Source: Auckland Council
Waiheke’s birdlife will be flying high this summer following the un-leashing of a plan to create a bird friendly beach zone thanks to Waiheke’s local board.
Dogs must now be on a leash on the west end of Onetangi beach – an important roosting and breeding site for the northern New Zealand dotterel, tūturiwhatu and the variable oystercatcher tōrea pangoa, following a request by the board.
Auckland Council’s environmental services team approved the request to change the Dog Management Bylaw 2019 on 12 October to the delight of the board and chair Cath Handley.
“We love dogs here on the motu but it’s important that native bird species have an opportunity to thrive, especially in the case of threatened species like the dotterel who raise their chicks in this spot over the summer months,” Handley says.
It means dogs now must be always on leash in an area of Onetangi Beach west of Seventh Avenue until 24 March 2024. This adjoins an existing area further west on the beach where dogs are permanently prohibited (see map below for details).
The area in red shows where dogs must be on leash until march 24. Dogs are permanently prohibited from the area in white further west.
The decision by the board follows requests by community volunteer group the Waiheke Dotterel Guardians, who started watching over a pair of dotterels and their chick in the area last December.
The group plans to continue their work watching over breeding pairs of dotterels on Onetangi beach this summer.
Council staff will set up signage in the area alerting the public to the change in the leash rules this October.
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