Protection put on beaches for tern

Rangers building a sand wall at Waipu in an attempt to shelter fairy tern nests. Photo / Vivienne Lepper

Sand bagging, trench digging and trap setting are underway on Northland beaches to protect the world's most endangered shorebird from a range of killers, with the encroaching sea only one of them.

Department of Conservation rangers have been helping create mini-fortresses to protect the fairy tern, or tara-iti, at Waipu and the other few sites in Northland where the species lays its eggs in little more than a scuff in the sand.

The endangered fairy tern.

The 40 known surviving fairy terns - only 12 breeding pairs among them - are due to nest at Waipu, Mangawhai, Pakiri and Papakanui, and need all the help they can get during a time they are vulnerable to high tides, bad weather, people, dogs and other animals.

"Breeding season is a particularly vulnerable time for the birds, with the summer influx of visitors to these sites, we are asking locals and visitors to keep dogs off conservation land and for people to keep their distance from the birds, their nests and their eggs," says DoC ranger Vivienne Lepper.

"Sand walls, and trenches will protect the nests from unusual high tides, and the fences and signs keep people away from nests, and to remind them dogs are not allowed on Waipu and Mangawhai sandspits."

Without intervention, fairy terns could be doomed to extinction. They nest on exposed, low-lying beaches in a simple section of sand. Last year five fairy tern chicks fledged and similar success is hoped for this year.

"The first chick for the new season hatched at Mangawhai on November 16 so we are off to a positive start," Ms Lepper said.

Visitors should heed signs at fairy tern nesting sites and dog owners must comply with bylaws banning dogs from reserves.

"If people want to walk their dogs at the beach, then I encourage them to take their dogs to the exercise areas at Uretiti and Ruakaka beaches," Ms Lepper said.