River users threatening rare birds

By Susan Sandys  March 1, 2012 Endangered birds continue to choose the Ashburton River for hatching and raising their young, despite it being almost as busy as a city street. Recreationalists use the river for trail biking, walking their dogs, four-wheel-driving and horse riding. It is an issue for Ashburton Forest and Bird, which is trying to raise awareness among recreationalists to be careful where they tread, ride and drive. President Edith Smith said looking back at this year’s breeding season on the river, numbers of birds nesting there had been “pleasing”. The branch took signs down this week which had publicised the need to give a wide berth to nesting birds. The breeding season runs from September to mid-February. A December survey had shown about 1500 black-billed gulls nesting above the State Highway One bridge. Extending from there to about eight kilometres downstream, at Wakanui School Road, there had been 136 banded dotterel and about 60 black fronted terns nesting. Of the terns, about 35 had been near the popular Trevors Road entrance. “They are very vulnerable to disturbance, birds fly off their nest and fly away and they often will not return once they are disturbed,” Mrs Smith said. The terns continued to choose the river to nest “because braided river is their habitat”, she said. “We have some lovely clean braids that they nest on.” However, nesting in the Ashburton would often not give them “optimum” breeding conditions due to the public nature of the site. On the good side, weed and pest control had been undertaken in the area, and that had given them more of a chance. Now the breeding season is over, the terns and other nesting birds have left. Mrs Smith said it was unknown how well the nesting season had gone, but it was good to see a raised awareness among members of the public. The signs had assisted with this. As the Guardian took a photo this week, river users at the site included horse riders and trail bikers. The trail bikers, who were students from Christchurch using the river area for the first time, said they were unaware there was nesting sites there until mid-February. They had seen the sign at the site, but had not stopped to read it. However, as they realised, they said they would not even think of riding on the river during the breeding season. “You wouldn’t even go out there,” trail biker David Stevens said. http://www.ashburtonguardian.co.nz/news/todays-news/6849-river-users-threatening-rare-birds.html