From March to May, around three times a week, volunteers can be found patrolling the streets of Auckland's CBD looking for Cook's petrels, a small seabird endemic to Aotearoa.
University of Auckland PhD student Ariel-Micaiah Heswall began the patrols in April this year to rescue mainly fledglings and take them to BirdCare Aotearoa, where she volunteers. She is hoping to hit the streets with volunteers earlier next year.
Heswall said some of the seabirds can become disoriented by the lights in the city centre and are forced to land.
Here the seabirds can suffer from dehydration, starvation and predation. Some of them have collided with buildings and can die from their injuries.
The location of any Cook's petrels found by the patrols - dead or alive - are noted down. Volunteers use gloves to handle the birds and they are placed in boxes or a special bag. They are then taken to BirdCare Aotearoa.
As part of her PhD, Heswall is conducting research to understand sensory impacts on seabirds.
She said BirdCare Aotearoa and Birds New Zealand are trying to build up a database of where the Cook's petrels are becoming grounded. They want to see if light pollution can be lessened in these areas.
BirdCare Aotearoa general manager Lynn Miller said 153 Cook's Petrels had come into their care this last season and the patrols run by Heswall had played a big part in this. The year before 143 petrels had come into their care. Before this, BirdCare Aotearoa had only seen nine or 10.
Miller said 88% of the petrels brought in were released. BirdCare Aotearoa has kept the cadavers of the petrels which were found dead or didn't make it. Miller said of the ones which had been studied to date, some had severe liver and heart damage and some had the odd fracture.
She said some of the petrels brought in could have been disoriented by the lights or could have been unwell.
Birds New Zealand Auckland regional representative Ian McLean explained to 1News there are two populations of Cook's petrels - one in the north and one in the south. The northern population of Cook's petrels breed mainly on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island and also Great Barrier Island. The population on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island was estimated at 286,000 breeding pairs back in 2007.
The southern population of Cook's petrels, a distinct subspecies, breed on Codfish Island, near Stewart Island.
McLean said Cook's petrels only lay one egg per season and don't mate for life.
The northern Cook's petrels cross over Auckland after feeding in the Tasman Sea during spring and summer. When the breeding season is over, they migrate to the North Pacific. Southern Cook's petrels head to Peru and Chile.
McLean said some northern fledglings, unused to crossing over Auckland like their parents, can become disoriented by the lights during fledging in March. He explained the seabirds mistake bright lights for the moon and stars. It is worse when there is low cloud or heavy rain.
Besides the city centre, McLean said Cook's petrels had been found on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and near the Tamaki River, Whau River and the Highbrook Business Park.
Cook's petrels should ideally be released by experts on clifftops, at night and after making sure there are no ruru/morepork around, as they predate the seabirds, he said.
McLean encourages people who come across a Cook's petrel to collect it using gloves, wrap it in a towel and take it to BirdCare Aotearoa or a similar organisation. It shouldn't be given food or water until it's in the hands of experts.
If people come across a bird and they're not sure what species it is, he said they can contact Birds New Zealand or head to New Zealand Birds Online, which is a digital encyclopaedia.
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