- Feb 5, 2002
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Endemic to New Zealand, this sweet little bird is called the tūturiwhatu, or New Zealand dotterel, and though endangered, it has found a unique sanctuary where it can nest and feed in relative peace.
Relative, because it comes with a significant amount of noise pollution. It’s the Auckland Airport, and 4 pairs of dotterel have been recorded in the green areas alongside the outer runways this year.
Even though anthropic elements are by and large the largest driver of species decline around the Earth, what can be an impediment to one species can be a sanctuary to another, and in the case of the Auckland Airport, wildlife manager Lucy Hawley said the high fences keep out the bird’s invasive predators.
“This is very attractive to nesting dotterels and our airfield’s become a real sanctuary for them,” Hawley told RZN.com. “These tiny little birds take absolutely no notice of the giant planes moving all around them and have no issues setting up home right beside the taxiways.”
Over the last ten years, Hawley has estimated that she and her groundskeepers have seen 80 dotterels hatch on the taxiways of the country’s busiest airport. The parents typically arrive between November and December.
Continued below.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
Relative, because it comes with a significant amount of noise pollution. It’s the Auckland Airport, and 4 pairs of dotterel have been recorded in the green areas alongside the outer runways this year.
Even though anthropic elements are by and large the largest driver of species decline around the Earth, what can be an impediment to one species can be a sanctuary to another, and in the case of the Auckland Airport, wildlife manager Lucy Hawley said the high fences keep out the bird’s invasive predators.
“This is very attractive to nesting dotterels and our airfield’s become a real sanctuary for them,” Hawley told RZN.com. “These tiny little birds take absolutely no notice of the giant planes moving all around them and have no issues setting up home right beside the taxiways.”
Over the last ten years, Hawley has estimated that she and her groundskeepers have seen 80 dotterels hatch on the taxiways of the country’s busiest airport. The parents typically arrive between November and December.
Continued below.
Endangered New Zealand Bird Chooses Airport as Nesting Sanctuary, With Tall Fences to Keep Out All Their Predators
Over the last ten years, Hawley has estimated that she has seen 80 dotterels hatch on the taxiways of the country's busiest airport
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
