Shaun Lee - heroic protector of Tāmaki Estuary

Shaun Lee, heroic protector of Tāmaki Estuary — “big beautiful mudflats” vital to the survival of our endangered shorebirds

Shaun Lee is a conservation hero whose mission is to protect shorebirds of the Tāmaki Estuary. He presented this work to the 2024 AGM of the Eastern Bays Songbird Project on September 18. Here are some of the points he made:

Shorebirds don’t have such melodious songs as bush birds, but they are equally beautiful, and some are remarkable. They all deserve to be protected.

Their environment is the Tāmaki Estuary, which nearly cuts Auckland in two. “The estuary’s big, beautiful mudflats take up a huge amount of space and unlike our remaining urban forest, are regularly used by many endangered species.

These endangered shorebirds include the Tōrea / South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Kuaka / Bar-tailed godwit, Ngutu pare / Wrybill and Huahou / Red knot. All these birds and others feed in the Tāmaki Estuary when the tide is out, and need to find somewhere to roost (sleep) when the tide comes in. 

The development at Point England for housing has impacted the estuary’s roosting function; it is also a significant nesting area for Tūturiwhatu / New Zealand dotterel. Shaun led a campaign to “Save Point England Reserve”. The campaign didn’t stop the development but it has been scaled back. Since cattle were removed from the reserve mowing has been inconsistent and is affecting the roosting and nesting function of the reserve.  Some dotterel seem to have crossed the Estuary, from Point England to St Kentigern College where the grass is shorter — an upmarket shift of neighbourhoods, Shaun observed.

Tahuna Torea, beside the Estuary on its northern end, is a stunning nature reserve with wonderful biodiversity. It was transformed from a tip to a taonga by volunteers led by environmental heroes Ronald Lockley and Chris Barfoot. But not a lot of shorebird breeding happens here. The area was a famous roosting area for thousands of shorebirds in the 1970s. Some species have stopped roosting here, like the remarkable Kuaka / Bar-Tailed Godwit — which makes an annual flight from Alaska to feed on worms in the Tāmaki Estuary. Now, only 100 or so Kuaka feed is in the estuary.

Why have we lost these birds? We have more people in the area and but also more rules to reduce behaviours that would scare the birds. For example, there are only a few illegal dog walkers now. The main problem these days is rising sea levels, which has reduced the roosting area for shorebirds. 

Shaun and his team have restored “bird islands” in the Lagoon at Tahuna Torea to try to bring back roosting birds. He thanked local board member Margaret Voyce for championing this. They were very pleased to fledge the Tōrea pango / Variable Oystercatcher on one of these islands last year – a first for the estuary. They also built nest boxes for Tara / White-fronted tern and extended habitat for Tarapunga / Red-billed gull.

Shaun said loss of shorebird roosting, feeding and breeding habitat has not been acknowledged by Auckland Council, whose plans regularly ignore endangered shorebirds. For example, the Council’s Open Space Network Plan for the area incorporated tree planting for Tui (which are not endangered) but not shorebirds — at least until Shaun took a journalist to a Council meeting. It was a different story with Ōrākei Local Board, who were “fantastic right from the start”, he said.

Just off-shore from the Eastern Bays, Motukorea / Browns Island is Auckland Council’s only mouse-free Regional Park. Dotterel, oystercatcher and Taranui / Caspian Tern — with their distinctive black cap and red bill — nest here. But “the beaches are skinny and there’s a lot of thick kikuyu, so each time there’s a storm we lose all our nests”. There are not enough chicks to maintain shorebird populations and the island and estuary are a population sink for dotterel and oystercatcher. He is working with Council to try to increase roosting and nesting space on the island.

Shaun is a brilliant photographer whose photographs of birds and their environments enhance and support his conservation work. We asked Shaun to supply his own photos to illustrate this story. 

To read more about Shaun’s conservation work, see his blog: blog.shaunlee.co.nz

Tahuna Torea pioneers Ronald Lockley and Chris Barfoot have both written books about the nature reserve:

Ronald Lockley: The House Above the Sea

Chris Barfoot: Tahuna Torea: Tip Site to Nature Reserve