Facts about NZ dotterel

NZ dotterels are shorebirds, usually found on sandy beaches and sandspits or feeding on tidal estuaries.

They are largely pale-grey on the back, with off-white underparts which become flushed with rusty-orange in winter and spring. They have a prominent head, large dark-brown eyes and a strong black bill.

NZ dotterel

NZ dotterels can be hard to see, because their colouring merges effectively with the background of sand, shells and dune vegetation in their environment. Their distinctive ‘chip-chip’ call is often heard before the birds are seen.  

Where are they found?

The NZ dotterel is now confined to two areas. The Northern NZ dotterel (C.o.aquilonius) is found in suitable habitat from Kawhia northwards on the west coast, and from North Cape southwards along the east coast of Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty, and as far south as Mahia Peninsula.

The Southern NZ dotterel (C.o.obscurus), a population comprised of about 250 birds, survives on Stewart Island and nests on mountain tops.

Within the Auckland and Northland regions, NZ dotterels nest on beaches including Mangawhai, Waipu, Te Arai Stream, Poutawa Stream, Pakari River mouth, Omaha Spit, Tawharanui, Papakanui Spit, Beehive Island, Waiwera, Gulf Harbour, the Wade River mouth, Tapora, and beaches south of Auckland city and on Waiheke and Great Barrier islands.

On the Coromandel peninsula their major breeding sites are Opoutere Beach, Matarangi and Pauanui.  They also nest on the waste rock embankment at Newmont Waihi Gold’s Martha Mine in Waihi and the Lakes Resort Golf Course near Pauanui.  They can also be found at Onemana, Whangamata, Whiritoa, as well as rocky beaches on the Thames Coast.

In late summer, the birds leave their breeding sites and congregate in post-breeding flocks at favoured estuaries for the autumn and early winter. These flocks are socially important; birds which have lost partners during the breeding season can find new ones, and young birds pair for the first time. Some areas where these flocks occur are at Mangawhai (150 birds), Waipu (30-40 birds), Omaha (70-80 birds), Tapora (40-45 birds), Wade River (20-25 birds), and Whangapoua Estuary on Great Barrier (40-50 birds).

 
NZ dotterel chick

Breeding

From mid-winter onwards, pairs begin to move back to their nesting territories, which they defend vigorously against other pairs. Nesting usually begins in September. Two or three well-camouflaged eggs are laid in a scrape in the sand, commonly among shells and driftwood just above the high tide mark. Because they are so hard to see, nests are sometimes crushed by people, vehicles, horses or stock.

NZ dotterels commonly try to distract intruders near their nest by pretending to be injured – they will even fake a broken wing - all the time leading the intruder further from the nest. If the eggs are lost to predators, or to natural factors such as storms or big tides, the birds will re-nest up to four times in one season.

Eggs are incubated for about a month and the newly-hatched chicks, looking rather like bumble bees with long legs, are quickly active. The parents guard them, but they must find all their own food. When danger threatens, the chicks run to the nearest cover and freeze, crouching low keeping still until the parents sound the all-clear.

Chicks can usually fly by the age of six - seven weeks, but this time may be extended if their feeding is reduced by continual disturbance. Young dotterels wander the coastline for the first 12-18 months of their lives. Most of them breed for the first time at two years of age.

back to top