Kia ora koutou and greetings to all our wonderful shorebird supporters.
Welcome to our first update of 2026!
12 months down the track
This month marks the first anniversary of my role as Chair. I have enjoyed meeting many of you and thank you for your interest in, and action for, nature and community.
Over the past year, Trustees have worked hard to balance the day-to-day mahi of trapping and shorebird monitoring with a long-term, big-picture plan. I would like to thank my fellow trustees Marie, Sue and Lesley who have patiently and supportively walked this path with me.
The Trust’s vision is that Ōmaha Shorebird Sanctuary is a safe place for shorebirds where they can feed, roost and breed undisturbed. As newly appointed Chair, I first focused on developing an Action Plan with achievable goals to guide the Trust’s activities. One of our goals is to “Strengthen Community Action that Values and Protects the Shorebirds”.
Accordingly, we collaborated on producing a beautiful tea towel that uniquely celebrates the shorebirds of the Whangateau Harbour and Ōmaha as taonga and supports our work. The funds raised have enabled us to start work on refreshing the Ōmaha Shorebirds website which will help us engage more effectively with community and visitors.
In addition, Trustees have prepared submissions, collaborated with conservation, iwi, community and council partners, attended workshops, hosted walk’n’talks, made presentations, undertaken ‘dotterel minding’ training, drafted reports and attended to charitable and council reporting obligations.
Have we made a difference? Yes, I think so! But our work is ongoing, particularly if we are to turn around the woeful shorebird breeding stats, as you will read below.
Your support continues to be vital and we appreciate your continued interest. We look forward to sharing the new website with you later in the year.
Nga mihi / Best wishes,
Jo Strahan
Chair, Ōmaha Shorebird Protection Trust
Oystercatcher chick (left) with parent.
Photo: Denis O’Callahan
2026 Breeding Result
In our December news, we reported three newly hatched dotterel chicks inside the Sanctuary, with many more dotterel pairs incubating eggs. The variable oystercatchers (VOC) begin nesting a little later that the dotterels, and by New Year many VOC nests were also observed. However, by the end of February it was obvious that many of the nests with eggs or newly hatched chicks had been lost. Sadly, there were only three dotterel / tūturiwhatu and two oystercatcher / torea pango chicks fledged (i.e. survived able to fly freely) this breeding season. That’s five chicks from around 40 breeding shorebird pairs! ☹
This is far below the number of chicks needed to sustain the local population of dotterels at Ōmaha, and a clear message that the current management of the reserve needs to change. Adding this sad total to the Trust’s monitoring data dating back to 2009, shows how important our advocacy to Local Board and Council decision-makers is.
Thanks to Marie and Sue for the hours of observation, careful recording and protective tape-setting over the breeding season.
Raising awareness, advocating for change
The Trust is working with Council and our Local Board on the two key issues that are limiting shorebird breeding outcomes:
1. Cats roaming outside at night are regularly seen on camera entering the Sanctuary, and their paw-prints are all through the nesting areas. Cats kill eggs, chicks and even adult birds.
2. Greater numbers of visitors to the Sanctuary who accidentally scare birds off their eggs, prevent chicks from feeding on the shoreline and alert flocks of resting birds over high tide.
Hello mister! Frequently seen on a night time prowl inside the Sanctuary, pictured here beside a scanning tunnel trialled this breeding season.
Trapping Update
Predator control is an important part of the Trust’s work. Our goal is simple: Mammalian predators are controlled. We have a great working group of volunteers who are rostered on a weekly visit to each one of our 60 traps.
Grateful thanks to Lesley who coordinates, inducts and communicates with the trapping team, as well as getting out there with baits and tools.
This year we undertook a full audit of the trap network to identify replacement, maintenance and mapping improvements. We have also prepared a Health and Safety Plan to the requirements of Council.
This year to date, 15 mice, 7 rats and 3 weasels!
Petrel Rescue
March to May is when young petrels leave their nests for the first time. On a test flight from Hauturu / Little Barrier toward the mainland they can become disoriented by bright lights, especially on rainy nights, and crash land! A grounded petrel is in trouble. Petrels are pelagic, meaning they are built for life on the wing out at sea and cannot take off easily from flat ground.
One of our volunteers rescued this bedraggled specimen from Ōmaha beach. Hooray! the wonderful Paws and Claws team in Warkworth released him from a clifftop later that week in fine form.
If you find a shorebird in trouble here is what to do: use gloves or a towel to gently pick the bird up and place them in a well-ventilated dark box. Do not feed them or give them water. They can be taken to BirdCare Aotearoa in Auckland, or a local vet practice.
Grounded petrel at Ōmaha Beach
DOC Community Fund Application
In April the Trust applied for grant funding from the Department of Conservation’s Community Fund. The application includes extending the predator fence at the “leaky” end where cats get in, upgrading the main Walkway 1 gate, improving interpretive signage, and supporting long-term community stewardship to help protect the birds.
Thanks to the Alicia Bullock at the Whangateau Catchment Collective, Ngati Manuhiri, Peter Hall Planning and all those who supported during the application process. The DOC fund is highly oversubscribed - only 7% of applicants were successful last year – but you have to be in to win!
Thanks for supporting our fundraiser
Ōmaha tea towels have gone around the world! They have been gifted to grandchildren and grandparents, thanked hosts and impressed visitors.
So far, nearly $4,000 has been raised to support our mahi and there are still lots of beautiful tea towels left to purchase.
To purchase (cost $25 each):
Fill in the order form.
Make a bank deposit Ōmaha Shorebird Protection Trust 06-0293-0115839-000
Choose to have your tea towels posted ($10 extra) or arrange a pick up.
The order form is here: https://forms.gle/oBdqbWgdAGFk5MKN7
Can you help out?
We recently welcomed two new trapping volunteers to our crew (full training and equipment provided, and time away for travel and family can always be accommodated!)
It’s not all dirty work! If you would like to combine a walk with delivering some of these Council brochures to letterboxes in Ōmaha, please get in touch with us.
Send on this update to your friends and family!
From Trustees Lesley Barley, Sue Cook, Jo Strahan and Marie Ward
Get in touch with us at info@omahashorebirds.co.nz