Doc Wakatipu rangers will post six warning signs along the 4km to 5km of the beach between Middleton's homestead and the Shotover River confluence, asking people to stay away from August 1 until December 15. The temporary signs will be posted on public land administered by either the department or Land Information New Zealand.
Doc introduced the initiative this year in response to the marked increase in public use of Tucker Beach.
Nationally vulnerable banded dotterel birds (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) were unique to the braided river areas of the South Island. There were estimated to be fewer than 20,000 in the island and only 5000 in the Wakatipu, Doc biodiversity assets programme manager Barry Lawrence said.
"They are endangered: 10 years ago they were classified as declining; now they are classified as threatened.
"There's probably about 15 to 30 pairs on the Lower Shotover and 50 to 100 pairs in the Dart, depending on the season."
Banded dotterels used semi-permanent gravel areas, usually with scab weeds, to nest, Mr Lawrence said. However, they were more susceptible to disturbance than other nesting birds because they nested in hidden isolation and could be driven over, or mauled by a dog, before anyone knew they were there.
"Seemingly empty areas are being used by these specialist birds," he said.
A pair of dotterels hatched two or three eggs a season and would raise only one or two fledglings.
Just a quarter of all fledglings would survive the first winter.
Tucker Beach was otherwise a good area to exercise dogs from January to July, and 4WD vehicles did not tend to cause much damage, he said.
