Birdlife concerns: store acts

Concern about the potential impact of bright shop lighting on nocturnal birdlife prompted a local Forest & Bird member to approach a major Warkworth business –and she was delighted by its quick response.

Just one day after Sally Richardson wrote to Mitre 10 Mega Warkworth in mid-July, store manager Russ Vernon called her up, and within about a week, she says, the problem had been resolved.

Richardson said she had been troubled when looking from her home at the top of Percy Street across at bright lighting in the Woodcocks Road area, noticing in particular five lights at Mitre 10, burning all night.

“I wondered why they were using far more electricity than needed,” she said. “Maybe they didn’t understand the effects they might be having on night-flying birds; maybe they just didn’t know about those birds.”

Richardson said Cook’s petrels (tītī) cross over the Auckland isthmus in sizeable numbers at night in summer, flying between Kaipara Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf islands.

“You hear them every night, calling to one another to maintain contact in the dark. But unless you know what you’re listening to, you don’t know what’s happening, because you can’t see them.”

In her letter to Mitre 10, she cited data collected by Birdcare Aotearoa – a charity that provides care for injured and sick birds – finding that over a four-year period, nearly 400 birds across the Auckland region had crash-landed after becoming disoriented by light.

“I’m sure that by giving some serious thought to a more sustainable approach to your lighting that you would save a considerable amount of money and, in addition, you could be seen to be setting an industry precedent by being more environmentally and ecologically friendly,” she wrote.

Richardson said it was around a week later that she saw a significant difference.

“The next thing I noticed was that a nice

A foraging Cook’s petrel. Photo, Oscar Thomas warm glow was coming from downward facing lights on their building. Not only were the lights far less glaring, they also appeared to have a different hue, less bright white than a warm golden colour.”

Impressed by the quick response, she wrote back, thanking Mitre 10 for the prompt reaction.

Operations standards manager Charlie Humphries told the paper that as “a very community-driven store”, Mitre 10 Mega had been happy to respond when the matter was brought to its attention.

“We got the electricians in and we had a quick look at what we could do and we got them angled differently,” he said.

“Obviously they are for the security of the store so we do need them, but we just tried to see what we could do to make a bit of a difference.”

Despite the different hue observed by Richardson, Humphries said the bulbs had not been changed.

“Because of the angle the lights were on, it was more the glare coming off them in the distance. So when we re-angled them it reduced that glare drastically.

“I’m really glad something positive came out of it,” Richardson said. “Now we just need to try get some of the others to follow. It’s to their advantage, too – they must be spending a heap more on electricity than they need to.

“It would be great if other businesses followed Mitre 10’s lead and took an environmental approach to their thinking.”

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