Notornis the Scientific journal of Birds New Zealand has recently published a special edition on the Waders of New Zealand. A number of papers related to species which migrate through the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. This current publication complements and updates the special wader issue of Notonis published in 1999.
The papers that report on current knowledge of trans-equatorial waders highlight the complexity of the causes of decline. Species such as the Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) and Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva), that do not rely heavily on the Yellow Sea as a stopover site, have declined in parallel, to Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) and Red Knots (Calidris canutus), the two most numerous Arctic waders in the New Zealand sector of the East Asian Australasian Flyway.
An Introduction by Keith Woodley from Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre (EAAFP Partner) sets the scene of this special issue, 20 years after the publication of the first special issue on Waders in New Zealand in 1999. Keith highlights the changes that have occurred for all shorebirds in New Zealand and the implication of this for conservation managers. The highlighted paper of this issue is “Distribution and numbers of waders in New Zealand, 2005–2019” (Riegen & Sagar 2020).
Below is a list of the papers in this special issue (Papers immediately available to download are marked with *):
| Title | Authors | Year | Volume | Issue | Pages |
| A special issue on waders in New Zealand: Foreward | H.A. Robertson | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 586 |
| A special issue on waders in New Zealand: Introduction | K. Woodley | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 587-590 |
| *Distribution and numbers of waders in New Zealand, 2005–2019 | A.C. Riegen; P.M. Sagar | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 591-634 |
| *A comparison of spring (November), summer (February), and winter (June) wader counts from Farewell Spit, 1998–2019 | R. Schuckard; D.S. Melville; P. Bilton; D. MacKenzie; W. Cook; S. Wood; D. Cooper | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 635-642 |
| *Numbers of bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica baueri) in New Zealand and Australia during the austral summer of 2019–2020 | R. Schuckard; D.S. Melville; A. Riegen; P. Driscoll; J. Driessen; L.R. Kidd | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 643-650 |
| *Notes on staging bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica baueri) at Ouvéa (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia) during southward migration in 2007 | R. Schuckard; D.S. Melville | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 651-656 |
| Bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica) crossing the Inland Kaikoura Ranges, South Island, New Zealand | B.L. Smith; P.F. Battley | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 657-658 |
| *Movements of New Zealand ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres) | D.S. Melville; A.C. Riegen; R. Schuckard; (T.)A.M. Habraken | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 659-672 |
| Seasonal use of farmland by shorebirds on the south Kaipara, North Island, New Zealand | B. Michaux | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 673-676 |
| National changes in occupancy of New Zealand-breeding Charadriiformes, 1969–1979 to 1999–2004 | S. Walker; A. Monks; J. Innes | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 677-691 |
| Breeding of variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) at the Port Waikato sandspit, North Island, New Zealand | A. Berghuis | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 693-696 |
| Long distance movements of ‘adult’ variable oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor) in New Zealand | D.S. Melville; R. Schuckard; C. Bell; M. Bell; W. Cook; D. Cooper; G. Bawden | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 697-699 |
| Underwater swimming by chicks of the variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) and the Chatham Island oystercatcher (H. chathamensis) | J.E. Dowding | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 701-703 |
| Longevity of pied stilt (Himantopus himantopus) | A.M. Habraken; D.A. Lawrie | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 705-707 |
| Pedigree validation using genetic markers in an intensively- managed taonga species, the critically endangered kakī (Himantopus novaezelandiae) | A. Overbeek; S. Galla; L. Brown; S. Cleland; C. Thyne; R. Maloney; T. Steeves | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 709-716 |
| Changes in the number and distribution of northern New Zealand dotterels (Charadrius obscurus aquilonius): results of four censuses undertaken between 1989 and 2011 | J.E. Dowding | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 717-728 |
| Record of a southern New Zealand dotterel (Charadrius o. obscurus) in the northern North Island | J.E. Dowding | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 729-731 |
| Distribution, long term population trends and conservation status of banded dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) on braided rivers in New Zealand | C.F.J. O'Donnell; J.M. Monks | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 733-753 |
| Survival and breeding success of wrybills (Anarhynchus frontalis) in the Tekapo and Tasman Rivers, South Canterbury, New Zealand | J.E. Dowding; E.C. Murphy; M.J. Elliott | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 755-764 |
| Displaced by riverbed flooding; quantifying numbers and distribution of refugee wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis) on Canterbury coastal wetlands in October–November 2013 | A.C. Crossland; P. Crutchley | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 765-771 |
| Reflections on Thinornis rossii | G.M. Kirwan; N.J. Collar | 2020 | 67 | 4 | 773-781 |
You can download all papers from Notornis and Birds New Zealand page, click [here].
