A little blue penguin breeding colony has reportedly been destroyed by storm waves on a small island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf - and Forest & Bird says climate change is to blame.
The organisation released footage taken on the island showing considerable coastal erosion, and said the penguins there "were either buried or drowned" during a storm this year.
Sue Neureter, whose family owns the islands and others in the Noises group north of Waiheke, said variable oyster catcher and black back gull chicks were also swept away.
"Shingle from the main beach always changes with weather, but it was washed across the spit, something we’ve never known before," she said.
"Now shingle is covering intertidal blue and green mussel beds, and there is almost always a sediment plume billowing out from erosion of the beach, which must be affecting marine life there."
Adelia Hallett of Forest & Bird said the impact is clearly due to storms intensifying with climate change.
"Climate change is killing our native species, and it's really upsetting, but we know helping nature stay healthy will help us too," she said.
"We need to cut greenhouse gas emissions urgently ... everybody can play a part."
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