Abel Tasman Foreshore Scenic Reserve Draft Management Plan

(v)
Indigenous bird habitats
(see Appendix 7 for the New Zealand threat classification system)
The islands along the Abel Tasman coast are being managed as mammalian pest free
areas. Islands with no predators, and generally lower human disturbance than
mainland habitats, provide important habitats for birds which use or cross the
intertidal zone within the reserve. Reef herons (‘threatened’ –‘nationally vulnerable’)
are regularly observed on the islands and the more isolated parts of the mainland
shore, and may breed at Taupo Point and on Pinnacle and Fisherman/Motuarero-iti
islands. Blue penguins (‘at risk’ – declining’) breed on Adele/Motuarero-nui, Tonga
and Fisherman/Motuarero-iti islands, and along the mainland shore. Spotted shags
(not threatened) breed on the Tata Islands and roost elsewhere, including parts of
Adele/Motuarero-nui and Fisherman/ Motuarero-iti islands. The granite reefs and
rocky shores throughout the reserve also provide important habitat for banded
dotterel (‘threatened’ – ‘nationally vulnerable’) and variable oystercatcher (‘at risk’ –
‘recovering’).
Sand spits within the reserve provide important roosting or breeding sites for birds.
The largest sand spits are at Awaroa and Wainui inlets. Smaller sand spits are
located at Totaranui, Torrent Bay/Rakauroa, Falls River, Bark Bay/Wairinga and
Marahau. White-fronted terns (‘at risk’ – ‘declining’) breed at the Awaroa sand spit,
and variable oystercatchers use most of the sand spits in the reserve, including those
at Torrent Bay/Rakauroa, Awaroa and Falls River.
The estuaries within the reserve seldom attract the large numbers of waders that
utilise the extensive fine-sediment estuaries in the region such as Farewell Spit and
Waimea Inlet. However, they do provide important unmodified habitats which may
be used as stopover points for migrating waders. They also support approximately
2000 South Island pied oystercatchers (‘at risk’ – ‘declining’) and 200 banded
dotterels at various times through the year.
Salt marsh and herbfield habitats comprise 23% of the estuarine areas within the
reserve. This habitat, spread over 15 estuaries, provides critical habitat for
approximately ten pairs of banded rail (‘at risk’ – ‘naturally uncommon’). Other
‘threatened’ or ‘at risk’ bird species utilising estuarine habitats are the grey duck
(‘threatened’ – ‘nationally critical’), Australasian bittern (‘threatened’ – ‘nationally
endangered’), fernbird (‘at risk’ – ‘declining’), and marsh crake (‘at risk’ –
‘recovering’).
Table 1, Appendix 7 lists the ‘threatened’ and ‘at risk’ bird species that may be found
in the reserve.
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Indigenous invertebrate habitats
Invertebrate habitats within the reserve include granite shores, limestone shores,
estuarine flats and sandy beaches. Fifty-three species of invertebrate have been
recorded from granite shores within the reserve, compared with 27 species on
limestone shores. Granite zonation patterns comprise a high tide zone dominated by
two species of periwinkle, an upper tidal zone dominated by barnacles, a mid-tide
zone dominated by barnacles and little black mussels, and a low tide zone dominated
by tube worms. The zonation pattern on limestone is quite different, including the
replacement of the granite barnacle species with another barnacle species, tube
worms not confined to the one zone, the more common presence of a bryozoan
species. A wide variety of invertebrate species are present on rocky habitats in the
3. Conservation of natural resources 21