Displaced by riverbed flooding; quantifying numbers and distribution of refugee wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis) on Canterbury coastal wetlands in October–November 2013 Journal Paper
- Author
- Crossland, A.C.; Crutchley, P.
- Year
- 2020
- Journal / Source
- Notornis
- Volume
- 67
- Number
- 4
- Pages
- 765-771
- Keywords
- Anarhynchus frontalis, coastal Canterbury wetlands, river floods, Wrybill
- Summary
- We undertook a survey of coastal wetlands in Canterbury (NZ) during a widespread river flooding event in Spring 2013 to quantify numbers and distribution of wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis). We found 740 birds, of which 685 (92.6%) were at Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora. We calculate that 15.8% of the estimated effective wrybill breeding population were displaced from breeding rivers by floods at this time. Our findings support the evaluation by Dowding & Moore (2006) that the network of wetlands along the Canterbury coast appears to be of critical importance to wrybill as breeding season flood refugia.