Marine Bird Areas

In November, Forest and Bird hosted a two-day workshop on establishing Marine Important Bird Areas for New Zealand.

The bird experts met to discuss the data for New Zealand. The study is a cooperative project involving scientists from Forest & Bird, Bird Life International, Ornithological Society of New Zealand, NIWA and the Department of Conservation.

The group decided to use the BirdLife International database to collate information about seabird breeding sites around New Zealand. The data are very dispersed and in some cases undocumented.

The study will come up with ideas for Important Bird Areas. For more details, see
http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sites/marine_ibas (or search Marine IBAs on the BirdLife International website for a full description of what these are.

If branch members know about seabird breeding colonies in their area, please contact Susan Waugh, 04 801 2765, s.waugh@forestandbird.org.nz