West Auckland photographer Brian has become an accidental volunteer for Bethells Beach dotterel minding group Te Henga Tuturiwhatu after a chance meeting on the beach last year. Lesley and Richard had started the group in 2018 after attending a dotterel minding course in Pukorokoro Miranda run by the godfather of dotterel conservation, John Dowding. One day in November 2025 they noticed Brian on the beach with his camera, and started talking to him about the dotterels.
“Brian’s eyes lit up when we mentioned that we had dotterel chicks on the beach as for some time he’d wanted to test his skills and photograph their chicks in the wild,” says Lesley. After that first encounter, 85-year-old Brian came to the beach nearly every week and managed to get some really fantastic photos of the dotterel chicks and their parents.
“It was our best year to date with a record 6 chicks surviving to fledging” says Richard. “Brian’s weekly photos, showing their progress over the six weeks it takes from hatching to first flying, were such a terrific resource for our group.”
Lesley adds “Brian’s been so generous in letting us use his photos. The images have given extra oxygen to our twin campaigns of dotterel minding and asking people to leave kelp on the beach. People don’t realise that kelp is a bird cafe! The sand hoppers that live under it are a vital source of food for these precious taonga, and Brian has taken several photos that illustrate that beautifully.”
The group’s Facebook page, Te Henga Tuturiwhatu, has featured many of Brian’s photos. He’s continued to come out to Te Henga Bethells on a regular basis throughout the year, and recently bought a better lens in preparation for the coming dotterel breeding season which will start in early September.
Brian is a very modest man who says “People like Adrian (Riegen) are the experts - I just take the pictures!”, but he’s become an integral part of Te Henga Tuturiwhatu since that first chat on the beach several months ago!
“We especially love our tagged pair of breeding dotterels JAW and HAL here at Te Henga” says Lesley. “They were such careful parents and managed to fledge all three chicks, a first for our beach. We’re looking forward to Brian’s photos telling their story and captivating their audience again this year.”