Braided river birds: overview
More than 80 species of birds are found along braided rivers from the mountains to the sea. However, only 6 birds have evolved to live in this unique environment, and all are endemic, that is, they live only in New Zealand: black-billed gull tarāpuka (endemic), black-fronted tern tarapirohe, banded dotterel pohowera, black stilt kakī, South Island pied oystercatcher tōrea, and wrybill ngutupare.
The remaining 4 native species: Caspian tern taranui, red-billed gull tarāpunga, white-fronted tern tara, and pied stilt poaka have been included here because they are often mistaken for the endemic braided river birds, and in the case of pied-stilt | poaka, present a problem for the endemic black stilt | kakī for reasons that are explained on their respective pages.
All of these birds are taonga species for Ngāi tahu and as such, have special cultural, spiritual, historic, and traditional associations.
The populations of all braided river bird species are in decline; some are at risk of extinction.
Important!
If you are monitoring or planning to monitor braided river birds, please first see the Department of Conservation PDF: ‘Protocol for best practice in monitoring braided river birds’.
Which birds are found on what rivers
Go to the Canterbury Maps Braided River Bird Data – Web App, (see images below). This mapping tool gives you access to a wide range of data. Please note that there are gaps in the data. This for several reasons: some older records are not available to be digitalised; many remote areas have not been surveyed; some species such as black-billed gulls | tarāpuka can realistically be counted only from the air during the breeding season as they nest in closely-spaced colonies, so aerial surveys can be regarded as reasonably accurate; small cryptic species such as wrybill ngutupare and dotterels pohowera are are much harder and more labour intensive to count.
How to use the database. Due to a technical glitch while recording the image quality is not tideal and the sound quality drops for about 30 seconds during the transition between Miles and Frances speaking before returning to normal. But do take the time to watch as it will save you heaps of time trying to navigate the database.
Rivers outside Canterbury
The following link to short (3 to 7 page) PDFs that include maps, types of river birds on each river in the South Island, and threats. These PDFs were extracted from the 2016 edition of Forest & Bird’s Important Areas For New Zealand Sea Birds: Sites on Land: Rivers and Estuaries (177 pages). Information for Canterbury has been superseded by the 2025 Canterbury Maps: Braided River Birds (see mapping tool above).
Marlborough & Nelson rivers
Fjordland rivers
Otago rivers
Southland rivers
References and research papers including areas outside the above-mentioned rivers
See Ecology/references on this website or check each of the bird pages listed in the menu above.
- 2024: Crossland; Lower Heathcote-Ferrymead floodplain: Avian biodiversity status & management guidelines, CCC Parks Biodiversity Team
- 2023: O’Donnell, Braided river bird conservation: How far have we come over the last 40 years? PDF of seminar presentation
- 2023: Burford & Jack, Braided River Survey Data; Making use of a nationally important dataset (PDF)
- 2020: McCarthur et al., State and trends in the abundance and distribution of riverbed-nesting shorebirds on the Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro and Tukituki Rivers, Client report prepared for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier
- 2020: McCarthur; A review of significant coastal and freshwater habitats for indigenous birds in the Wellington region, report prepared for Greater Wellington Regional Council
- 2020: McCarthur; A review of the shorebird values and management actions in Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Ecological Management and Enhancement Plans
- 2020: McCarthur; A review of the status and management of banded dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus) on Ōnoke Spit, Client report prepared for the Department of Conservation, Masterton.
