This year I spent Queens Birthday at the Ornithological Society Conference in Nelson. I was particularly interested in one of the papers, having lived in Golden Bay for nine years. I’d arranged to visit friends in the Bay after the conference.
Tata Island Spotted Shags – one year’s observations 2009/2010
Helen Kingston & John Barraclough.
Abstract
There is a breeding colony of Spotted Shags (Stictocarbo punctatus) on Tata Islands, Golden Bay. Volunteers observed numbers and behaviour at dawn on Tata Beach 4-weekly fo one year from Feb 2009. Stone swallowing, vigorous wing beating and regurgitating occur. Average bird numbers ranged between 44 and 3004, highest in winter. Regurgitating stone piles averaged 44% of bird numbers. Behaviour of 221 individual birds was recorded. The study continues.
Tata Beach (NZMS 260 SHEET N25)
Wednesday 9 June
I set my alarm on the Wednesday morning and headed for Tata Beach with camera and video camera. I arrived about 7.15am and already two people were at the beach. The spotted shags flew from the Tata Islands, landed in the sea, and then congregated along the beach to the south of the boat ramp.
Flight path of the spotted shags from the islands to the beach
Shags flying from the Tata Islands
Just after dawn, but before sunrise the shags fly to the beach. At first they come in single numbers, but soon the sky is full with the arriving birds. They land in the water and furiously flap their wings. Some swim along the edge between the sea and the beach, with their heads under water. Are they swallowing stones? Then they move onto the beach.
Furiously flapping their wings ....
then the stones can be seen moving up to the throat ...
and regurgitated on the beach
The shags stay on the beach for about half an hour, then as suddenly as they appeared they begin to depart. This takes some ten minutes. They return to the sea; wings flapping, swimming up and down, and preparing to fly away. It follows a similar pattern to their arrival. At first a few depart and then follows a constant stream, flying towards the west.
The last one to leave
The following morning I returned. The first shag arrived at 7.22am and the last one departed at 8.07am. The numbers on the beach were similar both days. One of the observers on Wednesday estimated the total population on the beach to be 6,000.
Will Rickerby’s video of the shags at the beach – on the Forest and Bird channel.
