The uninvited plover

The spur-winged plover (Vanellus miles) is an Australian species that used to visit New Zealand only occasionally. They started breeding in Southland in the 1930s and since then have spread throughout New Zealand. Because it brought itself here, it’s considered a native species, but unlike most native bird species, the spur-winged plover has no legal protection. Not that it’s always been like that for the spur-winged plover, because it was given protection in the years after it established itself, only to have that protection removed in 2010. The black-backed gull is the only other native bird species that has no legal protection in New Zealand. Both are large birds that could potentially endanger aircraft, a fact compounded by their preference for open environments: paddocks, wetlands, beaches, airfields. Plovers are aggressive and noisy and received zero votes in the 2017 New Zealand Bird of the Year competition.