Editorial

EMMA WATERHOUSE

In early December, I took part in an island-wide bird count, largely carried out by volunteers, and supported by Auckland Council and the Department of Conservation. Our counting team had an early start, walking over an hour up the Forest Road from the Whangaparapara side to reach our first counting station by 7am. Then we counted birds, more than we’d expected, along a 200 m transect. 

There were kākā, tūī, and riroriro (grey warbler) by the dozen, and the highlight, a long-tailed cuckoo (koekoeā) seen flying overhead. A few kererū and pīwakawaka. 

The idea for the Aotea Bird Count (ABC) evolved from within the community, and was successful in engaging many on the island. Auckland Council staff coordinated the training and information provided to the volunteer counters. Those with experience doing five-minute counts were teamed up with ‘beginners’. In all, teams of two to three people established 80 permanent count stations along 16 transect lines in different habitats across the island. Quite an effort and a great example of how data can be gathered effectively, using a recognised method, driven by a community wanting to know about the state of the bird populations on the island. 

The results from the count are currently being analysed and will be compiled into detailed and summary reports. Not surprisingly, tūī were the most frequently observed species, followed by kākā. And marked differences were observed between bird diversity (and species) between some of the transects. We will incorporate the results of the ABC, including some comparisons with previous bird counts/surveys on the island, in the forthcoming Aotea: State of our Birds Report that the Trust is preparing.  

The report comes 10 years after the first State of the Environment Report for Aotea was prepared and published. The new report aims to provide a level of detail about Aotea’s birds that is not currently available through existing national or regional reporting processes. State of our Birds will update information on this very visible aspect of Aotea’s biodiversity, pulling together data from disparate sources into a single resource. A key objective for this project is making sure the findings of the report and its data are accessible, interesting and meaningful to readers (and helps inform decision-making). 

Yes, birds do get a lot of air time and attention in New Zealand conservation. People (and funders) like birds, our other native animals tend to be less appealing (lizards, fish, snails, insects…), and Aotearoa missed out on furry mammals. But speak to any ecologist and they will tell you that a focus on single species (bird) conservation misses the point. Namely, that for an ecosystem to function properly, it needs fundamental processes to be working  as they should. For example, healthy regeneration in a forest, with understorey, effective pollinators and seed dispersers; and cycling of nutrients through this system, in the way seabirds have done on Aotea Great Barrier in the past. 

The magnitude of loss, of habitat, species and ecosystem function in both terrestrial and marine environments in New Zealand (including on Aotea Great Barrier) is staggering and ongoing. The latest state of the environment report for New Zealand Environment Aotearoa clearly documented this ongoing decline. We’re losing species and ecosystems faster than nearly any other country and about 1,000 of our known animal, plant, and fungi species are threatened. Many populations have disappeared from areas where they were once found. 

But species losses are often the result of loss of natural ecosystem function and habitats. A once continuous range of ecosystems has turned into a patchwork of isolated fragments. We see this on Aotea too, farmland, manuka scrub where farmland once was, weed-infested waterways, terrestrial and aquatic links lost between mountains and the sea. 

The problem is that we don’t really ‘see’ ongoing declines, accepting the current ‘state’ as something that has not changed, not recently anyway. Accepting that, what we have is enough, good even. But take the time to speak to someone who lived on, or visited, or heard a story from Aotea Great Barrier 50, 60, or even 100 years ago and they will tell you about what was here then. And then you start to understand the ongoing nature of the loss. 

I saw a flock of six kererū in our tī kōuka (cabbage trees) a couple of days ago. I thought that was pretty amazing until I spoke to our neighbour who said flocks of 30 were seen a few years ago, but not now (records tell us that kererū flocks of 100 or more were a common sight in New Zealand). Yesterday, I heard a story about a boy in the 1920s walking along Kaitoke and Medlands beaches wearing a raincoat, for the ‘rain’ of birds, not clouds, everyday, on his way to school. 

While I’m not too keen on ‘bird rain’, I would love to see this island’s ecosystems supporting flocks of 50 kererū one day soon. 

Noho ora mai.