Snells Conservation

14/05/2026

What a gorgeous day out there today—spotted a reef heron (matuku moana) alongside 5 royal spoonbill (kōtuku ngutupapa), plus a little black s**g (kawau tūī). The little black s**g is less common than the little s**g we see frequently, so it was a real treat to see one. The little black s**g has a pretty nasty injury on the back of it's neck but is still quite active, I hope it heals well. The reef heron has been around frequently of late, it is far less common than the white-faced heron we normally see.
https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/little-black-s**g
https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/reef-heron
https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/royal-spoonbill

25/03/2026

Birds and storms, it's the time of year. It's likely that people will be finding some cook's petrels and other sea and shore birds having problems after/during this storm. Here is some useful information:
Cook's Petrels are seabirds and cannot take off easily from the ground. And it is often impossible for them to take off around human infrastructure. If you find a grounded bird, do not pick it up with bare hands (their waterproofing will be degraded, and you might get nipped). The birds need to be released in appropriate places to successfully fly back to their normal habitat. To ensure they are fit to be released, the best thing to do is to gently pick it up using a towel or gloves, and place the bird in a box (with air holes) and take it to BirdCare Aotearoa, or contact DOC and see if a ranger is collecting them to take them down. You won’t need to feed or water it. See https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BYKKRwY6n/

It's Cookie Time Auckland!
*We drafted this post this morning- when we had 12 Tītī Cook's Petrel rescues in care... Very quickly, our caseload grew- with 13 further admissions today! A total of 25 in care so far!

Where are they coming from? Rescuers found these adorable birds (~180g) in Auckland CBD, Britomart, a Waterfront carpark, Kohimarama, two rescued under the Sky Tower... The majority are from the inner city, but bird-heroes also found Cookies in East Tamaki, Te Atatu, Bombay, Glen Eden, Green Bay, Sandringham, Flat Bush, Mairangi Bay, Milford, Devonport, Albany, Royal Oak, Auckland Uni, Fruitvale Rd School (New Lynn 💚), Massey, Oratia, Henderson, Glenfield!

👀 Be vigilant Auckland!!! These little seabirds could very well be on your doorstep! They need urgent care. Auckland Biodiversity Department of Conservation - Auckland.

They should not be on land, and cannot take flight when grounded among human infrastructure. Some have had internal and head injuries. Sadly 3 of these rescues have passed away.

📢 Whanau, declining seabirds populations are a huge global biodiversity issue... but we can all take direct actions right NOW!

For those interested in supporting our work with these intensive care patients, please check out https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/lost-from-sea-light-impacted-seabirds $2 helps us fund a pair of disposable gloves- which is essential to protect the delicate feathers of these birds.

📢 To the business community of Auckland CBD, with environmental sustainability goals, please help us raise awareness of this issue, and support our critical rehabilitative care!
Heart of the City, Precinct Properties, Vector Limited, SkyCity Auckland, Mercury, Deloitte, PwC New Zealand, ASB Bank, ANZ Aotearoa.

💚 A special thanks to Pathfinder Asset Management ethical investment experts, who will be collaborating with us on an educational workshop on this very issue! Will keep everyone updated with the progress!

11/03/2026

ETN (this season’s fledged NZ dotterel chick) and CVE (one of last season’s fledged chicks) spotted at Omaha.

19/01/2026

What a day to say hello to the world 🌊🐣
CXR and partner have welcomed at least one newly hatched chick at the northern end of Snells Beach! Looking through binoculars toward the nest, could only confirm that one had hatched, there may be more.
Please help give this brave little dotterel family the best chance to thrive — admire from a distance, keep dogs on leads, kitties at home before dusk thru to after dawn and give them plenty of space 💛

15/01/2026

🐦 Dotterel nesting season reminder
Our local beach is home to at risk NZ dotterels, who nest directly on the sand and dunes. Their eggs and chicks are incredibly hard to see and are especially vulnerable during this time. The nest that is due to hatch any day now was visited by a cat at roughly 1:30 a.m. last night.
To help protect them:
• Please follow the by-laws and where indicated by the by-laws keep dogs on a lead and off nesting areas
• Keep cats safely indoors from dusk to dawn
These small actions make a big difference. Thank you for helping protect these special taonga and give dotterel chicks the best chance to fledge 🤍

29/12/2025

The recently-flagged dotterel chick, ETN, has a limp but is getting around really well. 💪

Huge thanks to the awesome volunteers who filled and placed sandbags to protect the currently-incubating nest — you’re legends.

The cordon is partly back up, but there’s no signage at the moment, so please keep giving the birds plenty of space. Every bit of care helps. 🐣.

24/12/2025

Happy Christmas. 🙏 tell guests about the local bylaws regarding dogs, and try to keep cats in from before dusk to after dawn. The dotterel chick was injured last night and is mostly only able to use one leg. It can fly and seems to be using the injured leg on occasion. The incubating nest is also okay. Please respect the cordons and give the injured chick space so it can heal.

21/12/2025

A gentle reminder that the chick is still growing and the currently incubating nest is very vulnerable.

Please keep cats safe at home from before dusk to after dawn, and keep dogs on lead on the path and off the beach north of Sunburst boat ramp,

Late last night (just after 11:30pm), the incubating nest had an unwelcome visitor. The image shared is in black and white, but if you recognise or own this cat, we kindly ask you to consider keeping it in at night or to ask the owner to do so— it now knows where the nest is. Every small action helps protect these birds during this critical time.

20/12/2025

CXR and their mate are currently incubating a full clutch of eggs. This is their third nesting attempt this season, after the first two nests were lost to hedgehog predation — a reminder of how vulnerable ground-nesting birds are to introduced predators. Each new nesting attempt is energetically costly for the adults, making protection and predator control especially important.

The recently flagged chick, ETN, is now entering the fledging stage. Today it was observed making a short, low-altitude flight of around 10 metres in length, with a few touchdowns to regain altitude along the way. These early flights help build strength, coordination, and confidence, and are a critical step toward full flight and independence.

Thank you to everyone doing their part to support these birds — keeping cats at home from before dusk to after dawn, keeping dogs on lead on the path and off the northern end of the beach, and to all those actively trapping predators. These actions directly reduce disturbance and predation pressure, and they genuinely improve the chances of nests hatching and chicks surviving.