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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica	EN	breeding (1974–2008)	3,155–5,103 pairs	A1, A4ii
Spotted Shag Phalacrocorax punctatus	LC	breeding (1969–2011)	811–1,090 nests	A4i

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
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Pollution	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	likely in short term (<4 years)	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1914	Punakaiki	Scenic Reserve (III)	1
1987	Paparoa National Park	National Park (II)	50
1987	Paparoa Range South	Stewardship Area (III)	4
1987	Punakaiki	Nature Reserve (Ia)	2
1987	Punakaiki - Coast Road	Stewardship Area (III)	1
1987	Punakaiki River	Stewardship Area (III)	1
1987	Barrytown Flat	Stewardship Area (III)	1
1989	Fox River	Stewardship Area (III)	<1
1989	Punakaiki Field Centre	Stewardship Area (III)	-
1994	Hibernia Creek	Stewardship Area (III)	<1
1999	Westland Petrel - Punakaiki River	Specially Protected Area (Ia)	-
2008	Lawson Creek	Scenic Reserve (III)	<1
2010	Te Ara Taiko	Nature Reserve (Ia)	3
2010	Coast Road, Barrytown	Scenic Reserve (III)	-
2015	McMillan Road	Scenic Reserve (III)	<1

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	major (>10)	Improved grassland & pasture
Forest	major (>10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)
Marine Intertidal	major (>10)
Shrubland	major (>10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Punakaiki (New Zealand). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/punakaiki-iba-new-zealand on 23/12/2024.