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We present the first detailed data on the Great Barrier Island (GBI) sub-population of the northern New Zealand dotterel (NNZD; Charadrius obscurus aquilonius). The breeding season population has averaged 48 birds (range: 41– 64) since 2000. At Awana on GBI, productivity has averaged >1.0 fledged chick per pair-year. The apparent survivorship of adult birds was less than that in the North Auckland sub-population. After breeding, most GBI birds congregated at Whangapoua Estuary/Okiwi Spit in the north of the island, making this a site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention (1971). The post-breeding population of c.56 birds (range: 41 – 77) was augmented by local juveniles and input from elsewhere. Banding returns provided evidence of movement between GBI and the adjacent mainland sub-population on the Coromandel Peninsula. There was no evidence that fewer predatory mammal species on GBI benefits the species at present. Conservation emphasis should focus on controlling mammalian predators and managing human impacts at breeding sites, especially early in the breeding season.