Kākā, kererū and tīeke are three times as likely to be seen in Wellington compared to 2011

Wednesday, 18 September 2019

Spotting a kākā, kererū or tīeke in Wellington reserves has become about three times more likely in the last decade.

The Wellington City Council has tallied up the birds in its annual bird count, finding significant increases in five endemic bird species: tūī, kākā, kererū, tīeke and kākāriki.

Council environment partnership leader Tim Park said the prolific birds were becoming 'ambassadors for Wellington' and the predator-free effort.

'Seeing kākā at Mount Vic, and seeing them almost daily, is really mind blowing,' Park said.

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'When I was a kid, you had to go to Kāpiti Island to see something like that in the region.'

The larger birds were becoming more dominant at Zealandia - pushing the smaller ones out in to the suburbs, he said.

'We're witnessing something that hasn't happened before in a city in New Zealand.'

Council urban ecology team manager Michelle Frank said Wellington was one of the few cities which was seeing the nature return worldwide.

'We are bucking the trend globally, across the world biodiversity is generally declining.'

Tūī are now everywhere and, as the most common native bird in Wellington, some residents have already been concerned about t ūī noise.

Results found kākā are settling down in Wadestown, Ngaio, Kelburn, Te Aro and Brooklyn, even venturing to Johnsonville and Miramar.

Kererū sightings were the highest in reserves containing original native forest habitat, such as Otari-Wilton Bush and Khandallah Park, but they are also frequently seen in adjacent suburban areas.

The chance to see a kākā in Wellington has roughly trebled since 2011.

Tīeke, whiteheads, and toutouwai (robins) were largely restricted to Zealandia and the forest within a few kilometres from the sanctuary.

However, red-crowned kākāriki are going beyond Zealandia, spotted in Wright's Hill reserve, Otari-Wilton Bush and Khandallah Park, Huntleigh Park and possibly also the Wellington Botanic Gardens.

The likelihood of encountering kākāriki has increased more than 10 times since 2011.

The chance to see kākā, kererū and tīeke in the city's reserves has roughly trebled since 2011.

Predator Free Wellington project manager James Willcocks said they were receiving more reports of people noticing native birds at their homes.

'People are stoked when they see the first pīwaiwaka (fantail) in their garden or see falcon soaring over. My favourite is when people see gecko in their letterbox.'

The tīeke (North Island Saddleback) is considered endemic and recovering in New Zealand.

It's something Predator Free Wellington could have only dreamed of just a few years ago, he said.

'To me this report shows that the ecological health of the city is rebounding and the community effort is making a big difference.'

The annual count by the council engages a team of professional ecologists to record birds for five minutes at 100 stations across Wellington reserves, and has been running since in 2011.

The counts provide a high-level picture of how native birds are doing by monitoring the trends in diversity, abundance and distribution.

These kererū were photographed by Malcolm Sparrow at his Tawa residence last year.

HOW TO HELP

* Plant native trees and remove invasive weeds

* Join a local trapping group to trap predators at home or a local reserve

* Volunteer with a restoration group on NatureSpace

* Get involved with the Great Kererū Count which starts on September 20

* Record observations of birds on www.inaturalist.nz or www.ebird.org