A dedicated campaigner nicknamed ‘Dotterel Dan’ is urging people to get behind the Southern NZ Dotterel/Pukunui in the 2024 Bird of the Year competition.

Southern NZ Dotterel ranger Daniel Cocker, aka ‘Dotterel Dan’. Photo: Supplied

The Bird of the Year competition has run annually by Forest and Bird since 2005 and attracts nearly 60,000 entries. The 2023 Bird of the Year is the Pūteketeke Australasian crested grebe.

Southern NZ Dotterel ranger Daniel Cocker, aka ‘Dotterel Dan’, said the Southern NZ Dotterel/ Pukunui (‘Fat Tummy’) was one of the closest birds on the planet to extinction.

There are estimated to be just 101 individual birds as of April 2024— representing a 19% decline since 2023.

Daniel is one of a small team of permanent dotterel rangers who live on Stewart Island/Rakiura and undertake pest control in breeding areas, monitoring nests and undertaking population counts.

“We’re trying to raise awareness for this really special bird that’s on the brink of extinction by winning bird of the year and getting them the help they desperately need before they're gone,” he said.

Southern Dotterels are no ordinary shorebirds - they feed on beaches and estuaries for most of the year, but when the breeding season comes around in spring they migrate to the remote mountain tops of Rakiura/Stewart Island and stay on the island until their chicks are old enough to return to the mudflats and estuaries of the Southland coast, in February.

In 2022, Rakiura/Stewart Island experienced higher-than-average rat numbers as a result of a mast or heavy fruiting event. This event created a greater food source that fuelled rat populations, which in turn led to a larger number of feral cats.

“Rats are the preferred prey to feral cats. When rat numbers drop, feral cats look for alternative prey such as Southern New Zealand dotterel,” Daniel said.

It was estimated that 40 to 50 birds died during the most-recent breeding season. Fortunately, some adults were able to successfully breed and raise chicks to fledge which softened the decline, he said.

Daniel, from Invercargill, is passionate about the dotterel and has worked with them since he was 14 years old.

“We are keen to protect what makes them unique, wading bird that breeds in alpine areas,” Daniel said.

He is encouraging as many people as possible to go to https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/ and vote for the Southern NZ Dotterel/Pukunui.

You can also help by donating to the New Zealand Nature Fund Dotterel Project.