11/04/2026
Hi everyone,
With the nasty weather coming to our community and winter approaching, there is an increased risk of injured and sick birds. Severe storms, heavy rain and strong winds cause widespread mortality, exhaustion, and destruction of nesting sites. Increased storm frequency and intensity will also increase the turbidity of coastal waters, which poses problems for visual foragers such as penguins, gannets, and shags. Higher mortality rates of Little Blue Penguins occur regularly after poor conditions as the birds are unable to forage properly.
If you find an injured or weak bird, please contact your local vet. CoroVets is more than happy to assess any injured or ill bird, stabilise them where possible and help arrange transport to a rehabilitation centre when indicated. Our staff are passionate about the welfare of all animals, including our fine feathered friends.
If you happen to spot a bird that is in distress or one that looks to have been injured, please do not hesitate to contact us or your local veterinary clinic:
Phone: 0800 267 683
Emal: [email protected]
For safe bird collection, we recommend following the steps below to keep you and the bird safe:
1. Prepare a box lined with a towel - this can be cardboard or any such object at hand. Pop some air holes in it for ventilation. Seabirds are particularly prone to heat stress in warmer months.
2. Use gloves or a small towel to pick up the bird and gently place it in the box. Towels help prevent damage to waterproofing.
3. Until they can be transported to the vet, keep them in a safe, quiet, dark and warm area with little stimulation. Avoid feeding, petting or stroking them. Some birds need fluid rehydration at the vet before any feeding is initiated. Wild birds are easily stressed and see us as predators.
4. Do not hold them any longer or stronger than necessary.
We are often seeking volunteers to transport birds to rehabiliators when fit for transport, so please let us know if you could be available to help.
For more information on New Zealand sea birds follow the links below:
- protected-species-handling-guide-20192.pdf
- threats-to-seabirds-northern-aotearoa.pdf
- csp-fishers-guide-to-nz-coastal-seabirds-2021.pdf
If an endangered bird or sea mammal is found, please contact DOC first.
