Wrybill female from Rangitata River at Greenpark today

An "exile" from the floods on the Rangitata River which reached close to 1000 cumecs earlier this week there.

Juvenile wrybill at Greenpark Sands

Wrybills at Ellesmere today

Found a flock of 204 birds- but only five juveniles in the flock. Birds on the Greenpark Sands

Wrybill fledging 2010

Wrybill fledgling

A wrybill fledgling from the 2010 season. Fortunately the floods came through late this season giving wrybills, on many braided rivers, a chance to get good number of fledglings away.

IUCN data on wrybills -2010

Anarhynchus frontalis

Summary Classification Schemes Images & External Links Bibliography Full Account
Taxonomy
Assessment Information
Geographic Range
Population
Habitat and Ecology
Threats
Conservation Actions
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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA AVES Charadriiformes Charadriidae

Scientific Name: Anarhynchus frontalis
Species Authority: Quoy and Gaimard, 1830
Common Name/s:
English – Wrybill
Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable C2a(i) ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s BirdLife International
Evaluator/s: Butchart, S. & Mahood, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)
Justification:
This species is listed as Vulnerable because it has a small population, in a single subpopulation, which is undergoing a continuing decline owing to habitat degradation and the impacts of introduced predators.
History:
2006 – Vulnerable
2004 – Vulnerable
2000 – Vulnerable
1994 – Vulnerable
1988 – Lower Risk/least concern
Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Anarhynchus frontalis breeds in Canterbury and Otago, South Island, New Zealand. It is found in over 26 riverbeds, but is only common on 10. It winters mainly north of 38°S in the North Island. In the last 40 years, population counts have varied between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals7, probably reflecting the difficulty in surveying the species2, but the current best estimate is 4,500-5,000 birds9. Analysis of wintering flocks indicates a slow decline over the last 40 years8, which is supported by preliminary results from a long-term demographic study2.
Countries:
Native:
New Zealand
Range Map:
(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population: Riegen and Dowding (2003)
Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: It breeds on braided riverbeds, and frequents sheltered estuaries and coasts over the non-breeding season. Nests are built within 250 m of running water, and are usually hollows in bare shingle, lined with more than 100 small pebbles2,6. It lays two eggs. Young usually begin to breed at two or three years of age6. Mark-recapture of almost 2,400 birds indicates that many live past 10 years of age1, the average adult life expectancy is c.5.4 years4. Diet comprises mostly mayflies and caddisflies, but is more general when rivers are in flood5.
Systems: Freshwater
Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): Breeding habitat is deteriorating, primarily from the encroachment of weeds as hydroelectric schemes reduce seasonal flushing of riverbeds6. The extent of predation by stoat Mustela erminea and cats has not been quantified, but is likely to be substantial. The recent illegal introduction of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease has resulted in the localised switching of some predators to a diet consisting of more birds. Predation by Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus may pose an increasing threat as it becomes more numerous in association with human activities2. Increasing use of riverbeds for recreational purposes and floods are also threats3,6.
Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Conservation actions underway:
The species was shot for sport until 1940, when it became fully protected6. Research on the impact of predation and prey-switching is being undertaken. Predator control for Black Stilt Himantopus novaezelandiae protection benefits a small proportion of the population2. Project River Recovery carries out habitat restoration and predator research in the McKenzie basin3.
Conservation actions proposed:
Model demographic data to determine population trends2.
Citation: BirdLife International 2008. Anarhynchus frontalis. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. . Downloaded on 12 October 2010.
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Current wrybill status - IUCN

Anarhynchus frontalis (Wrybill)
Status: Vulnerable C2a(i) ver 3.1
Pop. trend: decreasing


Source- IUCN - red data list
http://www.iucnredlist.org/

First wrybill chicks of season

sighted yesterday

First chick for Rangitata River

Sighted first wrybill chicks yesterday on Rangitata. three days old. "Like two cotton balls glued together with legs".

Ferret caught within 150 metres of wrybill population

Photo taken yesterday shows a ferret caught within 150 metres of the main population of wrybills on the South Branch of the Ashburton River. The ferret was caught right in the centre of an area where breeding banded dotterels are located.

Wrybills- often look skyward

Wrybills seem to be easily alarmed by any shadows over them. There is increasing concern about the potential impact of the increasing numbers of black-backed gulls on the wrybill population. Gulls may be major predators of wrybill chicks but there is little direct evidence to support this idea.

wrybill taking off- Avon-Heathcote Estuary

wrybill sex ratios

There is some concern that as male wrybills sit on the nest during low light periods ( dawn and dusk) and through the night, and females on the nest during the day- (as a rule of thumb on rivers that are monitored) - that male wrybills may be more vulnerable to mammalian predation.

I have no hard data analysed yet to support this hypothesis- but it would be relevant to investigate. If anyone is looking through wrybill flocks on their southward migration could they please record the number of males and number of females . Please email to me at langlands@xtra.co.nz
Note Male wrybills have a distinct solid black line on their forehead, females do not.
photograph of male bird shown .
Thanks
Peter

Nelson Tasman Branch Wrybill Watch

Nelson Tasman Branch Wrybill Watch
A noon high tide at Nelson in mid August saw twenty five members of Nelson-Tasman Branch of Forest & Bird braving the cool thigh deep water of the Waimea Estuary. Led by ornithologist Willie Cook, this was no mid-winter fun dip but a necessary wade to gain access to a spit of land from which a group of distant transients might be viewed. The transients in question were some thirty wrybills. This New Zealand endemic bird overwinters on the mudflats of North Island harbours and returns to its nesting grounds of the South Island braided river shingle during late winter. The Waimea estuary provides a good rest point in that migratory journey. The wrybill derives its name from its rightward laterally twisted bill; a feature unique to its species. Current population estimates are between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals and surveys seem to agree that bird numbers are declining. The most likely causes of the decline are loss of habitat through weed encroachment (eg.lupins) and the effects of hydroelectric and irrigation schemes, and predation by mustelids. The wrybill shows a remarkable tolerance to the presence of man, another factor which may not be helpful in its bid to survive but, on the positive side, allowed us to enjoy its visit.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=655388324#!/ForestandBird?ref=mf

Extracted from Forest and Birds Facebook page- 010910-

Key zones for wrybills at Lake Ellesmere

The attached Google map shows two zones (in white) that are critically important feeding sites for our threatened wrybill- both these sites need to be protected form environmental damage. Wrybills will be arriving at the Greenpark Sands this week- prior to flying up to their breeding sites on our braided rivers. Embankment Road offers a good access point from which to view wrybills- BUT PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE ONTO SALTMARSH

wrybills in flight - close up

wrybills in flight - close up

wrybills in flight

Part of the flock of birds at the Avon-Heathcote yesterday

wrybills at Avon-Heathcote

14 birds yesterday. Fun watching them feeding at dusk as the tide receeded.

Wrybill - banded on Cass River MacKenzie- recovered Lake Ellesmere

GY/WY was banded on 30 Oct 09 in the Lower Cass River E 2307827 N 5700501. Female C-76803. Sighted at lake Ellesmere five months late in March 2010. the Greenpark sands are a vital habitat for wrybills throughout the year , but especially in mid Spring and late summer when large numbers gather on the Greenpark sands, from rivers throughout the South Island.

Wrybills pass through Avon-Heathcote Estuary

A flock of 15 was sighted yesterday. cool to have wrybills within urban Christchurch. well done to the CCC for creating this habitat at Charlesworth Reserve- an important roosting site at high tide- especially for bar tailed godwits.

Greenpark Sands - four wheel drive impacts

The Greenpark sands is a critical staging location for migrating wrybill and is also important for birds over-wintering. During times of floods on rivers it is also important as an interim feeding location. Sadly 4Wd tracks continue to degrade and scar much of this important habitat but also for other native wading birds. Action needs to be taken to limit 4WD access to this important habitat.

Wrybill over 20 years recaptured

One wrybill over 20 years of age and two over 19 years have just been recaptured at Miranda by wrybill researcher Adrian Riegan. A breeding female from the Rangitata River has also been recaptured at Miranda. Wrybills should be commencing their southward migration within the next month or so.

wrybill males in territorial dispute

On a prime feeding riffle- beak and claw-

Colour banding- allowing an insight into the lives of wrybill

wrybill nest with three eggs

As rare as a four leaf clover !!

That iconic bill

Thanks again Phil

Feeding up -2

Photo credit- Dr. Phil Battley

Outstanding photos of wrybill at Manawatu estuary-

An important feeding location for migrating wrybills in Autumn and Spring (PAL)

"Here are some photos from the Manawatu Est in March if you want them for your blog. Didn’t get a crippling worm-feeding shot, and the light was not great, but it’s a start. The very skinny one is obviously stretched!"

Cheers, Phil
___________________________
Dr Phil Battley
Ecology Group - PN 624
Massey University
Private Bag 11-222
Palmerston North
New Zealand

Status report

They now occupy about 60 per cent of their estimated original range- refer following link to Ministry for the Environment

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/environmental-reporting/biodiversity/indicator-species/wrybill/

wrybill in flight

Tricky- they move fast !

Wrybill- a bird of two worlds- Firth of Thames

Like many wader species.Wrybill- a bird of two worlds

I am fascinated by the duality and contrasts of the wrybill's two main environments
1. the braided rivers of Canterbury
2. the expanse of the northern harbours such as the birds main wintering location at the Firth of Thames.

But lets not forget the smaller coastal estuaries and lagoons that form important stop over points for the birds on their migration such as Lake Ellesmere, Ashley River mouth and Foxton. Mid- August should see the commencement of thew wrybill's southward migration from the northern harbours to the braided rivers of the South Island.

Wrybill blog

Hi all-- welcome to my wrybill blog- an informal blog on wrybills.
I welcome any comments and observations/ photographs or information anyone would like to contribute as the blog explores aspects of the wrybill's world.
Welcome onboard.
Kind regards


Peter Langlands
Outdoor/ environmental writing, research and photography
B.Sc (Zoology) Diploma of Science (Aquatic Ecology)

H: 64 3 338 5373
M: 0274 501 916
E: langlands@xtra.co.nz

P.O.Box 2819
Christchurch Mail Centre 8140
New Zealand

wrybill at rest on Manukau

Welcome to the wrybill blog

Hi all- Welcome to my wrybill blog