New Zealand fairy tern/tara-iti project 2010-2011 season

NZ fairy tern

Waipu Wildlife Refuge

On 28 October 2010, the first NZ fairy tern nest was located on the spit. This nest was abandoned a few days later by the female due to a rabbit disturbing the nest. Both eggs were uplifted and sent to the Auckland Zoo for incubation.

These eggs were later transferred to the Mangawhai Wildlife Refuge where they hatched and fledged.

The male bird had switched partners after a "no show" from his previous partner and bred with his new bird. The female was still seen on the refuge trying to muscle her way back into her previous relationship, but the male didn't see her fit.

Three NZ fairy tern pairs nested on the spit with six eggs laid this season. One egg was found in the same scrape as the eggs that were transferred to the Zoo. Two chicks hatched but unfortunately neither fledged.

Predators have still been a major problem again this season, in particular cats. Four eggs taken were confirmed through the presence of prints.

We were fortunate to have excellent weather conditions in the earlier stages of the season. However, two cyclones in the later end of the season proved to be a bit of a handful for staff and the dedicated bunch of volunteers.

Mangawhai Wildlife Refuge

It proved to be yet another busy season at Mangawhai with 6 NZ fairy tern pairs nesting on the spit and 16 eggs laid, of which 2 NZ fairy tern chicks fledged.

Rangi Zimmerman returned after a year away pursuing other DOC employment. Rangi was the trainee ranger warden at Waipu during the 2007/2008 NZ fairy tern breeding season and has returned to the project with enthusiasm and excellent monitoring skills.

Temporary fencing was erected early in the season around key nesting areas so that visitors could become familiar with them. Early preparation also helped avoid further disturbance during the critical first days of incubation should the birds nest inside the protected areas.

Nest 1

Two eggs were found on 09/11/10 and were sent to the zoo for incubation. Two eggs, originally from Waipu were uplifted from the zoo and placed under this pair. Both eggs hatched and two chicks fledged from this site.

Nest 2

Two eggs were found on 12/11/10 but were predated on the 14/11/10 or the 15/11/10. The eggshells were DNA tested but we could not detect the cause.

Nest 3

This nest was found on 12/11/10, which was a new pairing of NZ fairy terns this season. The male hales from Waipu. This pair's eggs were predated at the same time as nest 2. Both nest 2 and nest 3 were only 10-12 metres apart. It is thought that these were predated on by cats.

Nest 4

This nest was found on the 13/11/10. The pair had laid 1 egg that went to the zoo where it was candled and found to be infertile. Papakanui had a single egg at the zoo, so the Papakanui egg was brought back to Mangawhai and placed under this pair. The egg hatched on the 30/11/10 but sadly, the chick died 3 days later; the cause of death is yet to be determined.

Nest 5

Rangi found this nest on 30/12/10 with one egg in the scrape. When she returned to the spit after her weekend off she entered the site, as there was no fairy terns sitting on the scrape. She found that the scrape had been pushed in, and the egg had disappeared. Upon further investigation, she found no predator prints throughout the nest site but she discovered human foot prints leading up to the scrape.

Nest 6

The female of this pair changed partners after the loss of her first nest. She nested a second time at Waipu and lost her nest. Her third attempt was back at Mangawhai where she laid 2 eggs that were taken to the zoo for safety reasons and a dummy egg was placed in the scrape. On the 31/12/10, 2 eggs from nest 8 were brought back from the zoo and placed back in this nest. Only 1 egg hatched and the other egg died whilst trying to hatch. The original eggs of this nest went to Papakanui.

Nest 7

This pair nested about 10 metres from nest 6 slightly north. Their nest was discovered on 15/12/10. They laid 2 eggs that were taken to the zoo for safety reasons. Their eggs were candled at the zoo and only 1 egg was viable. On the 31/12/10, the egg from this pair was brought back from the zoo and placed back in their scrape. Sadly, this egg didn't hatch.

Nest 8

The only fairy tern that was sighted at this nest was the female. This nest was found on 16/12/10 only 8-10 metres from nest 6 and 10-12 metres south of nest 7. All 3 nests were in a 12 metre triangle. This nest was abandoned by one bird which left one bird to incubate. Eventually the bird gave up incubating the eggs and abandoned the nest altogether. The eggs were taken to the zoo. Both eggs were brought back to Mangawhai and placed in nest 6.

Nest 9

This nest was a similar situation as nest 8, where a single bird was left to incubate the egg. It was discovered by Rangi on 05/01/11. It was decided that the egg be uplifted and sent to the zoo for incubation, the egg was found to be fertile but sadly it died days later at the zoo.

Acknowledgements

The Department would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the volunteers who gave up their time to help protect the NZ fairy tern this season. Volunteers contribute to the monitoring of the birds, trapping of predators, advocacy, and they assist in many other roles.

A special thank you to the committed volunteers who helped out with the daylight to night vigil, volunteering in some atrocious weather and at odd hours of the day/night.

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