Evident conservation gains through predator control
Kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeet) have been reintroduced to the Hawdon Valley; Kea have fledged in the upper Hawdon; Whio (Blue Duck) are also breeding; Mohua numbers are stable; as well as likely conservation successes for other species such as lizards have been achieved through reduction of rodent, mustelid and feral cat numbers in a project covering a broad swath of Arthur’s Pass National Park.
Southern Rewilding have been the primary workforce completing this work to protect the Kākāriki Karaka in the Hawdon and Poulter Valleys under contract with the Department of Conservation since February 2021. Apart from a predator free offshore Island and a mainland predator proof sanctuary, the Hawdon along with the South Branch of the Hurunui are the last refuges of wild populations, totalling only about 400 birds. This species, our rarest parakeet has twice been declared extinct – taken to the brink by habitat loss and vulnerability to introduced mammalian predators. Control of these predators is critical for their survival in these valleys.
Successfully releasing native birds in the Hawdon.
Significant milestones for our team have been assisting DOC staff in the successful release of 75 captive reared birds in the Hawdon to establish a stable breeding population, and recording sightings of the birds in this new habitat that we have helped restore through our trapping efforts. This involves checking several thousand trap boxes over more than one hundred kilometres of traplines every month as well as maintaining those traps and lines.
Our role also includes monitoring beech seed fall traps to predict heavy seeding events that trigger rodent and stoat plagues, and use of tracking tunnels to determine the abundance and species mix of predators. Trapping data collected via the TrapNZ phone app also serves to assess predator numbers and assist DOC in decisions whether we bait an extensive network of bait stations we have installed, or they employ broadscale control through use of aerial 1080 drops. Further bait station installation and expansion of traplines is planned for 2023/24.
This work is achieved through extensive foot travel from valley floor to alpine tops supported where practicable by light utility vehicle (LUV), and backcountry living for up to 9 days at a time. The predator control team are well familiar with the requirements of safe backcountry travel involving bush navigation and river crossing and have upskilled in predator trapping methods, and LUV and power tool (chainsaw, and scrub bar) operation.
As participants in a massive surge of trapping activity inspired by the vision of Predator Free 2050 – from community-led backyard efforts to landscape scale projects, we are encouraged by the successes in this project and offer our services to replicate them on small to large landholdings to further help bring this aspirational goal to reality. Combined with native planting to restore and enhance habitat, predator pest monitoring and implementation of appropriate controls will multiply biodiversity gains by encouraging the return of native fauna.
Kākāriki release.
