The New Zealand fairy tern. Photo: DOC
Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers say they are "cautiously optimistic" about this Summer's breeding season for New Zealand's rarest bird.
Fewer than 40 tara iti, or New Zealand fairy terns, survive - making the beach-dwelling bird six times rarer than the kākāpō, which is often treated as the "poster bird" for the country's most endangered species.
DOC said 10 chicks had so far fledged during the 2024-25 breeding season, which meant the juvenile birds were now able to fly and feed on their own.
It has been a roller-coaster ride for the tara iti, and its minders, in recent years.
The 2022-23 season, when Cyclone Gabrielle killed five adults and all but one chick, was a disaster.
However, the diminutive birds bounced back in 2023-24, recording their best breeding season in a decade.
Tara-iti (new Zealand Fairy Tern) Photo: Glenda Rees
The birds breed at just four locations in Northland and Auckland, but efforts are about to begin to establish up to five new sites.
DOC ranger Nikki Hartley said she was "cautiously optimistic" about the current season, which was "tracking within expectations".
"But there's still a long way to go," she added.
Crucially, in addition to the 10 birds fledged in the wild, another eight chicks had been successfully hand-raised at Auckland Zoo.
Ongoing threats to the birds included off-leash dogs, predators and extreme weather, Hartley said.
With fewer than 40 tara iti left, every nest, egg, and chick was critical to the survival of the species.
Hartley put this season's results down to improved predator control, research and habitat protection, as well as boosting numbers through egg collection and chick rearing at Auckland Zoo.
Richard Gibson, the zoo's head of animal care and conservation, said staff were providing expert husbandry support to help bring New Zealand's rarest breeding bird back from the brink.
"When a species has declined to such a precarious low, intensive management techniques like incubation, hand-rearing and head-starting are critical to helping to significantly increase productivity - and hopefully turn the tide of decline to see tara iti flourish once again," he said.
Tara iti bred at only four locations in New Zealand, all north of Auckland and all but one on the busy east coast.
Those sites were Papakānui Spit, on the Kaipara Harbour; Pākiri Beach in north Auckland; and the Waipū and Mangawhai sandspits in Northland.
The birds were not harmed by last month's highly localised Mangawhai tornado.
Meanwhile, a joint project by DOC and the NZ Nature Fund aimed to safeguard the species for at least the next 50 years by, among other things, increasing the number of breeding sites.
NZ Nature Fund chief executive Sarah Lyttle said the fundraising target from public donors and philanthropists was $1.57 million over the next five years.
The money would be used to develop three to five new, safe breeding sites within the birds' existing range, but outside the four current nesting sites.
It would also be spent on using shell patches to create new habitats at existing breeding sites, and expanding the buffer predator control range.
Lyttle said current efforts were maintaining the birds' population, but the project aimed to boost their numbers and make the species' future secure.
Hartley said DOC worked closely with a large number of iwi groups, trusts, trapping groups and sponsors.
DOC's tips for helping protect tara iti:
- Stay out of fenced areas and use designated walkways.
- Avoid nests and chicks while enjoying beaches and estuaries.
- Keep dogs on leads and out of reserves.
- Properly dispose of bait, fish scraps and rubbish to avoid attracting predators.
- Avoid driving or cycling on beaches.
- If a bird swoops at you or appears injured, move away quickly. You're probably near its nest.
- Donate to the tara iti recovery project.
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