Newsletter #56
Tēnā koutou,
Thanks to everyone who attended the AGM a few weeks ago, and thank you to those who have renewed their membership and annual subs. If you would like to renew your full membership or upgrade to full membership you can do so online.
Recent reports outlining the progress and results of management strategies on several rivers are now available online (scroll down). Links to the reports are also on the relevant \’river\’ and \’bird\’ pages in the website. You can also find them by using the search function.
Bird survey dates (valid as of today 28 October). As I write this, a survey currently is underway on the Rakaia River until Friday 30 October. Just a reminder that the dates are under Events on our Facebook page. Bird surveys are run by different organisations: DOC, ECan, local river care groups, or local groups supported by DOC or ECan. Some take just a few hours and cover a short stretch of a river. Others are held over several days. Please contact each organiser, not us, for specific details if you would like to be involved.
Ngā mihi,
Sonny Whitelaw manager@braid.org.nz
Braided River Bird Surveys:
Reports:
- Waiau Toa/Clarence River mouth black-billed gull outcome monitoring 2016-2020 (Final report)
- Upper Waiau Toa/ Clarence River black-fronted tern project 2015/16 – 2019/2020 (Final report)
- Lower Waitaki River island enhancement project for black-fronted term 2015-2020 (Five-year report)
- Upper Rakaia Trapping Project (Annual Report 2019-2020)
- Upper Rangitata Trapping Project (Annual Report 2019-2020)
- Summary of recommendations and the Minister for the Environment’s decisions on amendments to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020
- Canterbury Water Management Strategy Targets & Goals: the original targets and goals were published in 2010 and included targets for 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2040. These 2020 set of targets added interim targets for 2025 and 2030.
News:
- Work by the Orari River Protection Group to clear weeds on the Orari River seems to be paying off! On 20 October, 60+ black fronted terns were seen; 2 birds carrying worms from surrounding paddocks to birds on the riverbed, indicating nesting was taking place.
- Native habitat \’under attack\’ nationwide as offenders face little consequence, data shows (Stuff)
- Stream illegally diverted, wetland drained by business owners wanting better access to quarry (Stuff)
- \’Gutted\’: Loss of vulnerable shore birds distresses guardian \’ – courtesy of domestic cats laying waste to the the banded dotterels of South Bay Kaikoura (Radio NZ)
- When you\’re a Banded Dotterel but you really want to be a NZ Dotterel because you know they\’re going to win Bird of the Year….
- Farming, freshwater, and disruptive technologies: \’Are we going to be agile? Or are we going to be defiant?\’These must-watch videos explain and sheer volume of nitrates still polluting our waterways, particularly in Canterbury and Southland, and how intensification has overshot health limits of our shared land and water. It\’s also a call to help farmers make the necessary transition to modern, sustainable farming practices.
Research:
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Responses of global waterbird populations to climate change vary with latitude; Nature Climate Change
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Homogenization of the terrestrial water cycle; Nature Geoscience \”Land-use and land-cover changes …can homogenize the water cycle and undermine planetary resilience.\”
- Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration Nature (open access, ie, freely available in full)
- Why bird brains are more brilliant than anyone suspected Science magazine short video: