Twenty-four breeding colonies of three petrel species were found on 18 of 26 islands surveyed in Breaksea Sound/Te Puaitaha, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand, in November 2017 and December 2019. All vegetated islands within Breaksea Sound were surveyed, along with 20 islands in Dusky Sound/Tamatea that were not included in an initial survey in November 2016 (eight of these additional Dusky Sound islands had breeding petrels, including three with broad-billed prions Pachyptila vittata). Sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea) was the most widespread and abundant species in Breaksea Sound, with an estimated 6,950 burrows on 14 islands, while broad-billed prions were breeding on seven islands (2,100 burrows estimated). We record the first evidence of mottled petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata) breeding in Breaksea Sound, which is now their northernmost breeding location. Burrow occupancy rates were not assessed for any of the species. Most of the islands in Breaksea Sound had previously been surveyed during 1974 to 1986, before Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) were eradicated from Hāwea and Breaksea Islands, and stoats (Mustela erminea) controlled to near zero density on Resolution Island and adjacent islands (including the inner Gilbert Islands and Entry Island). Following pest mammal control or eradication, broad-billed prions have colonised at least four additional sites. Sooty shearwaters were found at five sites in Breaksea Sound where they had not been recorded in 1980–83, and at one site they had increased by more than 50-fold since rat eradication. When combined with data from the 2016 and 2017 surveys, more than 75,700 petrel burrows are estimated to be present in southern Fiordland.
The Auckland Islands comprise the largest and most researched island group in the New Zealand subantarctic region, and have the largest number of endemic bird taxa. Paradoxically, they are the only one of the five island groups that has not yet been the subject of a comprehensive avifaunal review. We summarise the history of ornithological exploration of the group, and where this information is held, based on a database of 23,028 bird records made between 1807 and 2019. More than 76% of these observations were unpublished, with the two largest sources of information being Heritage Expedition wildlife logs (5,961 records) and records collected during the Second World War coastwatching ‘Cape Expedition’ (4,889 records). The earliest records of endemic taxa are summarised, along with the earliest records of significant seabird breeding colonies. Citizen science (principally eBird, with 1,597 unique records) is a rapidly growing source of information, and new records of vagrant species continue to accumulate at a rapid rate. Compared with other subantarctic islands, Auckland Islands’ birds have received very little research attention, with most effort to date focused on a few large surface-nesting seabird species.
Disequilibrium of bird communities, due to introduced pests and human-caused habitat changes, is a fundamental property to be understood in restoration of island biota. In this paper, we suggest that the reestablishment of native forests and food webs favour long-established and native species, and is less favourable to more recently introduced species. To test this hypothesis, we compared population trends of native and non-native birds on five islands in the Ipipiri Group in the north of New Zealand. We used over 900 station counts starting in 2008 when habitat recovery and pest (rat [Rattus], mouse [Mus musculus], and stoat [Mustela erminea]) removal began, as well as comparing to a set of earlier counts. In general, we found that detection rates of most long-established endemic native species significantly increased, while non-native species mostly decreased, suggesting population increases and decreases, respectively. Of the native species, six are relatively recent natural immigrants to New Zealand, and most of these declined or remained unchanged. We suggest that the increase in long-established natives is likely due to increased size and quality of native bush areas making habitat more favourable to these natives, as well as reduced predation and competition from the pest mammals.
During southward migration from Alaska in 2006, a satellite-tracked female bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri) encountered adverse weather and stayed between 19 September and about 28 September 2006 at Ouvéa (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia), where she apparently died. Ouvéa was visited between 27 September and 7 October 2007 to look for godwits. A total of eight godwits was recorded of which one, thought to be an adult female, may have been a dropout migrant. The remaining birds appeared to be immatures.
Maungatautari is a 3,240 ha pest-fenced ecosanctuary free of virtually all mammalian predators in Waikato, New Zealand. We used triennial 5-minute counts within the ecosanctuary and biennial surveys of residents up to 20 km from the perimeter pest fence to measure spillover of tūī from Maungatautari into the surrounding area over a 9-year period (2006–2014) following pest eradication. Following pest eradication in the ecosanctuary, tūī relative abundance increased there and in the surrounding largely unmanaged area. The mean number of tūī per 5-minute count within the ecosanctuary was 2.23 (se = 0.163) in 2005 and increased following predator eradication in 2006 to 3.33 (se = 0.206) in 2008, 3.76 (se = 0.193) in 2011, and 2.68 (se = 0.279) in 2014. The mean maximum number of tūī at one time observed by residents in the largely unmanaged area increased from 4.4 (max = 47, n = 320) in 2006 to 15.6 (max = 300, n = 138) in 2014. Tūī numbers in both the ecosanctuary and the surrounding area were positively correlated with time since pest eradication. In the largely unmanaged area surrounding Maungatautari, tūī numbers were also positively correlated with provision of artificial food, and negatively correlated with distance from the ecosanctuary. Wind was negatively correlated with the number of tūī recorded in 5-minute counts at Maungatautari. Our findings show that pest-free ecosanctuaries can facilitate increased abundance of volant birds in surrounding landscapes if habitat is available.
We report Records Appraisal Committee (RAC) decisions regarding Unusual Bird Reports received between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018. Among the 160 submissions accepted by the RAC were the first New Zealand records of Macquarie Island shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens) and Cox’s sandpiper (Calidris x paramelanotus), and the first accepted at-sea sightings of blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea), Salvin’s prion (Pachyptila salvini), Antarctic prion (P. desolata), and thin-billed prion (P. belcheri) from New Zealand coastal waters. We also report the second accepted breeding record (and first successful breeding) for glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), and the second accepted records of red-footed booby (Sula sula) and laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla). Other notable records included the first record of nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides) from Campbell Island, and at least 5 northern shovelers (Anas clypeata) simultaneously present in June 2018.
Rotuma, Fiji, is a small and isolated island in the Central Pacific, rarely visited by ornithologists. We present here our own observations on the avifauna, obtained in 1991 and in 2018, completed by previous records obtained since the 19th Century. The main changes on the species composition concern the extirpation of the white-throated pigeon and the settlement of the reef heron. The status of the four endemic landbirds (one species and three subspecies) is good, especially that of the Rotuma myzomela. However, the recent arrival of the common myna (2017–2018) represents a potential threat. We also observed that the Pacific sheath-tailed bat, which was abundant 30 years ago, has probably been extirpated from the island.
Little penguins (Eudyptula minor) readily breed and moult in nest boxes. The selective placement of nest boxes can enhance their use, improve breeding success and increase recruitment. I examined nest parameters for 171 nest boxes at Pilots Beach, southern New Zealand, in relation to their use for breeding and for moulting in the 2016 breeding season. Linear models to assess the relative importance of nest box parameters produced definitive results where a higher likelihood of use was interpreted to indicate a preference. The only preference for breeding or moulting was for shaded boxes that were free of vegetation at ground level. These trends were supported by comparisons of proportions of boxes used for breeding and moulting that indicated shaded boxes surrounded by bare ground were preferred to unshaded boxes surrounded by introduced grasses. Proportions also indicated that boxes on flat ground with a flat entrance were preferred to boxes on sloped ground or a sloped entrance for breeding and moulting. About half of the boxes between 61 and 90 m distance to the landing were used for breeding and moulting. Females nesting in shaded boxes had a higher breeding success than those in unshaded boxes but their chick masses were similar. To optimise nest box use by little penguins and encourage recruitment, nest boxes ideally should be placed under bushes or artificial structures on open ground up to 90 m from the landing.
Forty breeding colonies of three petrel species were found on 35 of 71 islands surveyed in southern Fiordland, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand, in November and December 2017. Almost all islands in Chalky Inlet, Preservation Inlet, Cunaris Sound, Long Sound, and Isthmus Sound were surveyed. Sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea) was the most widespread and abundant species, with an estimated 23,425 burrows on 25 islands. Broad-billed prions (Pachyptila vittata) were breeding on nine islands (9,940 burrows estimated), and mottled petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata) on five islands (1,240 burrows estimated). This is a 3-fold increase in the number of petrel colonies in Chalky and Preservation Inlets and associated waterways identified in published accounts, and the first estimate of the number of burrows on each island. Long-term survival of most of these colonies is dependent on ongoing control of stoats (Mustela erminea) on islands in these southern fjords. The persistence of remnant petrel colonies on small islands is probably due to stoats being infrequent invaders that are unable to persist when migratory petrels depart at the end of the breeding season.