Pair of rare birds stop tanks in their tracks

A pair of nesting dotterels has made a home for themselves and their soon-to-be-hatched eggs at MOTAT’s Aviation and Military site on Motions Road in Western Springs. The protected species, of which there are only 1700 left in the world, have resulted in the Museum making a call to shift its Military Live Day on 21 December to another part of the site and close off the area where the dotterels have set up camp.

“The Military Live Day will be entertaining as always,” says MOTAT CEO Michael Frawley. “The only difference will be the relocation of activities to another part of the site and of course the inclusion of two extra visitors.”

The main measures that are being implemented by the Museum, in partnership with Auckland Zoo are:

Cordoning off the nesting area
Moving the Military Live Day on 21 December to another part of the MOTAT 2 site on Motions Road
Halting lawn mowing operations around the nesting area
Putting in place predator control measures

These changes will be in place for approximately two months which will give time for the eggs to hatch and for the pair to leave.

“Some of us have jokingly wondered if the dotterels chose MOTAT due to our expertise in protecting rare flying machines,” says Mr Frawley. “We’ll be doing all we can to make sure they are well looked after over the next couple of months.”

This is a rare situation as dotterels are usually known to nest near water.

ENDS

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