Movements of banded Arctic waders to and from New Zealand ADRIAN C. RIEGEN 231 Forest Hill Road, Waiatarua, Auckland 8, New Zealand ABSTRACT Between 1979 and 1998,6975 Arctic waders of seven species (mainly Lesser Knots Calidris canutus and Bar-tailedGodwits Limosa lapponica) were caught by the Miranda Banders and the New Zealand Wader Study Group near Auckland. Of these, 1375 were marked with a white leg-flag on the tibia to denote capture in New Zealand. Thirty-two Lesser Knots and three Bar-tailed Godwits had already been banded overseas, mainly in Australia. Another two Lesser Knots and two Bar-tailed Godwits banded overseas have been found dead in New Zealand. Up to 135 Lesser Knots, 34 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones and 2 Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollis) bearing Australian leg-flags, and 2 colour-banded Bar-tailed Godwits from Alaska have been seen in New Zealand. Of those birds banded or leg-flagged in New Zealand, up to 21 Lesser Knots, up to 17 Bar-tailed Godwits, and two Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) have been recovered or seen in six overseas countries. One Turnstone banded in New Zealand was caught in Australia and then recaptured back at its original banding site. The migration routes taken by Lesser Knots, Bar-tailed Godwits and firnstones visiting New Zealand have been deduced from these band recovery data. KEYWORDS: Arctic waders, Lesser Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, migration, band recoveries INTRODUCTION Banding of Arctic waders in New Zealand started at Miranda on the Firth of Thames (37"101S, 175"201E),in 1979, when Dick Veitch set up the 'Miranda Banders' in association with the Miranda Naturalists' Trust. The first catch was a modest one, but soon good numbers of Arctic and New Zealand native waders were caught in cannon-nets and occasionally in mist-nets. The Miranda Banders suspended operations in mid-1982, but was re-established in late 1986 by Stephen Davies and Adrian Riegen with the encouragement of the Australasian Wader Study Group and Dick Veitch. Since December 1991, white leg-flags have been attached to the tibia of 1375 waders. In 1993, the Miranda Banders changed its name to the New Zealand Wader Study Group to reflect the banding efforts by the group at sites other than Miranda. Most Arctic waders visiting New Zealand form part of the East Asian - Austral- asian Flyway populations. This flyway is one of the least understood of the world's flyways, especially since the proposed main staging site on the northern shores of theyellow Sea has not been visited by ornithologists (Wilson & Barter 1998). Minton (1996a, 1998) has deduced the migration pathways taken by Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollis) and Curlew Sandpipers (C. ferruginea), respectively, between Notornis 46: 123-142 (1999) O 1999 Ornithological Society of New Zealand RIEGEN TABLE 1 - The number of Arctic waders caught in the Auckland area in 1979-98, the number of sites they were caught at, and the mean number caught on the occasions when they were caught. The final column gives the number of birds leg-flagged (white) since December 1991. Species Number Number Number Mean Number caught of sites of catches catch flagged Lesser Knot 5342 6 Bar-tailed Godwit 1514 7 Turnstone 92 3 Curlew Sandpiper 19 2 Red-necked Stint 3 1 Pacific Golden Plover 2 1 Terek Sandpiper 1 1 Australia and the Arctic. Wilson and Barter (1998) have proposed migration routes taken by Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris), Lesser Knots (C. canutus) and Bar- tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) from Australia northwards to the Arctic. In this paper, I review recoveries of all banded Arctic waders from New Zealand, highlight significant recovery records, and deduce the migration routes to and from New Zealand for Lesser Knots, Bar-tailed Godwits and Turnstones (Arenaria interpres). METHODS Between 1979 and 1998, Arctic waders were caught on 41 occasions at seven sites in the Auckland region. The most frequently used sites were Jordan's farm on the south-eastern side of the Kaipara Harbour, and Miranda in the Firth of Thames. Almost all birds were caught by cannon-nets while the birds were at their high tide roosts on farmland (Jordan's) or shellbanks (Firth of Thames sites). In sum- mer and autumn (October-April),flocks of Arctic waders were targeted with a mean summer-autumn catch of 170 Arctic waders, mainly Lesser Knots and Bar-tailed Godwits. In the winter of 1980, 501 Arctic waders were caught incidentally while trying to capture Wrybills (Anarhynchus frontalis), and on 4 July 1992, 595 overwintering Lesser Knots were caught. A few birds were caught in mist-nets set at night over suitable feeding habitat at Miranda, Karaka (Manukau Harbour) and Tapora (Kaipara Harbour). All birds were banded with a metal band bearing a unique number, except for a few which had already been banded overseas. Since 1991,1375 birds (718 Lesser Knots, 593 Bar-tailed Godwits and 64 Turnstones) have had a small white leg-flag, made of stiff plastic (Damic), attached to the tibia to allow instant identification that the bird had been in New Zealand. With this marking method it is difficult to determine how many individuals are resighted unless two or more birds bearing the same colour-flag are seen simultaneously, but the reporting rate far exceeds that from banding alone (Minton 1996b). NOTORNIS 46 BANDED ARCTIC WADERS TABLE 2 - Summary of the movements of Arctic waders from and to New Zealand. From NZ to: Vic WA NT Qld NSW lrian Jaya China Japan Russia Alaska TOTAL Lesser Knot 1 Bar-tailed Godwit Turnstone [-Australian states 1 To NZ from: Vic WA NT Qld NSW Irian Jaya China Japan Russia Alaska TOTAL Lesser Knot 21 3 1 5 1 Bar-tailed Godwit 1 1 1 Turnstone 1 The birds were aged from plumage and state of moult or feather wear (Barter & Davidson 1990), and where possible they were sexed from measurements (Bar-tailed Godwits) or plumage (Turnstones). Except in a few very large catches, when some birds were aged, banded and released, biometrical data was collected on the length of exposed bill, wing, tail and tarsus, and weight of the bird. RESULTS Band recoveries A total of 6975 Arctic waders of seven species were caught by the Miranda Banders or the New Zealand Wader Study Group in the Auckland region between 1979 and 1998 (Table 1). Almost all were Lesser Knots (77%), Bar-tailed Godwits (22%) or Turnstones (0.9%), with very small numbers of Curlew Sandpiper, Red- necked Stint, Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) and Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus). A total of 33 of the waders had already been banded overseas, and 23 of the birds have since been recovered overseas, including a Turnstone that was re- captured in Australia and then caught back in New Zealand (Table 2). Of the 5342 Lesser Knots handled, 30 had already been banded in Australia. Two other Australian-banded Lesser Knot have been found dead in New Zealand, a bird found dead near Karaka (Manukau Harbour) and one in the Kaipara Har- bour. Nineteen (0.35%) of the Lesser Knots banded in New Zealand have been recovered overseas: ten in China, four in Australia, three in Russia, and two in Indonesia. Full details of each banded bird is found in Appendix la. Two of the 1514 Bar-tailed Godwits handled had already been banded in Australia. In addition, a Bar-tailed Godwit banded at Nudgee Beach, Queensland, was found dead on the Tamaki Estuary after hitting powerlines, and a Bar-tailed Godwit banded in the Pribolof Islands, off western Alaska, was found dead in Tauranga Harbour. RIEGEN NOTORNIS 46 Two birds from mainland Alaska have been reported from colour-band combinations; one was banded on the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska and seen in four of the five subsequent summers at Miranda, the other was banded at Lake Kgun on the Yukon delta and seen by me at Miranda, even though it was reportedly banded as a Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica). Three (0.2%) of the birds banded in New Zealand have been recovered overseas: two in Russia and one in Japan. Full details of these nine birds are given in Appendix lb. One (1%) of the 92 Turnstones handled was later caught in Queensland, but then recaptured back at its banding site at Miranda (Appendix lc). Leg-flag sightings Of the 718 Lesser Knots leg-flagged in New Zealand since December 1991, three (0.4%) have been seen overseas; one at Altona Beach, Victoria, in March, and two in South Korea in May. Up to eleven, but probably nine (1.5%) of the 593 leg-flagged Bar-tailed Godwits have been seen overseas. Six records are from Kyushu in southern Japan and may involve multiple sightings of the same bird: Ariaka Sea (32" 50'N, 130" 50'E) on 1April 1992, Hakata Bay (33" 401N,130" 25'E) on 17 April 1995, Sone (33" 55'N, 130" 55'E) on 1 May 1995 and 7 May 1998; Ganossa, in Hakata Bay, on 6 April 1996; and Nakatsu (33" 36'N, 131" 13'E) on 29 April 1998. Five sightings, probably of three individuals, have been reported from South Korea: Kanghwa Island (37" 35'N, 126" 25'E) on 18 and 23 April and 9 May 1998, Namyang Bay (37" 05'N, 126" 45'E) on 25 April 1998, and at Aphaedo Mokpo (34" 50'N, 126" 30'E) on 4 May 1998. One white-flagged Turnstone was seen at Dongjin Estuary, South Korea (37' 25'N, 126" 44'E) on 5 September 1997. It is difficult to determine the number of leg-flagged individuals seen in New Zealand because many birds carry the same flag colour.