Predator-free groups make way for native birds to thrive again in remote areas

This year, through the WWF-New Zealand Community Conservation Fund in partnership with the Tindall Foundation, we are proud to support two great local conservation projects Predator Free Chathams and West Coast Predator Control.

The Chatham Islands, 800km off mainland Aotearoa, are home to one of the world’s most diverse seabird breeding sites. This area is a stronghold for nearly 10 percent of Aotearoa’s species on the brink and the only home of iconic species like Karure/ Kakaruia/ black robin.

The Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust initiative is working to eradicate feral cats, possums and rats from the main island.

The group’s aim is not only to protect and restore biodiversity but to ensure a sustainable future for the community, says project coordinator Hamish Chisholm, a sixth-generation islander.

“Our long-term vision is to see the natural seabird-driven ecosystem restored and to see our forests and freshwater habitats thriving. A healthy environment is also essential for people, especially when you live so remotely and depend on nature for daily existence.

“We want our children to grow up harvesting paua, seeing snipe running about the garden, and hearing the seabirds come crashing in at night.”

Support from WWF has enabled the team to add more traps to its network in the pilot phase area, which includes a range of ecosystems and rare species. The project requires almost 700 automatic traps, along with other gear.

“We’re already gathering useful data and removing predators from the environment with the traps we have, though there’s a way to go yet. Over the last six months, our existing traps have caught 538 possums and 775 rats, along with 24 feral cats and 55 possums from the Hokotehi Moriori Trust’s traps in the same area.”

The pilot will soon be fully operational as the Trust continues to expand the project.

The local community and other island groups, including the Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust, are part of these predator control efforts and help shape the direction and focus of the Trust’s work.

On the West Coast of the South Island, predator control is also a collaborative effort and seeing good results, including the recent return of a special native bird to the area. 

The Motukiekie Wilderness Trust has combined forces with the Paparoa Wildlife Trust and Rainy Creek Ecological Restoration Project to cover more than 18,650 hectares in the Paparoa Range and Victoria Forest Park to enhance predator control efforts. 

The group made an exciting breakthrough this year after discovering several breeding pairs of whio along a creek bordering the Motukiekie Wilderness Trust’s trapping area.  

The team had suspected for some time that the endangered whio had returned to the area but it was only confirmed after a sighting by Paparoa Wildlife Trust manager Glen Newton and his trusty conservation dog ‘Tui’. Tui is a certified protected species detection dog and helps his handler Glen identify endangered species. Dogs like Tui play a major role in helping with the conservation of our threatened native birds. 

“Discovering whio in this area is really significant and we’re excited to explore the possibility of extending our shared trapping areas to include the entire Ten Mile catchment to encourage the return of this taonga species to the area,” says project co-founder Leon Dalziel.  

Monitoring shows other encouraging signs, with continued sightings and evidence of taonga species including the great spotted kiwi, kea, kaka, and the South Island robin. Regular maintenance and trapping activities are ongoing and include targeting stoats, rats and possums.