AUCKLAND: The Forest and Bird Conservation Organization, in a recent press release, said the hundreds of dead birds found along the Bay of Plenty coastline as a result of the Rena oil spill represent just a fraction of the affected wildlife. Forest and Bird is New Zealand's largest independent conservation organization that works to preserve native species. “The number of birds being found washed up on the beaches will be a very small proportion of the birds being affected,” Forest and Bird's Seabird Conservation Advocate Karen Baird said. “A lot of oil-covered birds will simply sink at sea and some of the more lightly oiled birds will be flying back to their colonies,” Baird added. Amid the dead birds recorded so far are 178 diving petrels, 114 fluttering shearwaters, 68 Buller's shearwaters and 13 little blue penguins, along with smaller numbers of albatrosses and other species of petrel. “The fact the dead birds include numbers of Buller's shearwaters is significant, because they only breed on the Poor Knights Islands north of Auckland This shows the zone of impact from the disaster has already spread outside the Bay of Plenty,” Baird said. Among the oiled wildlife, 5 New Zealand dotterels have been removed from areas threatened by oil pollution at Matakana Island, Maketu and Pukehina. “These three areas are important strongholds for New Zealand dotterels, which are going into their breeding season. This is a highly endangered species, with only around 1500 birds estimated to exist,” Baird said. There is growing concern for coastal fish species, dolphins, seals and whales in the area as the ongoing threat from the oil spill worsens. BM
