 |
| The
shore
plover
aviaries
at
the
National
Wildlife
Centre
|
Rangatira
Island
in
the
Chathams
was,
until
recently,
the
last
home
of
the
endangered
shore
plover,
down
to
only
130
birds
in
the
wild
by
the
1990’s.
In
1991,
14
of
these
small
wading
birds
were
hatched
from
eggs
taken
from
the
island
and
transferred
to
the
National
Wildlife
Centre.
Incredibly
only
a
year
later,
the
birds
paired
and
bred
at
one
year
old,
thus
beginning
the
captive
breeding
programme.
In
1994,
the
first
releases
of
captive-bred
plover
into
the
wild
were
trialled,
with
transfers
to
Motuora
Island
in
the
Hauraki
Gulf.
A
total
of
75
birds
were
produced
in
captivity
and
released
there
over
the
following
5
years.
Unfortunately
the
programme
was
not
successful
in
establishing
a
new
shore
plover
population,
with
released
birds
dispersing
from
the
predator
free
island
to
neighbouring
estuaries
and
beaches
where
they
were
probably
killed
by
predators.
This
is
a
highly
mobile
species,
and
it
was
thought
that
the
birds
were
being
scared
off
the
island
by
resident
morepork.
Another
predator
free
island
was
sought
–
one
that
also
lacked
avian
predators,
and
a
suitable
privately
owned
island
off
the
East
Coast
was
found
in
1998.
Now
all
the
young
shore
plover
raised
at
NWC
are
released
here
and
the
island
has
a
very
healthy
population,
thought
to
be
self-sustaining.
While
some
of
the
birds
have
dispersed,
enough
have
stayed
to
make
the
project
a
success.
With
one
wild
shore
plover
population
established,
attention
now
turns
to
another
suitable
island
safe
haven
to
release
the
next
five
year’s
worth
of
progeny
to.
What
are
Shore
Plovers?
The
shore
plover
is
a
small
member
of
the
plover/dotterel
family
(Charadriidae).
The
head
is
black
in
males,
brown
in
females.
Both
have
a
white
band
across
the
forehead.
The
bill
is
orange
with
a
dark
tip.
They
can
be
noisy,
making
loud,
ringing
calls,
especially
in
aggression
towards
neighbours.
The
alarm
call
is
a
loud,
repetitive
ringing
“ching”,
which
is
sustained
until
the
threat
has
passed.
They
are
strongly
territorial
during
the
breeding
season,
but
in
winter
they
may
roost
and
feed
in
flocks.
The
shore
plover
nests
from
mid
October
to
January,
with
both
the
male
and
female
incubating.
Nests
are
hidden
under
thick
vegetation,
or
in
holes
or
crevices
amongst
boulders
and
driftwood.
They
lay
2-3
dark
blotchy
eggs,
which
are
incubated
for
28
days.
The
chicks
fledge
at
approximately
35
days
of
age.
Habitat
The
New
Zealand
shore
plover
was
once
widespread
around
the
New
Zealand
coastline
and
the
Chatham
Islands,
but
by
the
1880’s
shore
plover
were
restricted
to
only
the
Chatham
Islands.
Introduced
predatory
mammals
such
as
cats
and
rats
are
thought
to
have
caused
their
extinction
on
the
New
Zealand
mainland.
After
the
introduction
of
cats
to
the
Chathams,
shore
plover
remained
only
on
predator
free
Rangatira
(South
East)
Island
and
Western
Reef
in
the
Chathams
group.
The
population
there
is
approximately
120
birds
–
which
makes
the
shore
plover
one
of
the
rarest
shore
birds
in
the
world.
Shore
plover
live
on
coastal
rocky
wave
platforms,
sandy
and
rocky
beaches,
saltmeadows
and
river
mouths.
They
feed
on
small
crustaceans
(copepods,
ostracods,
amphipods,
isopods),
spiders,
molluscs
(gastropods,
bivalves),
insects
and
their
larvae.
Recovery plan in action at Pukaha Mount Bruce
The
long-term
goal
for
the
recovery
of
the
species
is
to
restore
shore
plover
to
sites
in
New
Zealand
and
the
Chatham
Islands
which
cover
parts
of
their
original
range.
Establishing
shore
plover
at
five
or
more
locations
with
a
combined
population
of
250
or
more
birds
would
change
the
IUCN
ranking
from
endangered
to
vulnerable.
At present recovery efforts focus on protecting the existing
populations in the Chatham islands, establishing new populations
on offshore islands, and finding new sites to introduce
shore plover to.
Our
captive
breeding
work
at
Pukaha
Mount
Bruce
aims
to
“produce
captive-reared
shore
plover
suitable
for
release
in
the
wild”.
In
recent
years
we
have
had
much
success
with
improved
incubation
and
chick
rearing
methods,
increasing
the
captive
breeding
success
rate
and
providing
more
chicks
for
release
into
the
wild.
We
can
encourage
the
shore
plover
pairs
to
produce
more
than
one
clutch
of
eggs
per
season
by
removing
their
first
clutch
for
artificial
incubation
and
hand-rearing.
They
will
then
re-nest
once
or
twice
more
in
the
season,
thus
doubling
the
number
of
chicks
produced.
Shore
Plover
facts
