A dead dotterel/pohowera chick thought to have been run over by a trailbike in the wetlands south of Clive. Photo / Marilyn Scott
A dead dotterel/pohowera chick thought to have been run over by a trailbike in the wetlands south of Clive. Photo / Marilyn Scott
Save the Dotterels Hawke’s Bay has reported dead chicks in tyre tracks and free-roaming dogs in the area.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council patrols the area six times a week and prohibits motorbikes.
The council may resort to trespassing or police referrals if breaches of access continue.
Endangered chicks have been found squashed, and fledglings found in tyre tracks, in what are designated no-vehicle areas on a Hawke’s Bay beach.
Hawke’s Bay rivers and coastline are a stronghold for breeding banded dotterels/pohowera, supporting an estimated 16% of the total global population of the species.
Marilyn Scott of bird protection group Save the Dotterels Hawke’s Bay said the area of wetlands on the coast between Te Awa o Mokotūāraro (formerly the Clive River) and the Tukituki River was an important nesting area for a number of native birds.
But although gates and fences with signs have cordoned the area off, vehicle users are finding ways in.
A man walks towards the beach with fishing gear with his dogs off leash, next to a sign saying "no dogs off leash" near a dotterel nesting area near Clive. Photo / Marilyn Scott
“It’s usually only a small number of people who are very entitled,” said Scott.
“We are really aware that we’re dealing with competing interests on the beach. I mean there are people that love going fishing and we totally understand that.
“But they take their quad bike down and just drive through the nesting area. That shows a total arrogance as far as we’re concerned.”
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council owns and manages the protected area.
“Whenever we see quad bikes or whatever, we have sent them to the regional council – photographed them or texted the rangers,” Scott said.
A lone banded dotterel/pohowera stands in tyre tracks where a vehicle has driven through a nesting area near Clive in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Marilyn Scott
A Hawke’s Bay Regional Council spokesperson said their team looks after multiple sites across the region that are “patrolled by regional council staff on a regular basis” and visit this particular area about six times a week.
The spokesperson said “motorbikes of any description” are not allowed in Waitangi Regional Park, which this wetland is a part of.
“There is an ongoing issue in this area where people continually breach fences and access gates. Our first step is to educate the community on this issue. However, if serious behaviour persists, we may move to trespassing, as we have done in the past.
“Those causing damage to the infrastructure [fences, gates, etc] may be referred to the police.”
Hawke's Bay Regional Council signage around the dotterel nesting area. Photo / Marilyn Scott
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.
