Rare Birds Return to Purerua-Mataroa as Pests Plummet

Pest Free Purerua-Mataroa is happy to welcome back rare visitors as pests plummet!

Two rare international visitors caught the eye of Pest Free Purerua-Mataroa pest controller Mike Cadogan this week while on his trapping rounds. Having never seen these birds before, despite many years of regularly servicing traplines up and down the peninsula, he was keen to find out more.

Thanks to keen bird experts (Northland Birds and Birds Auckland) and ornithologists from Birds.NZ they were quickly identified as international migratory species that are becoming increasingly rare – a whimbrel and a pair of red knot or huahou.

“Whimbrels are large shorebirds which migrate to New Zealand from Arctic breeding grounds in small numbers.

It is estimated that about 70 whimbrels touch down in New Zealand each year and worldwide their numbers are thought to be declining.

Mike explained “I found out that the red knot are a type of sandpiper that migrate from the Arctic (Chukotka Russia and Siberia) each summer and travel down to Australia and New Zealand.  In the 1990s it wasn’t uncommon for 60,000 red knots to arrive in New Zealand around September, but that number has dropped dramatically.  Their biggest threat is predation and loss of habitat, especially loss of roosting sites in China due to intensive land reclamation.

Thanks to the pest control on Purerua, these international visitors might be happy to stay in a little longer before continuing on their journey.”

Kiwi Coast’s Pest Free Purerua – Mataroa Project Manager Andrew Mentor said:

“We feel very privileged to have these rare birds visit the peninsula. Thanks to dedicated pest control work with Ngāti Torehina, local communities, businesses and farmers, pest numbers have plummeted making the peninsula an attractive and safe landing-pad for these international migratory birds. Clearing out the pests to make way for the return of such species is what it’s all about! ”