Banding and monitoring of oystercatchers on the Chatham Islands, January 2007 A report prepared for the Department of Conservation’s: Chatham Islands Area Office Chatham Island Oystercatcher Recovery Group Report prepared by: John Dowding Rex Williams DM Consultants PO Box 1699 PO Box 36-274 NELSON CHRISTCHURCH APRIL 2007 Contents Summary 3 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Itinerary 4 2 Results 5 2.1 Chatham Island 5 2.2 Pitt Island 12 2.3 Effective population size 13 3 Miscellaneous observations 14 3.1 Chatham Island 14 3.2 Pitt Island 14 4 Discussion 14 4.1 Effects of lack of management 14 4.2 Pitt Island 15 5 Recommendations 16 6 Acknowledgements 17 7 References 17 8 Appendices 18 8.1 CIO newly banded or re-banded 19 8.2 Pairings and territories on Pitt Island 2006/07 20 8.3 Maunganui territories 2006/07 21 8.4 Wharekauri territories 2006/07 22 8.5 Whangamoe territories 2006/07 23 8.6 South-west coast territories 2006/07 24 Dowding & Williams 2007: Banding and monitoring of oystercatchers on the Chatham Islands, January 2007 2 Summary Dowding, J.E.; Williams, R. 2007. Banding and monitoring of oystercatchers on the Chatham Islands, January 2007. Unpublished report to Chatham Islands Area Office, Department of Conservation. 24 pp. As part of the Chatham Island oystercatcher (CIO) recovery programme, we visited Chatham Island and Pitt Island in January 2007. RW was present from 05-19 January and JED was present from 16-29 January. Routine replacement of colour bands was undertaken in areas where monitoring will continue (Maunganui-Tioriori, Wharekauri, and the east coast of Pitt Island). To reduce future band-replacement work and to minimise the risk of band-related injuries, colour bands were removed from birds in other areas. On Chatham Island, 41 birds in the monitored areas had colour bands renewed, and 27 birds in other areas had colour bands removed. Seventeen unbanded birds were banded with metal bands (8 adults, 1 juvenile, and 8 chicks). On Pitt Island, colour bands were replaced on 8 adults. Four unbanded birds were banded with metal bands (1 juvenile and 3 chicks), and one metal-banded adult in the east coast managed area was colour banded. At the end of January 2007, at least 56 birds on Chatham Island still had colour bands that needed to be replaced or removed. Territory maps were updated, and observations were made on recruitment, changes in pairings, productivity, and identity and numbers of non-breeding birds (floaters) in the population. Further observations will be required to determine productivity for the season in the north coast study areas, but it appears to be considerably lower than it was during management. Adult survival also appears to be lower now, particularly at Wharekauri, where there is much cat sign on the beach and in the dunes. The total population appears to have declined in the 2 years since management ceased. The number of breeding pairs is at an all-time high, but will probably start to fall again in the near future without management. The pool of floaters is much smaller than it was at the end of the management era. Simple modelling suggests that with current levels of survival and productivity, the population will decline by at least 3% annually. Recommendations include: • Improve monitoring of survival and productivity in the previously managed areas at Maunganui and Wharekauri. • Either re-instate annual management at Wharekauri from 2007/08, and assess whether this is sufficient to reverse the overall population decline, or set minimum thresholds for the size of the population and when these are reached, re-instate management at both Maunganui and Wharekauri. • Explore means to improve productivity in the managed area on Pitt Island. • Continue the programme of colour-band replacement in monitored areas and removal in other areas. Dowding & Williams 2007: Banding and monitoring of oystercatchers on the Chatham Islands, January 2007 3 1 Introduction 1.1 BACKGROUND For the six seasons 1999/00 – 2004/05, intensive management of Chatham Island oystercatchers (CIO, Haematopus chathamensis) was undertaken in two study areas (Maunganui-Tioriori and Wharekauri) on the north coast of Chatham Island (Moore 2005a). During this programme, many breeding adults and juveniles were colour-banded to assist with monitoring of survival, productivity and recruitment. Following this pulse of management, birds in the previously managed areas are to be monitored to determine whether there are differences in survival and productivity between managed and unmanaged regimes. To minimise the risk of band-related injuries, colour bands on these birds will be renewed at approximately 5-year intervals. Following management, it was also decided to remove colour bands from birds banded in (or recruited in) unmanaged areas of Chatham Island. Apart from reducing the risk of band-related injuries, this measure also reduces the amount of band-replacement work that will be required in future. CIO have also been colour banded on Pitt, Mangere and South East Islands, and colour bands on those birds are also scheduled to be replaced at approximately 5-year intervals. We visited the Chatham Islands from 05-29 January 2007, to replace or remove colour bands, and to update information on survival, pairings and recruitment of CIO on Chatham and Pitt Islands. 1.2 ITINERARY Our itineraries were as follows: 05 Jan RW Arrived Chatham Island 06-11 Jan RW Monitored/banded in Maunganui-Tioriori area 12-16 Jan RW Monitored/banded in Wharekauri-Taupeka area 16 Jan JED Arrived Chatham Island 17 Jan RW/JED Monitored/banded on SW coast 18 Jan RW Surveyed Whangamoe coast JED Monitored/banded in Waitangi West-Cape Pattisson area 19 Jan RW Departed Chatham Island JED Prepared for travel to Pitt Island 20 Jan JED Travelled to Pitt Island, banded/monitored on east coast 21-23 Jan JED Monitored/banded on Pitt Island 23 Jan JED Travelled to Chatham Island 24-25 Jan JED Monitored/banded in Whangamoe area 26 Jan JED Monitored/banded at Matarakau and Taupeka 27 Jan JED Monitored/banded in Whangamoe area 28 Jan JED Monitored/banded at Hanson Bay, Okawa Pt and Wharekauri 29 Jan JED Departed Chatham Island Dowding & Williams 2007: Banding and monitoring of oystercatchers on the Chatham Islands, January 2007 4 2 Results 2.1 CHATHAM ISLAND Previously managed areas Maunganui-Tioriori Twenty-seven breeding pairs were identified between Maunganui Bluff and Waikauia, a substantial increase on the 22 pairs present in this area in 2004/05. Pairings and territories in 2006/07 are shown in Table 1 and Appendix 8.3 respectively. All colour bands were replaced on 19 breeding adults in this area (see Table 1). Two other birds were checked but their bands did not require replacement. Six unbanded birds (a floater and five chicks) were banded, each with a metal band on the left tibia (Appendix 8.1). Of the 44 identifiable (banded) adults (in 22 pairs) present in the 2004/05 season, 4 have disappeared in the past two years. Two of these (G-WY and BO-M) were already absent in February 2006 (Dowding 2006). Several lines of evidence suggest that these birds have died – all have been replaced in their territories, none were seen during the December 2006 census, and none were seen elsewhere during band removal and replacement work in January 2007. This rate of loss suggests average annual mortality of about 4.5% in the Maunganui-Tioriori area over the past two years. Three of the 4 missing birds bred in a relatively short stretch of beach between Washout Creek and Ngatikitiki. Wharekauri Eighteen breeding pairs were identified between Cape Young and Okahu Creek, a slight increase on the 16 pairs present in 2004/05. Pairings and territories in 2006/07 are shown in Table 1 and Appendix 8.4 respectively. All colour bands were replaced on 22 breeding adults in this area (Table 1). One additional bird was checked but its bands did not require replacement. One unbanded adult (a suspected breeder in WK18) was banded with a metal band on its right tibia. Mortality of adults appears to have been particularly high in the Wharekauri area since management ceased. Of the 32 identifiable adults (in 16 pairs) present in the 2004/05 season, 9 have disappeared in the past two years. As at Maunganui, all appear to have died – all have been replaced, and none have been seen elsewhere. This suggests average annual mortality of about 14% in the past two years. There appeared to be considerable clumping of mortality at Wharekauri – no fewer than 6 of the 9 missing birds bred in a very small area between the Rocks and Rangitihi territories. We noted that cat tracks were abundant on the beach at Wharekauri in January 2007. Cats must be suspected as the cause of the recent high adult mortality at this site. They are probably also affecting productivity – for example, at Okahu we noted that a brood of 2 small chicks in WK6 and a nest in WK11, both present on 16 January, had disappeared by 28 January. Productivity Productivity in the previously managed areas could not be assessed accurately during our visit, as some breeding was still under way when we left. However, it appeared that it will be very low; few nests were present and only five chicks or juveniles were banded (three at Maunganui, two at Wharekauri), many fewer than the 15-25 typically banded per season in these areas during the management era. If 5 chicks fledge from the previously managed areas, productivity will be 0.11 chicks/pair for the 2006/07 season.