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RNZ News
7 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Kaikōura considers new rules for cats
Kaikōura District Council will draft a new animal control bylaw with a section for cats. File photo Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon A new bylaw is being proposed to protect Kaikōura's native birds and improve the wellbeing of cats. With the Kaikōura District Council's dog control bylaw due to be reviewed, the council has decided to draft a new animal control bylaw with a section for cats. The decision follows calls from local conservationists to help protect banded dotterels / pohowera, which nests along the Kaikōura coastline. The birds come under threat from predators, including stray and feral cats, during nesting season. Alongside the new bylaw, the council will partner with the SPCA to promote subsidised desexing and microchipping of cats. Council chief executive Will Doughty said the new bylaw will be developed over the next 18 months and will be subject to consultation. "We've looked at what's been done in other councils and we found this is now becoming a lot more mainstream. "There are benefits from a cat health perspective and it's good from a wider environmental perspective, so it goes beyond just the protecting the birds. "But the big thing is in the education." A dotterel in full flight. Photo: Ailsa McGilvary-Howard The council is working with Environment Canterbury and the Department of Conservation to look at restrictions on nesting sites. The dotterel nesting season runs from September to December, with the birds under threat from dogs, vehicles and human activity, as well as cats. Doughty said the subsidised desexing and microchipping programme will receive ratepayer funding from the council's environmental projects fund. Kaikōura couple Ailsa McGilvary-Howard and Ted Howard made an appeal to a council workshop in March to help protect the dotterels. While the dotterel can be found on braided rivers and coastlines in other parts of the South Island, Kaikōura is like "a whirlpool" which sucks birds in because there appears to be plenty of resources, McGilvary-Howard said. The beach areas with the most dotterel nesting sites are at South Bay between the Coastguard and The Caves, and further north between the West End shopping area and the New World supermarket. McGilvary-Howard has been monitoring dotterel nests on the Kaikōura coastline voluntarily for more than a decade and completed a self-funded banded dotterel study in 2016. A banded dotterel mother and chick. Photo: Ailsa McGilvary-Howard Howard monitors the northern section, and said around 150 eggs were laid this season, with around 40 hatching, but just one chick survived. A further four chicks survived at South Bay, but more adult birds were lost to predator attacks. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
05-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Key Wellington areas identified as vital to survival of native bird species
Wellington City Council urban ecology manager Daniela Biaggio. Photo: Supplied/Wellington City Council Wellington is lucky to have nearly 40 species of native birds living along its urban coastline, but with more than half of these under threat, their nesting habitats must be looked after, says an ecologist. An annual bird survey of 55km of Te Whanganui-a-Tara coastline from Petone Beach to Oteranga Bay has identified four key areas essential for the survival of indigenous coastal bird populations. Wellington City Council urban ecology manager Daniela Biaggio said the survey also showed the capital was "a vital refuge" to 37 native bird species, "which is pretty amazing for the national capital". However, 20 of those species were classified as threatened or at risk. "It's really important to balance our urban life with caring for these taonga species." The four key areas identified by the survey are Oruaiti Reserve on the Miramar Peninsula, Taputeranga Motu in Island Bay, Wellington's south coast and the southern end of Wellington's international airport runway. Biaggio said they supported rare breeding colonies and critical nesting habitats for species like the spotted shag and banded dotterel. "For example, Taputeranga [motu in Island Bay] is one of the key breeding area for matuku moana - the reef heron," she added. "Twenty percent of the region's reef heron population breeds on that small island, so these places are really, really important places for us to care for our birds." Biaggio said the survey did more than identify habitats. "How we care for coastal birds goes beyond these key areas. Lots of things that we wouldn't normally think of as important can provide habitats. "Old infrastructure, such as piers and marinas, can also be strongholds for perching places for breeding birds." Locals and visitors could help protect the region's unique biodiversity by understanding and respecting the city's natural spaces, she added. "Whether you're visiting for a scenic view, on a fishing trip or just enjoying the coast, taking care to minimise disturbance to these bird habitats goes a long way to preserving Wellington's coastal bird populations for generations to come. "Human disturbance from off-road vehicles, fishing and other activities threatens sensitive breeding grounds, especially for ground-nesting birds. "The last remaining important breeding areas for our native coastal manu are areas with limited access, ruggedness and remoteness which tells us that with a bit more care in how we share the coast with this taonga species we may be rewarded and encounter them more often." The four key essential areas are: Submissions are now open on Tātou ki Uta - the council's draft Coastal Reserves Management Plan until 5 August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
