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The site was identified as important in 2014 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
South Island Oystercatcher Haematopus finschi	LC	non-breeding	2009-2012	9,446-14,332 individuals	A4i
Wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis	VU	non-breeding	2009-2012	2,053-2,253 individuals	A1, A4i
Black-billed Gull Larus bulleri	NT	breeding	1963-2013	85-320 breeding pairs	A1
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	-	-	20,000-25,000 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2014) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2014. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (within 4 years)	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high
Natural system modifications	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1977	Miranda	Conservation Covenant	<1
1983	Miranda Taramaire	Government Purpose Reserve	-
1987	Miranda	Stewardship Area	<1
1987	Miranda Stream	Stewardship Area	<1
1987	Kauaeranga River mouth	Stewardship Area	<1
1988	Orongo	Stewardship Area	<1
1990	Firth of Thames	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	-

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest		major (>10)
Introduced vegetation		major (>10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Shrubland		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Firth of Thames (New Zealand). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/firth-of-thames-iba-new-zealand on 22/11/2024.