Rope fence helps protect endangered estuary birds
DoC fence reinstalled as nesting areas among driftwood on spit are hard to see
The Department of Conservation (DoC) has installed a low rope and baton fence to protect nesting areas in the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve (WESR) for the upcoming season.
“We have done this annually for several years with help from the Waikanae Estuary Care Group,” DoC community ranger Steve Bielby said.
The design of the fence was similar to previous years, and directed people around the ends of the fence, near the water line.
“This is because birds nest among the driftwood in the middle of the spit and are hard to see.
“People can still walk around the spit.
“As with similar fences around the country, the fence will ideally remain in place until the chicks fledge in December/January.”
He said the fence’s design and installation “were discussed in detail by our team with the care group in advance”.
“Their work with us in the WESR is the subject of a formal community agreement, and we are very grateful to them for thousands of hours of work protecting and restoring the WESR each year.”
Bielby said three-quarters of the country’s native birds are threatened with, or at risk of being threatened with, extinction.
“The equivalent figure for sea birds is around 90 per cent.
“The Waikanae estuary is a nesting or roosting place for around 60 native bird species.”
He said similar fences protecting nesting birds were going up on beaches around the country at this time, many installed and monitored with help from community groups.
“Erecting fences is part of DoC’s general management powers under the Reserves Act 1977, and protecting birds is central to the purposes of WESR as a scientific reserve.
“We also have powers under the WESR bylaws to restrict public access to protect its values.”
He said DoC had been working hard in recent years to address human impacts on the WESR, including effects on birds from vehicles, horses, and dogs on the spit.
“We are particularly concerned at this time each year to avoid impacts from whitebaiter vehicles.
“We are aware that there is substantial community concern about those impacts, and substantial community support for the care group’s help addressing them.”
The fence’s installation had raised the ire of Chris Turver, from Waikanae Beach, who, in a letter to DoC chief executive Penny Nelson, believed the care group had “illegally roped off almost half the accreted sandspit on the seaward side of the estuary in a doubtless well-meaning attempt to safeguard a handful of nesting birds”.
He wanted the fence “removed immediately” if the care group hadn’t sought approval from DoC.
In previous years it had been sufficient to put up nearby warning signs, he wrote, which “the public has accepted and observed . . . ”
“What is not acceptable is for largescale barriers to be imposed on a public beach without compelling safety reasons.
“The reality is that king tides, storm surges, and floodwaters make nesting a hazardous business and few selfrespecting birds take the chance of having their sea-level nests swept away.”