Muttonbird numbers dive

Lack of food has left muttonbird chicks dying in their holes and muttonbirders facing their worst season in more than 40 years.

Every year, about 200,000 titi or muttonbirds are caught on the islands around Stewart Island.

However, Bluff Fishermen's Shore Station manager Meri Leask said some people believed it was the worst season in 45 years.

There were reports of young chicks dying in their holes and on the ground.

Birds being caught were only as big as the palm of a hand.

"The muttonbirds are definitely in very bad condition," she said.

"It's devastating to hear they are like that.

"There's gotta be something wrong with the food chain."

Leask said some people had decided not to go to the islands this year.

"Others have gone because they look forward to going every year; it's in their heart," she said.

"People on the islands are sticking with it.

"They have been able to catch up on a lot of maintenance on their homes, but they are not really catching anything compared with other years."

Birders were going "torching" searching for their prey in the dark and were walking long distances to find anything.

Department of Conservation southern islands area manager Andy Roberts said seabirds had good and bad seasons which were heavily influenced by the marine food chain.

Other seabirds, such as the Gibson's albatross, had also had a very bad breeding season.

"The titi population is harvested as well, so it's a very dynamic situation," he said.

"It is concerning what's happening in the natural world and what's causing these fluctuations in the food chain."

Only those with ancestral connections dating from the 1800s can set foot on the titi islands.

- © Fairfax NZ News