Snells Conservation

23/09/2026

A little late on this update, but nature has been busy! 🐣
One of the tūturiwhatu (Northern New Zealand Dotterel) pairs has a full clutch and is busy incubating, while a second pair is close behind with 2/3 of a typical full clutch (3 eggs is typical).
Can you spot the eggs in this photo? It’s a challenge—their camouflage is a brilliant evolutionary defense, originally developed to hide from predators that hunted by sight. Because their nests are so well hidden, please respect the cordons and give them plenty of space to ensure they succeed. Also, a gentle reminder to keep cats indoors at night to protect our vulnerable ground-nesting birds.
In other incredible news, our migratory visitors are coming back! The Bar-tailed Godwits (Kuaka) are returning, with the first sighting of a this-year’s chick a couple of days ago. These birds are true champions of the skies, flying approximately 12,000 kilometres from the Arctic to New Zealand without stopping to feed or rest.
Yesterday, we also spotted 11 Red Knots roosting with the Godwits. These amazing little travellers also undertake massive journeys, migrating from the Arctic to reach our shores. More information here: https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/lesser-knot.
Let's do our part to keep these amazing birds safe! 🌏🐦

19/09/2026

Eggsiting news, the 2nd tūturiwhatu (northern nz dotterel ) nest has been established and there is another flight of kuaka (bar-tailed godwit) that have arrived from their breeding grounds to their summer home here in NZ. The kuaka return to the same beach every year, they have lost about 55% of their body mass, and must recover from the epic flight and rebuild some organs that shrank to accommodate more fat for the flight when they were in Alaska.

16/09/2026

🥚 Exciting news — the first dotterel nest of the season has an egg!
You may have noticed cordons popping up along the beach lately — that's because the NZ dotterels (tūturiwhatu) are starting their nesting season! They fight for territory and carefully maintain a "scrape" before laying, and once that scrape is well established, we put up cordons to protect it.
Let's all be good eggs and give these precious birds the space they need to raise a family🐣
🐱 A big ask: please keep your cats indoors from before dusk to after dawn — that's when most nest predation happens here at Snells Beach.
With a bit of care and teamwork from everyone, we can help these threatened, uniquely NZ birds have another great season to thrive 💛
Special thanks to a lovely neighbour for capturing this video of the dotterel pair maintaining their nest, just before laying their first egg! 🎥. And a photo of the difficult to spot egg in the scrape, zoomed in as far as I could, binoculars or telephoto lens required to stay a safe distance and spot the egg.

11/09/2026

We need bottles like these
From 10.30am to 12pm on Thursday October 1, Snells Conservation are hosting a workshop at Mahurangi East Library, helping children make their own wasp trap.

We need about 20 bottles like these, approximately one-litre and clear plastic, without labels.

Please email [email protected] or message us, if you can collect a few and for our school holiday project.

We will also have some fun and games learning about introduced wasps as predators and the impact they have on our native butterflies.

28/08/2026

The migration is underway with godwits and other arctic migrants arriving earlier than normal! Additionally, Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre have the first Tūturiwhatu Northern NZ Dotterel nest of the season on their shell bank. A good reminder that we need to share our beaches and coastlines with our feathered friends.

13/08/2026

Oioi is nature's well-designed muck catcher.

When the stream at the northern end of Snells Beach was pumping on Wednesday night the oioi was bending under the force of the storm water, it held the bank together, and caught debris and sediment that would have otherwise ended up on the seabed. Not good for the ocean floor.

We need more gems like this.

Oh, and when it dangles in the stream - it creates a nice shady habitat for īnanga (whitebait species) to lay their eggs.

09/08/2026

The weather was kind to us at Snells Beach. 😁

Thanks to the dedicated people who helped us get 600 plants in the ground. We dressed for rain but quickly got too hot.

Thanks also to Mahurangi Land Restoration and Auckland Council for funding and resources. You’ve helped this Forest & Bird Warkworth Area project for four awesome years! 🙏🏼😍

And, where would we have been without Restore Rodney East, who supplies tools, catering equipment and this year contributed $$ to help us put on a flash morning tea. The vouchers you scored from Lotto were greatly appreciated. 🧁 😋

We like to repurpose stuff, and are testing wool mats that were left over from some other project - just in case you’re wondering what they are. The plan is that they will suppress the dreaded kikuyu grass and retain moisture. They’ll slowly rot away as the plants grow. 👍🏻

Job done.

15/07/2026

First H5N1 Bird Flu case confirmed in NZ (Petone, Wellington)

If you observe unusually high numbers of sick birds, especially birds showing unusual neurological symptoms, or find recent mortality of birds on coastlines, please contact the Ministry of Primary Industries hotline 0800 80 99 66 immediately.

As there is a small risk that bird flu may be transmitted to humans, please wait for instructions before handling any sick or dead birds.
For more information, see [https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/schemes/beachpatrolscheme/] and [https://www.mpi.govt.nz/bio.../dont-let-bird-flu-take-flight]

Bird flu is a highly contagious viral disease spreading overseas. Take steps now to be ready for bird flu.

25/06/2026

🐦 Kids, coffee, and kererū! Your backyard holds vital data! 🌿
Turn birdwatching into a family adventure this school holidays AND help our feathered friends at the same time!
Join thousands of Kiwis for this year's (27 June - 5 July). Whether you spot tūī, sparrows, fantails, or kererū, your observations help scientists track bird populations across Aotearoa.
Perfect for budding naturalists aged 5-105! ☕👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
Why join?
✅ Only takes 1 hour - do it from your own backyard or local park
✅ Easy online submission
✅ Directly supports conservation research
✅ Fun family activity during the holidays
✅ Your data makes a real difference!
One hour of watching birds = BIG impact for understanding and protecting our native species.
Ready to ?
Sign up now:

Get out into your garden, count the birds, and build a build a picture of the state of our environment by taking part in the NZ Garden Bird Survey.

03/06/2026

How old are the chicks?

Can you guess how old this dotterel chick is? 🤔 It's trickier than you think! Check out our new age estimation guide and become a dotterel detective before next breeding season begins . Link below! 👇https://www.snellsconservation.org/dotterel-chick-development