Farmers go extra mile for the vulnerable dotterel

You’ll find dotterels, not cattle, on several acres of Merv and Sandra Littlejohn’s Waih¯ı Beach farm.

The Littlejohns have discovered several of the endangered tu¯turiwhatu on their 51-hectare property over the past few weeks – and shifted a herd of 55 cattle away to protect the birds.

With dark beaks, brown cloaked backs and stained orange bellies, the birds had wandered two kilometres inland from their usual nesting area.

‘‘They’re lovely little birds, they’re really fantastic. They don’t fly a lot, and they mostly run along the ground,’’ he said.

‘‘I took stock off there because I didn’t want them tramping on the eggs.

‘‘The dotterels are probably covering about 20-odd acres.’’

The species have a population of around 2500, making them more vulnerable than some species of kiwi, the Department of Conservation says.

Coastal development’s impact on habitat, introduced predators such as dogs, and disturbance during breeding seasons had all contributed to the drop in numbers.

Yet the Littlejohns have had a few turn up on their doorstep over the past three years, with the last flock being about 30 birds this past July.

Currently, 10 dotterels are feeding on worms and breeding chicks while seeking shelter from the elements.

One chick had Littlejohn worried sick after a stormy night with 80ml of rain – ‘‘he was only born a few days ago, I thought it might have drowned’’.

Thankfully the chick survived. ‘‘They like to be left on their own, they don’t like to be interrupted too much,’’ Littlejohn said.

‘‘They take about five weeks to hatch out, a lot longer than the normal birds.’’

Pip Coombes, who co-ordinates the local bird watch group, says the terrain where the dotterels used to nest has changed dramatically over the past couple of years.

‘‘Normally the birds would live on the beaches or on the reserve land, just in front of the beach, but unfortunately the 10km we have here at Waihı¯ Beach have been completely destroyed by very large

easterly swells,’’ Coombes said. ‘‘The tides have been quite big and that normal nesting ground is no longer a feasible place for them to nest, so they’ve moved offshore.’’

The dotterels were moving into subdivisions and farmland along the Waihı¯ Beach township and, as more dotterels migrated from the Coromandel, she expected the numbers to grow.

ABIGAIL DOUGHERTY/STUFF The dotterel population is about 2500, making the birds more vulnerable than some species of kiwi, DOC says.

Merv Littlejohn was not fazed by the new inhabitants and has been doing his part to protect the species by managing pests in the area, such as pu¯keko, rats, plovers and other creatures.