Shorebird breeding season in Aotearoa NZ is almost here and I thought it would be helpful to share some tips from previous years. Last season Sean and I had to deal with a nasty bunch of black-backed gulls here in Piha that predated the eggs of a pair of northern NZ dotterel / tūturiwhatu we were monitoring. This is what we did to prevent it from happening again.
I first learned about the case of the passenger pigeon, Ectopistes Migratorius, when I read "Resurrection Science" by M. R. O'Connor, which by the way I highly recommend. I did find the case extremely interesting due to its special circumstances and I ended up choosing it as the main topic for an essay about de-extinction of species.
The Marine Debris Tracker app allows users to record observations of marine debris items by offering a simple set of fields that users can fill with the particular information of the observed item, such as the material of the debris item and the quantity of it. In this post I present an analysis of the results collected between the years 2011 and 2018.
I have now been using iNaturalist.nz, formerly known as NatureWatch, for about a year. It has been a fantastic tool not only to upload my own observations but to learn from the rest of users as well. As a part of one of my masters papers I wrote an essay about the positive outcomes of citizen science towards Earth stewardship.
A while ago I had the pleasure to read the book "Seashores, an ecological guide" by Julian Cremona. I knew rocky shores were highly rich ecosystems but this book increased my curiosity so I decided to go exploring the rock pools down by the beach. I undusted my old compact Lumix and water case and spent a few days having a go at underwater photography as the water was quite warm (about two months ago). In the process I learned heaps, discovered species I never heard of and came across some really interesting websites.
Today I had the pleasure to speak at the Auckland NZ Dotterel Forum organised by Auckland Council in Orewa. It was a great opportunity to let other volunteers, council and DOC staff know how things have been in Piha during this past breeding season. It's been also great to hear the stories from people managing dotterels in other parts of the country.