Tuturiwhatu - banded dotterel - Charadrius bicinctus
Photographed on Kaitorete Spit, Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury.
These little dotterel were playing a dangerous game, nesting just above the line of storm wreck on the beach (hence a lot of small bits of driftwood in the photos) and also where locals love to hoon around in 4-wheel drives and beach buggies. One of the nests photographed was only 30cm from a recent wheel track. A substantial part of the spit is protected from vehicles but, oddly, most of the nesting birds were in the area where the vehicles were allowed.
Family: Charadriidae.
A small (18 cm) wader in the plover family of birds. It lives in beaches, mud flats, grasslands and on bare ground. Two subspecies are recognised, the nominate bicinctus breeding in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands and Charadrius bicinctus exilis breeding in the Auckland Islands. Adults in breeding plumage are white, with a dark greyish brown back, and have a distinctive brown breast, with a thinner band of black below the neck, and between the eyes and beak. Younger birds have no bands, and are often speckled brown on top, with less white parts. They are fairly widespread in the south of New Zealand, but not often seen in the north. The nominate subspecies is partly migratory, breeding in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands and some wintering in Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, others staying in New Zealand. The Auckland Islands subspecies is sedentary but some birds move from their territories to the shore. Their eggs are grey, speckled with black, making them well camouflaged against river stones and pebbles, which make up the main structure of their very simple nest. Size: 20 cm, 60g; adult in breeding plumage is white underneath with 2 bands, a thin black band on the lower neck and a broad chestnut band on the breast; non breeding plumage is variable but largely without the bands; short dark grey bill, black eye, yellowish, grey, green legs.
Tuturiwhatu - banded dotterel - Charadrius bicinctus
Photographed on Kaitorete Spit, Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury.
These little dotterel were playing a dangerous game, nesting just above the line of storm wreck on the beach (hence a lot of small bits of driftwood in the photos) and also where locals love to hoon around in 4-wheel drives and beach buggies. One of the nests photographed was only 30cm from a recent wheel track. A substantial part of the spit is protected from vehicles but, oddly, most of the nesting birds were in the area where the vehicles were allowed.
Family: Charadriidae.
A small (18 cm) wader in the plover family of birds. It lives in beaches, mud flats, grasslands and on bare ground. Two subspecies are recognised, the nominate bicinctus breeding in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands and Charadrius bicinctus exilis breeding in the Auckland Islands. Adults in breeding plumage are white, with a dark greyish brown back, and have a distinctive brown breast, with a thinner band of black below the neck, and between the eyes and beak. Younger birds have no bands, and are often speckled brown on top, with less white parts. They are fairly widespread in the south of New Zealand, but not often seen in the north. The nominate subspecies is partly migratory, breeding in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands and some wintering in Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, others staying in New Zealand. The Auckland Islands subspecies is sedentary but some birds move from their territories to the shore. Their eggs are grey, speckled with black, making them well camouflaged against river stones and pebbles, which make up the main structure of their very simple nest. Size: 20 cm, 60g; adult in breeding plumage is white underneath with 2 bands, a thin black band on the lower neck and a broad chestnut band on the breast; non breeding plumage is variable but largely without the bands; short dark grey bill, black eye, yellowish, grey, green legs.