Bird survey reveals changing world of New Zealand gardens
Wednesday, 21 June 2017
The variety of birds that visit Nelson gardens has changed significantly in the past decade, according to new data.
Landcare Research released a report on The State of New Zealand Garden Birds on Wednesday.
The report includes data from the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey for the past 10 years.
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It shows that swallow, greenfinch and tui have been visiting Nelson gardens more frequently since records began in 2007.
But people have been seeing fewer starling, goldfinch and silvereye (wax-eye).
There has been a slight increase in some native birds, including bellbird and fantail.
However, grey warbler and kereru have been in shallow decline.
The most significant decline recorded has been for the silvereye, the most common native bird in New Zealand gardens.
Nationally, silvereye have declined by 44 per cent (45 per cent in the Nelson region).
Warmer winter temperatures over the last 10 years is a possible cause.
'It is possible that in the mild winters more food was available in the surrounding countryside, so birds did not need to come into gardens in search of food as much as in cold winters', said Dr Eric Spurr, the Garden Bird Survey organiser.
Some of the most common introduced birds in New Zealand gardens, including song thrush, chaffinch and blackbird, have also declined.
'It might be tempting to dismiss these declines as unimportant because the species of concern were all introduced to New Zealand from Europe,' said Catriona MacLeod of Landcare Research.
'We would argue otherwise — these birds act as indicators for the health of the environment that we live in. The species in question all feed on ground-dwelling invertebrates, suggesting that changes in our urban landscapes such as increased use of paving are impacting these birds.'
Spurr said he encouraged people to become 'citizen scientists' by taking part in the 2017 Garden Bird Survey.
The survey takes place between June 24 and July 2.
You can find out more by visiting the website here.