Many more seabirds were expected to have perished than those recovered from the coastline.
Hundreds of litres of thick engine oil had leaked from the container ship, the Rena, since it was wrecked on Astrolabe Reef off the east coast of the North Island near Tauranga on October 5th.
The oil came ashore this week, between Mt. Maunganui’s Papamoa Beach and a wildlife refuge at Makatu, about 60 kilometres south of there. Volunteers scoured the coastline, picking up live oiled seabirds for rehabilitation and dead ones for identification.
Ten days after New Zealand’s worst environmental maritime disaster, more than 1000 dead oiled seabirds were identified from the affected area, and 110 oiled seabirds were being cleaned and cared for at the wildlife recovery facility at Mt. Maunganui (Te Maunga) near Tauranga.
Shearwaters and Petrels Victims of Oil
Identification of the oiled seabirds was a difficult task as plumage coloration was masked by the oil in many cases. Of the first 900 birds identified, nearly half of these were the Common Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), and there were about 200 Fluttering Shearwaters (Puffinus gavia), and about 100 Buller’s Shearwaters (Puffinus bulleri).
Two albatross were picked up in the first week, including an Antipodean Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) and a White-capped Albatross (Diomedia species) as well as a Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli).
One of the more unusual species found was the Blue Petrel, (Halobaena caerulea), an uncommon sub-Antarctic visitor to New Zealand waters that breeds on Macquarie Island. Thirteen Blue Petrels were among the dead oiled seabirds recovered from the Bay of Plenty coastline.
Other species recovered include Little Penguins (20), Antarctic Prion (3), Fairy Prion (12), Flesh-footed Shearwater (3), Sooty Shearwater (13), Little Shearwater (15), White-faced Petrel (38), Australasian Gannet (7), Shag species (7), Bar-tailed Godwit (1) and Variable Oystercatcher (1).
Oiled Wildlife Facility Busy
By October 13th, just a week after the Rena was grounded on the reef, there were 51 oiled seabirds being cared for at the oiled wildlife facility at Te Maunga. The wildlife team had also caught eight of the threatened New Zealand Dotterel from the Maketu Peninsula beaches.
There were more than 36 teams, both out in the field and at the wildlife facility, involved in wildlife recovery. The 140 people out in the field were covering more than 80 kilometres of coastline.
Maritime New Zealand’s National On-Scene Commander Nick Quinn, said “the response from the community to the unfolding situation from the stranded vessel Rena has been tremendous.” He said it was heart wrenching to see the state of some of the birds coming into the centre.
“The mortality rates are starting to increase and there are several hundred dead birds yet to be collected by the wildlife teams who are working methodically to deal with the oiled birds coming in,” Mr Quinn said.
New Zealand Dotterels in Captivity
By the end of the week, (Saturday 15th October) there were a total of 110 oiled birds being cared for at the wildlife facility, and 34 rare New Zealand Dotterels in captivity there. The dotterels were in good condition and in cages, where they were being held to protect them from the oil.
A special aviary was being built at the oiled wildlife facility to cater for the dotterels, as the wildlife team aimed to catch at least 60 of the Bay of Plenty region’s 100 New Zealand Dotterels, to ensure protection of the local population. There are only about 1500 New Zealand Dotterels in existence nationally.
On hard hit Motiti Island, 7.5 kilometres south of the Astrolabe Reef, eight Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor), were found including three chicks that were in good condition with no oiling. The chicks were being kept safe at a creche in the wildlife centre.
Updated on Sunday 16th October
- On Sunday 39 wildlife teams patrolled about 200 kilometres of coastline from Waihi in the north, through to Torere (east of Opotiki).
- The Oiled Wildlife Recovery Centre is now cleaning and caring for 181 oiled seabirds, including 143 Little Penguins, 2 Pied Shag, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Fluttering Shearwater, 1 White- fronted Tern and 36 New Zealand Dotterels.
- The number of dead oiled birds now totals 1250.
Updated on Thursday 17th November
- The latest estimate of seabirds killed by the Rena oil slick is about 20,000. The Oiled Wildlife Centre has processed more than 2000 dead seabirds but the estimated death toll, is likely to be 10 times that figure, says Oiled Wildlife Centre manager Dr Brett Gartrell at Te Maunga. That figure is based on extrapolations done in overseas research where only one to 10 per cent of birds were recovered.
- Later this month, the Centre is expecting to start release of the 409 birds in its care that includes 60 dotterels, four shags, and hundreds of little blue penguins.
Reference: Heather and Robertson, Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, Viking 1996.
