This is very similar to the size of the colony that arrived on the river last year. The black-billed gull colony appears to have been successful. Chicks were hatched and from the lack of predation evidence and low number of dead chicks in the colony area, many were likely fledged. Our traps at probable den/nest sites in willow near the edge of the water were quite successful in catching rats, but it appears that other rats walked right past our traps which were closer to the colony. Key species counts – Cones Road to SH1, 2020, weekly surveys, Figure 8. Black Billed Gulls are a predominantly inland species with many thousands breeding each year on Southland river banks They are an occasional visitor and I can’t remember when I last saw one, although unless up close they will blend in well with their Red Billed cousins. Next season bait stations will probably have to be used close to colonies and weeds close to the colony areas will need to be pulled. The area has notably few invasive weeds. They feed around coasts and scavenge food inland. Another reason is to protect rivers and popular swimming sites from E.coli, when this contaminant has been traced to black-backed gull colonies. The evidence of braided river birds breeding in the Lees Valley was thought by BRaid to be worthy of further monitoring. An additional 16 traps specifically to kill feral cats have been sited away from houses so that pets are not targeted. About the Black-billed gull/tarāpuka - The most threatened gull species in the world. On 21 November this year we had 22 active participants in 4 groups on the usual river reaches – starting at about 9am. This is also where the BBG colony is. Commercial re-use may be allowed on request. Perhaps the answer has to do with food supply. bar-tailed godwit) species as well as permanent residents. Populations have dropped along Canterbury and North Otago rivers, where hydroelectric schemes and irrigation have affected all bird species which nest there. Some dotterels seem to have successfully nested along the beach and other species such as oyster-catchers were nesting elsewhere. This looks to be a very poor breeding season for BFT – although there is still time for some to nest. New Zealand Mystery of black-billed gull deaths: What's killing this endangered bird? They also feed on the wing, taking cicadas, moths and aquatic insects. Shallow ponds were present at all sites, stilts were seen feeding in these. None were found in the vicinity of Groyne 1 where a pair were successfully raising a chick just before the survey – however a few days later one was seen in this area showing chick guarding behaviour. not be deliberately vandalised as has commonly happened. Benny follows a year’s activities, with stunning footage of the birds Birds were counted along 1.4km of the riverbed downstream from the upper Lees Valley bridge. Record egg hatch success of BBG and BFT, and Improve techniques for counting chicks. Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki is a 28-room nature Lodge in the untouched rainforest of the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. - Endemic to New Zealand. The gulls are mainly coastal and offshore island birds, with the exception of a few at Lake Rotorua in the North Island. Black-billed gulls are only found in New Zealand and are the most threatened gull species in the world. The survey was done from just below the Grey River bridge on Loburn Whiterock Road to the mouth of the Okuku. Chicks are left alone within a day of hatching, and parents return to feed them by regurgitating food onto the ground. On this date there was no activity at the lower and upper BFT colonies, but at least 6 juvenile terns were seen at the middle and largest colony. Short deep bright red bill; legs and feet red; eye white. This year several young terns and black-billed gulls were there. In the early afternoon 2 surveyors did the 2km down to the estuary. The traps from the Toppings gull colony (Line 193 – where only 1 Norway rat was caught, after the birds had left) were shifted to a permanently vegetated island (now with dry channels around it) downstream from the Railway colony. All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. Title image: Key braided river bird locations: 2018, 2019, and 2020. On 28 January about 125 black-billed gull fledglings, with some adults, were seen between the eastern ends of Line C and Line B. One was lost to a small fresh and one to a harrier – caught by trail camera. Presumably the bird numbers here are due to food supply in the estuary and tidal part of the river. Figure 8 shows the distribution of these birds, with pie charts scaled the same as in the previous maps. The nests were on weed-free islands up to about 15m in width. black billed gulls, black-billed gulls, black-fronted tern, Trapping, weeds As of the evening of 6 February, the fires were still being fought and the area may still be subject to a crime scene investigation. Last year harriers were almost always entirely eating their prey – leaving just piles of feathers. The award-winning efforts of the dedicated Black-fronted tern/tarapirohe. The damage that harriers may have done to tern eggs and chicks is not known. The Okuku is an NW to SE running tributary of the Ashley, joining the latter about 22km inland from the coast. Over here in the Information Centre I asked for a spot for Fernbird and Australian Bittern and booked a room for the night. sideways bending bill. At 60 centimetres long, they are the largest of the gulls living in the country. On one occasion a pair of these birds, having by some means or other lost their own brood, returned to the lake earlier than usual. ARRG has been successful, and won awards for ashleyriver The maximum seen in a survey since 2000 was 149. These are illustrated and tabulated below: The BDOs were mainly in pairs and appeared to have finished nesting, however only 1 flying juvenile was seen. At the end of December only about 20 gulls appeared to have been killed by harriers. The first chicks had hatched by 30 December and they soon moved off the nest area to a creche at the river’s edge 50m to the north. Extraction areas, shown in yellow in the below map, are approximate only. Black-backed gulls could also be a major problem. This is a single channel reach with little bare gravel and trees close to the river – in reaches with similar conditions elsewhere along the river there are few braided river birds. Black-billed Gull. made by the colony. The estuary trapping group maintains 139 traps around the margins of the estuary. as many as 6 per square metre. Ducks, shags, Canada Geese, white-faced herons and paradise ducks are found along the river but are not specifically braided river birds. Three were caught on Line 192 after the river had dried out. The gravel extraction areas are a definite locus for bird activity and breeding – particularly banded dotterel and pied stilts. The Ashley rises in the Puketeraki and Pancake Ranges and upper branches of it run for a considerably greater distance through the flat Lees Valley. The Ashley estuary is an internationally important wetland that hosts migratory national and international (e.g. Chatham Island pigeon/parea. February, just as the river had almost completely dried out in this area. The area has had an unusually low hedgehog catch compared with further up the river and the Tuhaitara area, hopefully this isn’t the start of a hedgehog comeback. Black Billed Gull Larus bulleri. Only one other predator was caught on the Railway colony island whilst the birds were in residence. Ground predators (ferrets, stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, rats and feral cats) are the main threat to the birds – especially when nesting or at their juvenile stage. The southern black-backed gull (or ‘black-back’) is one of the most abundant and familiar large birds in New Zealand, although many people do not realise that the mottled brown juveniles (mistakenly called “mollyhawks”) are the same species as the immaculate adults. The black-billed gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri), Buller's gull, or tarāpuka (Māori) is an endangered species of gull in the family Laridae. They nest in colonies, and make nest mounds of dry grass and twigs on shingle. Twenty-four harriers were counted this year, but it appears that some double counting has occurred as more than one person in each group was counting them – despite instructions for one person per group to do this. They lay one to four pale green-grey eggs from September to December, and parents share incubation. It Chicks had yet to hatch. This colony was in coarse gravel on an island (see the image at the top of this post taken 29 November, looking toward Okuku Gorge). Black-backed gull (Karoro) Black-backed gulls are one of the most abundant and familiar birds in New Zealand. The visit on 19 December was specifically made to monitor the tern and gull colonies. Black-backed gulls prey on the eggs and chicks of black-fronted tern/tarapirohe, black-billed gull/tarāpuka, wrybill/ngutu pare, and banded dotterel/tūturiwhatu — all threatened birds that breed on braided rivers. The downstream fire was in the area of Line L and it is suspected that several the 15 traps here will also have been destroyed. includes interviews with river users about how awareness by the general The birds evolved to live on Canterbury’s Catch continued to increase with a total of 26 compared to 22 in December. As with BD, they are early nesters and most of them probably had chicks. This 18 minute video by local film-maker Tony This result no doubt partly reflects the regrowth of weeds since the July 2017 1 in 10-year flood. Twenty-one were counted in 2020, this compares to a long-term average of 41. Lines D, F and G had the largest catch in January. The Marchmont birds have not been seen since the small flood of 8 November. Pair of BBG chicks being fed, other gulls still on nests, 19 December 2019. ashleyriver had been foiled by floods. would have been used. Unfortunately … Further visits were made to the Okuku site on 19/12/19 and 14/1/20 by Grant Davey and Nick Ledgard. All but one of these were seen between kilometres 12 and 19. from the nesting area to avoid disturbance, a count was made of nests by Productivity (number of chicks fledged) of both species was poorer than usual. At this colony it wasn’t possible to get a count of birds that successfully fledged. Gravel extractors have probably created favourable nesting habitat. annual survey, black billed gulls, black-billed gulls, black-fronted tern. Tarāpuka are a very threatened species that are endemic to New Zealand (only found here). :89 Black-billed gull - WikiMili, The Free Encyclop More evidence is of course needed as to the nature of the predators. They were seen sporadically along the river. Three kilometres of the Okuku River was surveyed either side of the Lees Valley Road crossing. The black-billed gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri), Buller's gull, or tarāpuka (Māori) is an endangered species of gull in the family Laridae. The gorge section is about 10km long and is quite narrow. creche areas – presumably this was due to natural causes. BRaid activities. Install more trail cameras at colonies, and improve design of run-through traps. On 19 October a fresh in the river occured. raised – probably a good outcome given that this was the third nesting attempt Exactly when weeds became a threat on the river is uncertain, but from the memories of various people, the fairway was essentially weed-free in the 1970s. In the survey annual they were seen to be most abundant near the estuary, at Smarts, Tulls and near Groyne 2. For the past 3 years we have counted black-billed gulls in colonies using drone photographs – this year the day before the survey. This season pied stilts, banded dotterels and black-fronted terns nested on a large gravel area just above where the river enters the estuary – this is between lines C and D. There were also banded dotterel nests further up the river close to SH1 and at least one black-fronted dotterel also nested along here. This is the best-preserved section of braiding along the river and has been the favoured section for wrybill nesting for some time. afterwards perhaps several hundred fledglings and adults were spotted feeding We have had 2 on the island this year, one got stolen and the other is still in place. Wildlife Management International Ltd introduce their current Black Billed Gull study. One was captured by a trail camera raiding a BD nest this year. In November braided river bird numbers were high on the short sections of the Ashley and Okuku Rivers that were traversed by ECan and BRaid. Fledgling wrybills, black-billed gulls and black-fronted terns tend to congregate in the estuary after leaving the river. Last year was however an exceptional year with bird numbers doubtlessly strongly influenced by floods in the Waimakariri. Te Arawa only knew of the imminent attack when a flock of red- and black-billed gulls flew up, screaming a warning. nesting seasons we will be continuing to try to keep traffic out of the In 2019 there were 296 counted. These rivers are degraded and channelized braided rivers and increasing numbers in the Ashley may not be a good sign. Over 90 species of birds have been recorded. annual survey, black-billed gulls, management. This was the most abundant species on the river this year – although the total number at 141 was still less than the average of 163. They Birds have been captured on trail cameras bringing worms to nests, not the more usual whitebait. Their bills and legs are red when they are adult. Photos: Grant Davey, Steve Attwood, Lynley Cook, John Dowding and Nick Ledgard © 2019 All Rights Reserved, In July-August this year ARRG (with ECan funding) cleared weeds from 40 ha of islands, Black-fronted Tern and Black-billed Gull colonies, 2019 – 2020 Season, Survey of the lower part of the Okuku River: November 2019, Lees Valley – Okuku and Ashley-Rakahuri Rivers: 2019 Breeding Season, Film Premiere: “Rakahuri Recovery – saving the birds of the Ashley-Rakahuri River”, Black-billed gull colony update February 2019. There were a few more predators caught in January 2019 than in January 2018 but there were two extra lines – I and J were put in during late January 2019. Nests have yet to be counted, but there are perhaps in excess of 1000. Piles of feathers along the river banks and in vegetated areas near the nest and creche areas show the effects of predation. Chicks were hatched and from the lack of predation evidence and low number of dead chicks in the colony area, many were likely fledged. * Flooding destroys hopes for boost in North Canterbury black-billed gull population. Stilts were breeding in the area and 1 nest was found. reckless people driving through signposted nesting areas. By this stage, most of the chicks had fledged and would have flown there. The following points are specific to the Okuku River: The black-fronted terns appear to have had some fledgling success, probably higher than that of those on the lower Ashley in 2019 – 2020. ashleyriver Birds found here included BD, BFT, southern black-backed gull (SBBG), SIPO, black-billed gull (BBG) and pied stilt (PS) – most displaying breeding behaviour. The evidence of braided river birds breeding in the Lees Valley was thought by BRaid to be worthy of further monitoring. The black-fronted terns appear to have had some fledgling success, probably higher than that of those on the lower Ashley in 2019 – 2020. This was a stoat – it appears to have carried several young birds about 250m away from the colony and eaten them under willow. Quite large numbers of birds, especially PS and BFT, eastward of SH1. This was after an earlier attempt to nest on the Waimakariri riverbed Rats were yet again the main catch – with Ship rats outnumbering Norway rats. The total of wrybill, BD, BFT, PS and SIPO was 376 compared with 1004 last year and 461 in 2018. Pied stilt: these were seen at or near all the gravel extraction areas. The last fledgling flew away on 19 bird kills, black billed gulls, black-billed gulls, black-fronted tern, management, Predators, Trapping, weeds. sympathetic recreational users. members of the ARRG. This season weekly bird counts have been done by GD between Cones Road and SH1 – Figure 6. 26 Jan, 2018 06:30 PM 3 minutes to read. riverbed and we are working on extending our trapping network. Here they immediately caught 2 hedgehogs. In winter they fly to estuaries and harbours to eat marine invertebrates and shellfish, or to parks for worms and human handouts. Efforts to clear weeds have been made since at least 2004 – these are documented in the full report. Similar in size to red-billed gulls, their bills are black, and they are longer and finer in shape, with reddish-black legs and paler wings. The reason for the abandonment is not known – although there had been 4wd and motorbike activity through the colony despite signage. Seven were seen between kilometres 13 and 17 (Marchmont to Toppings). Prior to 8 November there had been a good colony off Groyne 9 – with around 20 nests mainly on an island that ARRG had cleared of weeds this year. This whitebait season there has also been a lot of disturbance in the area. Three clusters of nests were found – about 0.6, 1.4 and 1.5km upstream from the road crossing with 3, 9 and 2 nests respectively. There was a weak to moderate northwesterly wind, cool conditions, and river flow of about 8 cumecs at the Ashley gorge (Figure 1). The banks have mainly grass and matagouri with in places a number of native species present. This species is highly erratic in distribution, sometimes occurring in large flocks, sometimes with only a few individuals. Regularly patrol under powerlines to record bird losses to aerial hits. All text licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence unless otherwise stated. Harriers here appear to have killed and eaten only 3 gull chicks. A group of horseriders were seen along the berm of the Ashley just downstream from the Okuku junction, they seemed to be heading out onto a bare gravel island where stilts could be seen. volunteers working to save the unique but endangered birds of the Chatham Island tūī . Fourteen SBBG were counted, this compares with the long-term survey average of 11. Red-billed gulls are known as silver gulls in Australia and New Caledonia. Early in the season a number of BD nests were found and monitored, most of these were not successful. They catch young gulls either from the ground or in the air and take them to the riverbanks to eat. Another 5 BFT colonies were located but not monitored closely. Two black-billed gull (BBG) and four black-fronted tern (BFT) colonies were monitored over the 2019-2020 season. black-billed gulls, Predators. shows evidence for this undercounting – there was an unexpected drop in BD numbers eastward of Cones Road from the week before the annual survey when numbers of other species remained very much the same or slightly higher. It rises in the Pancake Range north of Lees Valley, runs through this valley and enters the Okuku Gorge. At the time of the survey nesting seemed to be taking place only in 4 locations – very close to the Cones Road bridge (only a handful of nests), on the Smarts island where Taggart cleared weeds (2 clusters of maybe 3 nests each) and probably a few nests immediately above the estuary. Unfortunately, this has met with only mixed success and for some time weed pulling was done as a team building exercise rather than with real hopes of creating significant nesting habitat. Figure 3. The biggest threat to the birds was probably human disturbance, especially during the whitebait season when there were a lot of people, vehicles and dogs along this section of the river. Black-fronted tern colony, looking downstream. Next season we should have more trail cameras available. There wasn’t evidence of much 4wd activity along most of the riverbed, except for downstream of the Birch Hill bridge. © Crown Copyright. Rabbits were common, this could perhaps lead to more predators in the future. There were 4 pairs here with 1 almost fledgling chick seen. Fledglings leave the nest when they are 26 days old. About 9 were also killed by a reckless four-wheel drive operator. They About 300 black-billed gulls, tarāpuka, have established a colony with about 130 nests in the half demolished and flooded foundations of a former office block on Armagh St. These large, grumpy looking birds are known for their intelligence and ability to hassle other birds out of a meal. In addition to the normal all-year-round berm trapping, a total of 48 additional traps were located close to the two BBG colonies and four main BFT colonies during the season. Since trapping began in July 2018 to late July 2019 a total of 290 predators have been caught. During the day the vehicles weren’t causing abandonment, but at night they could well have done. A further bird was seen east of SH1. Other specialist braided river birds are the In the 1944-5 season they were also nesting at Porangahau in Hawkes Bay and in January 1954 colonies were found at Gisborne Harbour and the Ngaruroro River mouth near Napier. Fourteen BFT nests were found – 2 were empty, 1 had a dead chick and a live chick in it, 1 had a single egg, the remainder had 2 eggs. Both sexes incubate the eggs, and the young fledge at 37 days. This seems to be a major 4wd access to the Ashley River. Harriers were even more prolific killers than the rats – about 117 gull chick remnants can be attributed to them. For the last 3 years we have also included the 2km section from SH1 to the top of the estuary and have counted the birds in 1km stretches of the river. Black stilt/kakī . The total of these birds counted this year was 111. Several BD chicks were seen in the survey, but perhaps not as many as should be expected. In this area black-fronted terns (BFT), banded dotterels (BD) and pied oystercatchers (SIPO) were displaying breeding behaviour – but no nests were found. There are several subspecies, of which Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus occurs only in New Zealand. One bird seen between kilometres 3 and 4 had not been previously monitored this year. The gulls circled overhead while Te Arawa were defeated. But Norway rats are strongly suspected of wiping out many nests and perhaps killing chicks. Black-billed gulls mainly breed inland, beside South Island rivers. The relatively high number of birds, especially PS, north of where Smarts Road joins Tulls Road. Until relatively recently on the Ashley we have had a BBG colony about every second year, but since 2016 a reasonable local colony has been an annual feature. Some say the Group has The black-billed gulls, which only live in New Zealand, landed on Pandora Spit in the Ahuriri Estuary in November and quickly started breeding. On 21/11/19 the Ashley and Okuku sites were visited by Grant Davey and Howard Esler. Despite clearance of weeds from almost 20ha (machine and hand pulling) prior to the season, only one such site (Railway) hosted a gull or tern colony. Initiate predator control earlier at potential colony sites – particularly targeting rats. This compares with a maximum of 5 seen in the same area in the weekly surveys. With this behaviour, and sometimes quite widely spaced surveyors, some birds would be missed. In future On 19 December the wind was too strong to fly the drone, but the BBG could be counted quite accurately (198) off photographs taken from the adjacent high bank. ashleyriver The chicks were observed from the riverbank to minimize disturbance and it seemed likely there could be more than were counted. The 6 key braided river bird species that we are most concerned about are wrybill, banded dotterel (BD), black-fronted tern (BFT), southern pied oystercatcher (SIPO), pied stilt (PS) and black-billed gull (BBG). It is well established that birds that breed on braided rivers require bare gravel for their nests, and for many years members of the ARRG have understood that weeds pose a major threat to birds nesting on the Ashley. On 22 October there were at least 2,200 birds gathered on an island much better suited to provide protection from floods and predators. One nest was found close to the old extraction area in the Grey and elsewhere the birds’ behaviour indicated nesting. 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