Rescuing stranded Kaikōura tītī fledglings
Story and photos contributed by Nora Kahler of St Peter's Anglican Church, Kaikoura.
At St Peter’s Anglican Church in Kaikōura, we have been privileged to help some of our local endangered birds this autumn. Kaikōura is home to the endangered Hutton’s Shearwater / Kaikōura tītī (Puffinus huttoni). These are very special birds, as they are the only seabird in the world that breeds in an alpine environment. There are only two breeding colonies remaining in the mountains of the Seaward Kaikōura Range.
Every March and April Hutton’s Shearwater fledglings leave their mountain burrows for the first time as they make their way to their oceanic home.
Crash landings or ‘fallout’ of Hutton’s Shearwaters in the Kaikōura township is frequent, as the fledglings find their way to the sea at night. Artificial light sources from town cause the birds to become disoriented and many crash land where street lights shine on the road, mistaking this for moonlight shining on the sea. Because they are pelagic seabirds, they cannot take off from land once they’ve crash landed, making them vulnerable to predation or vehicle strike. This is where we humans can help. Throughout the fledging season, volunteers patrol the roads around Kaikōura searching for crash-landed birds in need of rescuing. They are kept safely overnight in a purpose made shelter, known as the Hutton’s Hub, and then checked and released at sea the next day.
Hutton's Shearwater being rescued during night patrol.
Shearwater at Hutton’s Hub
St Peter’s parishioners take an active role in patrolling for the birds at night throughout this season. A highlight from the efforts this year was when parishioner Stephen Hill rescued a bird from a cat which was sitting half a meter away; without human intervention that bird would not have been able to escape. Each season numerous fledglings are lost to cat predation or vehicle traffic if volunteers are not able to reach them in time, but each bird we rescue is a precious life saved. Watching the shearwaters soaring above the waves in the summer months feels intensely personal and wondrous after involvement in the seasonal rescue efforts.
Stephen Hill transferring a Shearwater to a box at Hutton's Hub / “Hutton’s Hotel” for overnight safekeeping.
Seeking out the disoriented, stranded Kaikōura tītī is a way we can help to rectify a problem we have created with our artificial lights in their flightpath. Although rescuing them off the roads is one of the ways we can give a hand to our feathered neighbours, it’s not the only way. We can also contain our cats and dogs at night and turn off outside lights where possible, and drive slowly and carefully at night. We hope that with care and consideration, we can continue to live alongside the beautiful Kaikōura tītī for many, many years into the future.
More information about Hutton’s shearwaters can be found here: www.huttonsshearwater.org.nz.