Native birds flourish at Nelson sanctuary
Biodiversity is flourishing at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary thanks to the benefits of the pest fence.
“Things are really looking positive now. The ecosystem inside the sanctuary has had about six years to recover since we have got rid of the pests, and that’s really showing,” said sanctuary operations manager Nick Robson.
The sanctuary’s predator-proof fence was completed in 2016 with the sanctuary itself being declared pest-free in 2018.
Recent bird count surveys from 2022 show a marked improvement for endemic bird species compared with counts completed between 2009 and 2017.
Korimako (bellbird) numbers appear to have more than doubled, making up almost half of all birds spotted in the sanctuary.
Tūi, tomtits, and South Island robin numbers are also on the increase.
“It’s really rewarding … from seeing that eradication happen and seeing those changes,” Robson said.
However, for sanctuary chief executive Ru Collin, one of the greatest successes has been in the flourishing of the local kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeet) population.
A recent survey showed about 170 of the budgie-sized birds.
“That represents something about half of the world’s population. Not only are they surviving, but they’re thriving up there,” Collin said.
“And they’re starting to disperse so that more of the public get a chance to not only hear these things, but to see them.”
Native plants and fungi are also now re-establishing themselves now that grazers are gone.
But work at the sanctuary is not yet done. The recent introductions of the kākāriki karaka and powelliphanta (carnivorous snails) have sent signals that the sanctuary has robust biosecurity measures that are hoped to enable some other significant species translocations.