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Hopes high for Pirongia kōkako population
17 Apr, 2021 07:12 PM
3 minutes to read
Volunteers were banding and monitoring the kōkako chicks. Photo / Carisse Enderwick, DoC
Waikato News
Although this year s nesting season has come to an end, ecologists are still waiting for an additional 20 or more kōkako fledglings in Pirongia Forest Park.
The Pirongia Te Aroaro O Kahu Restoration Society (PRS) has almost completed its annual kōkako nest monitoring and has observed nine pairs since the start of the season in September. Each pair is incubating and rearing at least one clutch of chicks and, in the case of one pair, three clutches.
The kōkako population in the Pirongia Forest Park in Waikato is expected to reach about 60 this year after the native bird had disappeared from the maunga in the 1990s.
Predators, such as rats, stoats, possums, feral cats and hedgehogs threaten the survival of the kōkako.
Photo: supplied
A joint project between the Department of Conservation and the Pirongia Te Aroaro O Kahu Restoration Society (PRS) has worked to bring back the kōkako.
About 40 were released in the park in 2017 and 2018 to kickstart a breeding programme.
Clare St Pierre from the society said with the latest nesting season over it is hoped another 20 chicks will be raised successfully.
Date Time
Pirongia kōkako fledglings taking leap
The Pirongia Te Aroaro O Kahu Restoration Society (PRS) has almost completed its annual kōkako nest monitoring after a season of dedicated birdwatching and nest-minding that began in September 2020. There have been nine pairs this season, each incubating and rearing at least one clutch of chicks and, in the case of one pair, three clutches.
The main threats to eggs and chicks are ship rats, possums and mustelids. For the population to persist, pest management is needed. Birds disappeared from the maunga in the 1990s due to pests; however, following extensive pest management, 20 birds were translocated by the PRS back in 2017, and a further 14 in 2018.
Possums pounded in Pirongia 1080 drops 19 Jan 2021 14:12 PM Photo: Getty Images.
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The Department of Conservation says its pest control operation on Mount Pirongia, including a 1080 drop over 14,000 hectares, has been a success.
Biodiversity ranger Cara Hansen says monitoring shows a reduction in possum numbers, giving species such as rata trees, kokakō, pekapeka or bats and the rare parasitic plant Dactylanthus the opportunity to thrive.
“The removal of possums — and other predators such as stoats and rats — at Pirongia means the many forest bird species found there will be able to successfully raise clutches of chicks.
“Controlling predators also allows the forest canopy to recover, improving the forest’s health and providing important habitat for native species,” she says.