There is no doubting the success of Tiritiri Matangi in preserving bird species that have principally succumbed to human devastation.  This achievement however provides no indication of how more successful species are faring. Enter the ubiquitous seabirds whose status is a good indicator of overall ecological health, given their existence on the margins of land and sea.

A little-known project on Tiritiri Matangi has been Seabird Counting, the aim of which is to help fill this gap in our knowledge. Seabird counting has been an annual event taking place between September and January and is in its 12^th year.  Mike Dye did this for the first 10 years ably describing his experience in a 17^th May issue of Guidelines.  I assisted Mike over the last 5 years until we were joined by Rachel Taylor.  Rachel and Mike, now no longer in Auckland, left a vacuum that I, in a mad moment, agreed to fill.  Consequently, I started the 23-24 season on my own, but thanks mainly to Mike’s article, a number of people have come forward and we’ve built a good team comprising: Scott Camlin, Bethny Uptegrove, Sue Beaumont Orr, Yvonne Vaneveld and Julie Benjamin.

The target species are primarily Red-billed Gulls (RBGs), Black-backed Gulls (BBGs), White-fronted Terns (WFTs) and Pied Shags (PS) because these all have established nesting areas on the Island. We are also interested in other species including Caspian Tern, Pied Shag, Little Shag, and Reef Heron. The simple method we employ involves counting these birds in known breeding areas and colonies while being vigilant for lone breeders and new colonies.

We are often asked why we bother to count seabirds. “Seagulls are everywhere, they’re a nuisance stealing our chips”.  The truth is that only Black-backed Gulls are thriving, while the others are in the ‘at risk’ or ‘threatened’ conservation status.  Hence, it is important to detect the population changes of these birds and to understand the causes.  Tiritiri Matangi is a small piece of the moving jigsaw puzzle that is New Zealand’s overall seabird study. The study in the short term identifies areas of importance for shorebirds, estimates the abundance and proportion of the different populations that use those areas, and in the long term estimates population trends of the shorebirds.

We are a growing team; our Seabird Counting project is becoming more known amongst Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi volunteers and more people are putting their name forward to join in the counting.  Is there an increasing interest in our seabird population or is it that people are seeing how much fun we’re having? (H&S skip over this…) That fun part?  Bounding over hill & dale, confidently striding ahead toward precipitous cliff edges, eyes assisted by heavy binoculars, ignoring the rolly gravelly patches, feeling for the return track between thick stands of flax and twiggy bush, all while ignoring scratchy heat, aching muscles and growling hunger as we pass by seductive shady bits of lush grassy hillside; no time to rest.  The birds and the ferry wait for no one.