As a Friend of BirdCare Aotearoa, you’ll receive exclusive invites to Friends of BirdCare Aotearoa tours of our facilities, and engaging events with our team.

For those unable to attend in person, we look forward to meeting you on virtual behind the scenes tours.

We look forward to meeting you to thank you for your generous support!

With gratitude from the BirdCare Aotearoa team and our feathered patients

Click to become a Friend of BirdCare Aotearoa

Information for donation receipts and invitations to events:

Friends of BirdCare Aotearoa recurring donors will receive one donation tax receipt at the end of the financial year (March).

For receiving receipts and invitations:

• Recurring donations by credit/debit card – email address will automatically be added to communications database.
• Recurring donations by bank transfer/automatic payment – please email admin@shop.birdcareaotearoa.org.nz to be added to communications database.

Existing recurring donors will automatically become a Friend of BirdCare Aotearoa and receive invitations.

BirdCare Aotearoa is a registered charity, registration no. CC37288, IRD no. 099-610-379. All donations over $5 are tax deductible.

BirdCare Aotearoa is entirely funded by the generosity of donations and grants. We are currently fundraising for $300,000 to upgrade the centre’s aviaries and facilities, to help recovering birds and fledgling chicks practice flying ahead of their release back into the wild.

These upgrades and additions to our facilities will also cater for increasing admissions, and provide additional quarantine capacity, ensuring we can continue giving life-saving care to rescued birds in the event of a major disease outbreak.

Click to Donate to our Help us Fly Campaign!

Join the Protect Our Petrels community to help work towards a safer place for our seabirds.

www.protectourpetrels.com/community-projects

Wildlife welfare is now incorporated in the Civil Defence ‘Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS)’. BirdCare Aotearoa recently coordinated a Tabletop exercise to build preparedness for a catastrophic weather event impacting wildlife. 

Delegates from various organisations worked together during a simulated exercise to develop a strategy for coordinating the rescue and appropriate care of wildlife in a large-scale emergency situation. It was a very valuable collaboration of expertise amongst a group of organisations who recognise the importance of wildlife welfare in all situations.

Ngā mihi nui – thank you very much to:

• Auckland Council – Waitākere Ranges Local Board for funding
• Auckland Zoo for the event facility
• NIWA for simulating an adverse weather event for the exercise
• Pauline Nijman from Massey University for presentation of an actual adverse event
• Delegates who represented the following organisations

Ministry for Primary Industries, DOC, Auckland Council Conservation Advisor, Auckland Emergency Management, NZ Defence Force – Auckland, Wildlife Manager Auckland Airport, The University of Auckland, SPCA, WReNNZ, HUHA Trust, Matuku Link, Birds New Zealand, Native Bird Rescue – Waiheke Island, Hamilton Zoo, Auckland Zoo, BirdCare Aotearoa.

Botulism is a natural toxin produced by a bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) commonly found in soil. There are several types of botulism toxin, some of which can affect humans. Birds get their own kind of botulism (Type C). Botulism Type C is concentrated in aquatic invertebrates that filter feed sediments or water. When birds eat the invertebrates, they get a concentrated package of toxin. A bird-to-bird cycle can also exist where maggots feeding on dead birds can concentrate the toxin and can then be eaten by, and poison, other birds.

In birds, botulism presents as an ascending paralysis (meaning it starts from the legs and works its way up through the body) where the bird loses its ability to fly, swim, eat and eventually breathe. All of this while the bird is completely aware of what is happening. Most waterfowl species such as ducks, swans and coots drown as they lose their ability to hold their head up and off the water.

In Auckland, hundreds of mallards and other birds are affected every year, especially during late summer. Outbreaks in areas with high concentrations of birds such as Western Springs Park are particularly hard hit, resulting in the death of hundreds of birds every day.

Botulism has a widespread impact throughout the entire bird community, with many species impacted, including endemic and threatened species such as tarāpunga/red-billed gulls, tarāpuka/black-billed gulls, karoro/black-backed gulls, matuku moana/white-faced herons, tōrea pango/variable oystercatchers, poaka/pied stilts, kāruhiruhi/pied shags, and even huahou/red knots.

At BirdCare Aotearoa, we assess and triage each bird, and provide an individual care plan so that every bird has the best chance of recovery and release. There is no treatment for botulism; birds receive nursing care to support them as their body eliminates the toxin. We support the bird’s body weight to facilitate breathing, hydrate the bird, feed them, and clean them until they are well enough to do all of this independently again. Most of the birds in our care will start recovering after 24 to 48 hours. However, more severely affected birds and some species (e.g. white-faced heron) will require at least one week before they can even stand up again.

When rescuing and caring for birds with botulism, it is important to remember that they are fully conscious and aware of what is happening to them, they can feel pain, and they will be highly stressed as they cannot move. It is important to minimise loud noises, handle these birds gently, and keep them as comfortable as possible in a clean, dry, and well-padded container.

This year, our team has cared for over 650 birds with botulism. This is more than double the number of admissions in 2021. This year’s botulism season has also been longer than usual. The toxin thrives in warm water environments, so the warmer temperatures will definitely be contributing to the high numbers and longer season.

Our professional and innovative approach has seen BirdCare Aotearoa become a world leader in managing botulism in ducks. We are able to release around 96 percent of mallards after care – but we can only do this with your support.

How you can help

• Don’t feed ducks and other wild birds. It’s better to encourage them to forage naturally. Bread thrown into ponds can rot and promote the growth of botulism bacteria.
• Identify sick animals and bring them to BirdCare Aotearoa as soon as possible. Birds affected by botulism will display unusual behaviour – water birds may not be able to hold up their head, gulls may be able to walk but not fly, and other birds may drag one or both wings and appear weak and lethargic. Some birds will not be able to move at all. We can help many of these birds but it is essential that they receive care as soon as possible.
• Report botulism outbreaks. Eliminating avian botulism is difficult because the toxin producing bacteria occurs naturally in the environment. However, you can help control the spread by reporting outbreaks so that dead birds can be removed from the environment.
• Support us by donating. BirdCare Aotearoa is a charity caring for more than 6,000 birds every year. We rely on donations from individuals and businesses to be able to continue our life-saving work. Thanks to you, this year we’ve been able to rehabilitate hundreds of birds affected by botulism and return them to the wild. If you’d like to support us to help more birds, please consider becoming a regular giver.

  

Once trapped, birds struggle to fly as their feathers are glued together. As they struggle on the ground, they become covered in leaves and dirt. They are unable to find food, and they are vulnerable to predators. To survive, they need a specialised bath at an experienced rehab centre.

In 2021 so far, we have admitted 7 ruru (morepork) trapped in parapara. Most are released within a few weeks of admission, but may need to stay for several months if they have experienced feather loss.

This ruru was our most severe case. He arrived very skinny, dehydrated, sore, and covered in debris. We suspect he had been grounded for a while.

This ruru required two weeks of stabilisation before he had recovered enough to tolerate a bath. This involved daily fluid therapy, pain management, and tube feeding to slowly restart his digestive system. On day 12, he was bathed for the first time (a second bath was required after a few days).

By day 15, he had recovered from his two baths, and was ready for some exercise in an aviary! The transformation on this little one was incredible.

If you notice a parapara tree in your garden, you can help out the local bird life by trimming the seed pods each season. If you notice any birds who have become entangled, please bring them to a rehab centre as soon as possible. Don’t pull the pods off, as this can cause damage to feathers.

Thanks so much to everyone who continues to bring us these birds so we can give them a second chance!

After a week, Waitā moved to an aviary, where he soon started demolishing all food in sight. Ever the connoisseur, Waitā turned up his beak at all frozen food options (fish, shrimp, shellfish, and whitebait). Thanks to generous sponsorship, Waitā was thoroughly spoiled with wild-caught earthworms, hand picked mussels, crispy dried mealworms, crunchy baby crabs, tender marine worms, and his favourite: live mealworms. Waitā gained a whopping 260 grams during his stay.

Waitā was banded, bathed, and released after over two months in care. He was released at a local beach, not far from where he was initially found. He immediately ran towards the other oystercatchers, then started foraging and had a splash in a tidal pool. You can watch the release video here.

Thank you to Waitā’s sponsors: Julie, Lauren, Angela, Narelle, Jennifer, Lee, Jill, Manesha, Glynn, and Nikki.

Thanks to the support of the community, BirdCare’s recent annual Theatre Evening at Titirangi Theatre successfully raised the funds to purchase a much needed infusion pump.