Fairy tern on the brink

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Neil Fitzgerald
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Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Wed Jan 16, 2019 12:26 pm

“disastrous”. “I would say that this is a crisis year.”

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/01/15/400649
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Adam C
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Adam C » Wed Jan 16, 2019 5:53 pm

Not good news st all. Whats hit the breeding pairs so hard other than the obvious suspects. Any more info?
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby boneywhitefoot » Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:24 pm

Why can't they build predator fences around the nests?
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Neil Fitzgerald
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Thu Jan 17, 2019 7:39 am

a number of controllable factors appear to have conspired to spur the recent decline: “More human disturbance, more development close to nesting sites, more helicopters in the air, more people and dogs.”


Predator fences won't stop any of those. Only a radical reassessment of our belief in doing whatever we like on and near beaches will.
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby boneywhitefoot » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:00 am

I do not understand this kind of attitude.
Fences will protect the nest from dogs and people as well as predators.

It may not be a safeguard against every threat but it will go a long way towards saving the birds.
So the answer is do nothing or ban people from those beaches?
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Mig
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Mig » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:21 am

A fence won’t protect chicks and eggs from avian predators which are also protected species
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby boneywhitefoot » Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:03 am

But surely it will protect these birds from ground predators.
you guys are more or less saying all the chicks were taken by predatory birds and because we cant protect the chicks from one threat we will not even try to protect them from any other threat.

this is NOT a fact.

surely doing something reducing the risk is better than doing NOTHING.
I dont understand this kind of attitude.
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Mig
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Mig » Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:32 am

Tony there are rings of steel around all breeding grounds. That is a fact! But what about when they land on the community side of spits and are then open to all hazards ? They like to sit on damp sand banks or along estuary edges.
Nobody knows where exactly a Fairy Tern will nest. So would you wait until you find an egg and then put up a fence causing massive disturbance or are you talking about fencing whole spits in general. I do like the fencing they have in RSPB sites in the UK around seabirds people even walk their dogs around the perimeter which is amazing. Please don’t say nobody is doing nothing because as you are well aware a lot,of people are doing something.
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby boneywhitefoot » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:42 am

I never saw any fences around nests when I was up there last year.

And if its for the protection of the birds themselves then whatever disturbance putting a fence up creates is justified.

what is not justified is doing NOTHING
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Re: Fairy tern on the brink

Postby Jim_j » Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:24 am

When the population is this low and confined to areas predominated by people and their hangers on (cats dogs) then I suspect there is little hope.
I would have thought the best option might be taking eggs into captivity and hand raising - maybe with the aim of release on a suitable island (assuming there is one that suits the birds particular biology - so probably not!!)
I know it's probably never been tried with terns before but desperate times require separate measures.....
Cheers Jim

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