James Wilson and Jill Evans checking traps.
Bringing the birdsong back There is something special about awakening to the distinct melody of birdsong, a sound that has long been forgotten in many urban areas around the country. Thanks to a dedicated team of Marlburians, birdsong is increasing in volume throughout our region. Judene Edgar catches up with members of the Picton Dawn Chorus to see what’s changing.
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n 1770 Captain Cook’s botanist John Banks recorded in his diary that the dawn chorus that would awaken him each morning in the Queen Charlotte Sound was the most melodious wild music he had ever heard, almost as if the birds were imitating small bells. Sadly, with extensive loss of forests and the introduction of countless pest mammals, half of New Zealand’s birds are now extinct and many of our once melodic forests have fallen silent. Picton Dawn Chorus was established in 2016 with the aim of reversing this trend and bringing the birdsong back. In much the same way that they envisaged the bird population growing, Picton Dawn Chorus started with just two like-minded individuals, and has grown to over 165 volunteers and eight staff in just six short years. But while that was the dream, cofounder James Wilson says that it’s still amazing how far they’ve come in such a short time. “I didn’t dare dream how big it would become,” muses James. James and Siobain Finlow-Bates had read about the ‘halo effect’ – native birds repopulating the urban areas surrounding sanctuaries – so with the opening of Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary in 2013, they felt something needed to be done to support the native birds. A series of public meetings resulted in a small committee of dedicated volunteers being formed, and it has grown from there. “Birds don’t understand fences or boundaries,” says James, “so the idea of the Picton Dawn Chorus was to create a predator-free haven for native birds
outside of the Sanctuary. Sanctuaries focus on inside their fences and do a fabulous job, but halos don’t have boundaries, so we’re constantly looking out.” Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary is separated from the surrounding areas by a 600-metre-long predatorproof fence which acts as the first line of defence, and Picton Dawn Chorus provide the second line of defence. Everyday teams of volunteers are checking trap lines, weeding, and planting, not only in the surrounding forest and mainland areas, but in their own gardens. “I’m chuffed with the way it’s grown and now we have built-in continuity and a good structure, so things are rolling,” says James. And rolling they are. November last year Conservation Minister Hon Kiri Allan announced a $700,000 grant over three years, enabling them to expand their predator trapping efforts from 415 hectares to a whopping 4,815 hectares. “In just five years this group has encouraged more than 600 people to trap predators in their backyards and has a team of 165 volunteers working in surrounding bush areas,” said Kiri. “The Jobs for Nature funding will mean eight people can be employed across three years to help with the regeneration of native birdlife, lizards, insects and forests.” Despite applying for the funding, James says that as the months passed they’d all-but forgotten about the application, so the announcement “came as a hell of a shock”. But six months later they have eight new employees in place and a five-year workplan that they need to deliver in three years!
