are so important,” says Amy Blair.
“Most of the volunteers are living near the beach they patrol, and some of them can manage the manual labour just fine, so myself and Frouk just check in weekly with each volunteer.
“Others leave the fencing and signage up to us, and they just keep an eye on things during their daily walk along the beach. The programme would be nowhere near as successful without the volunteers, they are our eyes on the beach. Some have been doing it for decades!”
There are six locations around Coromandel identified as flocking sites for dotterels, with good food supply: Coromandel Harbour, Colville, Matarangi, Opoutere, Pauanui/Tairua and Whangamata.
