Mt Albert tree removal: Felling would be 'cruel' to nesting birds, experts say

Wednesday, 20 November 2019

Anna Radford from Honour the Maunga explains why protestors are blocking the removal of trees from Mt Albert/Ōwairaka. (Video first published November 2019.)

Felling hundreds of trees from an Auckland volcano during nesting season is 'cruel' and ill-informed, say bird experts.

Bird scientist Dr Lynn Miller has spoken out against the Tūpuna Maunga Authority's plan to remove 345 exotic trees from Ōwairaka/Mt Albert – home to tui, morepork, kaka and fantails, among other species – by mid-December. She said the disturbance would traumatise birds, driving adults off the mountain.

'You've got nesting going on, there are going to be babies all through those trees. You're going to have abandonment. Fledglings will die,' said Miller, who is the general manager of New Zealand Bird Rescue.

Morepork have become more common on Mt Albert over the last few years, but locals worry they'll be gone after mass felling planned by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.

'Then birds that flee will face huge territorial issues because it's nesting season: You don't have time to feed, you don't know where the safe places are, and you don't have time to figure it out when you're being harassed by your own species.'

**READ MORE:

Protesters have to date stopped any felling from taking place on Mt Albert.

* Nature lovers angry after mass tree removal at local park

* Opinion: For the greater good I'm happy to say goodbye to Mount Albert's trees

A sign on Mt Albert explaining the felling schedule.

* Auckland councillor slams 'culturally ignorant' protest over Mt Albert/Ōwairaka trees**

Bird rescuer Karen Saunders is shocked the Tūpuna Maunga Authority hasn't taken into account nesting season in its plans to remove 345 trees from Mt Albert.

The felling is part of a broader project to replant Auckland's 14 mountains with solely native vegetation. It has been consented by Auckland Council. Miller supported the long-term goal, but urged the Authority to postpone until February 'at the earliest', when resident birds were less vulnerable.

Felling scheduled to begin on November 11 has to date been thwarted by a local group protesting the trees' removal.

Territorial tui would struggle to find new homes if mass felling makes them abandon Mt Albert, say bird experts.

Honour the Maunga spokeswoman Anna Radford said birds were at the heart of the group's mission. Morepork calls had been a rarity two years ago but now were a nightly treat, she said.

'If we lose all those trees in one go, what will happen to the morepork? I don't know why the Authority are in this unseemly rush – what's wrong with good succession planting over a number of years?'

The 345 slated trees make up 'less than half of the canopy' and include every non-native on the mountain, bar those on Watercare land or with native birds nesting in them, the Authority has stated.

The Authority, chaired by Paul Majurey, did not reply to requests for comment on this story. It had said previously that Forest and Bird supported its project and that remaining native canopy would provide enough habitat for the maunga's avians.

Karen Saunders, founder of Waiheke Island's Native Bird Rescue, called the timing 'shocking'.

She said the Authority's reassurances that nesting native birds would not be bothered were problematic.

Identifying trees with nests – especially cavity nests of morepork – would be challenging, she said. Birds nesting in exempt trees would find the commotion of removing such a large number of trees from relatively small area 'really, really disturbing' and likely abandon their nests for good.

Saunders said there was a possibility the Authority's felling would contravene the Wildlife Act, which prohibited destroying nests of many native birds.

'If you know there are nesting birds, and at this time of year we all do know that, cutting down hundreds of trees like this is quite a cruel thing to do.'

Dr Miller said the Authority had not approached her organisation, based in Auckland's Green Bay, to be part of the 'rescue response'.

She said the Green Bay Centre was usually inundated with injured birds in December and worried it would not have the capacity to care for an onslaught of avian refugees from Ōwairaka/Mt Albert.

A spokesperson for Forest & Bird said the organisation supported the 'long-term vision to restore Auckland's maunga'.

It acknowledged, however, that there were 'potentially other ways that the restoration work could have been done'.