The 2023 Whangārei bird counts show us that urban forests are vital habitats for our native birds.
Birds are an excellent indicator of environmental health as they thrive in areas with healthy habitats and low pest numbers.
Over the past eight years surveys have been conducted to monitor native and exotic bird populations across Whangārei so that we can measure how bird species changes as more pest control occurs.
These surveys were initiated through the Environmental Management program at NorthTec, and continued by Tiakina Whangārei, with support from members from the Northland branch of Birds NZ.
Birds are monitored annually at 200 count stations across the district.
Our aim is to monitor the variations in bird species and how bird populations change based on their proximity to deep forests like Pukenui Forest and Parihaka Reserve, forest fringe areas, and urban zones. To help us monitor this, 200 count stations are strategically located across Whangārei, into Pukenui Forest in the west and Parihaka Reserve in the east.
Every June Tiakina Whangārei staff and volunteers from Birds NZ count birds by sitting quietly at the count stations for five minutes, and then counting and recording all birds seen and heard. The surveys are done in June to ensure the native birds counted are in the breeding population.
As the count stations are distributed across city and forest areas, we can also investigate how bird communities change in relation to different types of habitats.
What do the results so far tell us?
Birds native to New Zealand, including the tui, kūkupa, fantail/pīwakawaka, tomtit/miromiro, grey warbler/riroriro, and silver eyes/tauhau have an affinity to the forest and are found in far greater numbers in the deep forest and forest edge areas than in urban areas.
In fact, the tomtit wasn’t observed at any of the urban count stations. This does not mean that you will never see a tomtit in your backyard, but they are very rare in urban areas.
In contrast, the pūkeko and kingfisher, both native species, haven’t shown a strong preference for either city or forest. Instead, they were more inclined to hang out on the fringes between the forest and urban centres.
Most of the introduced bird species, like house sparrows, song thrushes and starlings, preferred the comforts of our urban centres and were comparatively rare as our count stations got deeper into forested areas.
The bird monitoring program is ongoing, so every year brings us new and important data to build a clearer picture of our bird populations. More work is needed to understand how our native birds might be using the forest edges, whether they merely visit, or if they are residents in these habitats.
Why are these findings important?
As urban development reshapes and transforms our Whangārei landscape, findings like this serve as a reminder of the significance of preserving native forests as they are strongholds for our native bird populations.
Protecting these areas means more native birds will start to spill over into neighbouring urban zones, and also become more common in the many smaller forest fragments that are scattered across the city. Increasing pest control efforts in these reserves and forest areas help to keep these habitats healthy for our native fauna. It will be interesting to see how bird counts change with continued local conservation efforts.
What can you do to help native birds thrive?
Trapping pests in your backyard is easy and is one of the best things you can do to increase native species diversity and numbers in your area. Read this article for more information or explore the articles in our Resources section.
You can volunteer with local community groups that undertake trapping, weeding and planting. Their efforts have meant native birds and other species have flourished in local reserves, forests and backyards. Find out more about local groups here.
With support from our community, we can continue to see native species flourish both in our forests and our cities.
Tiakina Whangārei is a community-led urban pest control initiative, funded through the Northland Regional Council, that encourages those living in urban areas to get involved in pest animal or plant control through backyard trapping and other community activities. For more information or advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at info@tiakinawhangarei.co.nz.
