Mount Maunganui nesting Dotterels

tony
January 31, 2021
biology / birds / New Zealand / news

Photo showing a Tūturiwhatu/New Zealand Dotterel returning to the nest after bring flushed by a Karoro/Kelp Gull flying overhead — Tūturiwhatu/New Zealand Dotterel returning to the nest after bring flushed by a Karoro/Kelp Gull flying overhead

This week I thought a I would share a few more images of the nesting Tūturiwhatu/New Zealand Dotterels from the main beach at Mount Maunganui that I introduced in my New Year 2021 post. It was exciting to see 2 birds sitting on nests on the beach which can be very busy through the summer holidays but was relatively clear at the time we visited. The taped area was keeping humans at bay with the help of a community ranger.

Mount Maunganui main beach with nesting Dotterels. Edin chatting with the Community Ranger.

This fragile fence provides no protection from natural predators, most significant on the native front being the Karoro/Kelp Gulls. While watching the settled birds they both simultaneously uttered alarm calls and abandoning their nests, rushed seaward as a gull flew overhead. The top image was taken as one soon returned to continue incubating.

Photo showing Tūturiwhatu/New Zeland Dotterel settling back onto a pair of eggs in the nest. — Tūturiwhatu/New Zeland Dotterel settling back onto a pair of eggs in the nest.

Incubation lasts a month and hopefully results in precocial young that leave the nest within 24 hours. See New Zealand Birds Online for more breeding details.

The nest is simply a scrape in the sand and may be decorated with some shells. This final image shows the bird adjusting one of the shell fragments after settling back in place.