Breathing life into NZ's island sanctuaries
23 Apr 2010
New Zealand’s success at re-establishing native species on its many island sanctuaries has brought praise from global conservationists meeting in Auckland to look at threats to wildlife throughout the world.
More than 80 international and national delegates attended a Department of Conservation (DOC) ‘Helping Islands Adapt’ workshop which looked at vulnerable island ecosystems.
The workshop highlighted successes in the New Zealand region including the return of korimako / bellbirds to Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf after more than 100 years’ absence.
Return of the bellbird
The bellbird, one of New Zealand’s most tuneful songbirds, was rediscovered on Motutapu Island following one of the largest-ever, island pest eradication programmes.
Two other native species have also returned to the island - kakariki / parakeet began breeding on Motutapu in December 2009, and pateke / brown teal were spotted on the island in February this year.
Motutapu Restoration Trust volunteers who heard the bellbird’s song during a recent working bee, believe the birds may have come from nearby Rakino Island which is also rodent-free.
Volunteers, who have planted more than 500,000 trees, have been credited with turning Motutapu into a bird-friendly paradise for New Zealand’s native forest bird population.
Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
The korimako / bellbird has been virtually absent from the Auckland mainland region since the 1860s.
However, the species has survived on the more protected offshore islands of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, such as Tiritiri Matangi and Hauturu - Little Barrier. In 2005, bellbirds were found on Rakino Island, and in the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary - a predator-free mainland island.
Volunteers say that now bellbirds have appeared on Motutapu Island, there is a real prospect they could start turning up in Aucklanders’ backyards on the mainland.
International conservation workshop
Return of bellbird and other native species to Motutapu was hugely significant for all conservationists working with vulnerable island ecosystems, according to international conservationist Dr Spencer Thomas, of Grenada.
Dr Thomas, who was in New Zealand to chair the Helping Islands Adapt workshop, is a councillor on the global conservation network IUCN.
"It is precisely these sorts of successes that show the importance of island nations sharing strategic and technical skills in the fight to keep their native species alive. New Zealand has had some great successes in breathing life back into some of its islands," said Thomas.
New Zealand island sanctuaries
The thousands of off-shore islands that surround New Zealand offer the best hope of survival for hundreds of endangered native plant and animal species, and provide a glimpse of what the mainland once looked like.
New Zealand’s southern waters around Fiordland and further south are dotted with over 1000 islands and rock stacks, many of which play a vital role in the protection of threatened species.
As well as the three open island sanctuaries managed by DOC in New Zealand - Ulva (near Stewart Island), Kapiti (near Wellington) and Tiritiri Matangi (near Auckland) - there are a number of closed sanctuaries and community driven projects that have become, or are on the way to becoming, conservation success stories.
Hauraki Gulf islands
The Hauraki Gulf - in the waters off Auckland city - harbours over 50 islands and islets alone.
Visitors are welcome on most publicly-owned conservation islands including: Beehive, Motutara, Motuora, Saddle, Tiritiri Matangi, Rangitoto, Motutapu, Motuihe, Motukorea / Browns, Motutapere in Coromandel harbour, and Mahurangi, off the Coromandel coast.
Parts of Great Barrier, Kawau and Waiheke islands are also public conservation land. These islands are protected to safeguard their natural and historic heritage. Some are free of animal pests or are in the eradication process.
Rangitoto / Motutapu islands
DOC says it takes two years after the final bait drop to know whether pest eradication has been successful, but islands like Motutapu and Rangitoto are showing promising signs with no rats, mice or stoats detected since the final aerial drops in August 2010.
The Rangitoto / Motutapu restoration programme is one of the most complex pest eradications ever attempted.
If eradication in the 3842ha area is successful, Rangitoto and Motutapu will become the largest pest-free island sanctuary in the Hauraki Gulf marine park, and will increase the total pest-free area within New Zealand by 15%.
Motuihe Island
Motuihe is another Hauraki Gulf ecological restoration success story where an extensive replanting programme has provided a haven for native species.
There are now 40 adult little spotted kiwi on the island and, since tree planting began in 2003, conservationists have introduced saddleback, kakariki and skink. Eight pairs of rare dotterel have also settled on the island.
Tiritiri Matangi island
Tiritiri Matangi - one of the most successful conservation projects in the world - lies in the Hauraki Gulf, just north of Auckland and 4km off-shore from the Whangaparaoa peninsula.
On Tiritiri Matangi - which means ‘looking to the wind’ - unwanted predators have been eradicated, and the once-pastoral island has been replanted with native trees. Rare native birds and animals have been returned to its now-safe and restored habitats.
As an open sanctuary, Tiritiri Matangi offers visitors the chance to see some of New Zealand's most endangered birds in the wild, including takahē, kōkako, saddleback / tīeke, and hihi / stitchbird.
In 2009, a panel of international ecologists judged Tiritiri Matangi one of the top eight New Zealand conservation projects in Australasia.
Motuora Island
Motuora Island - north of Auckland and near Warkworth - is an 80ha island reserve that is remarkable because it has remained free of predators despite a long history of human occupation.
There are no rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels or ferral cats on Motuora, and extensive replanting is attracting native species. Whitehead and diving petrel have been reintroduced to the island, along with Duvaucel's gecko and shore skink.
Motuora Island has been a kiwi créche since 1996, and there are currently about 60 birds on the island. Young kiwi stay about a year or until their body weight reaches 1.2kg and they are big enough to fend for themselves in the wild.
Background: NZ korimako / bellbird
- The korimako / bellbird is unique to New Zealand. It is found on the three main islands and many offshore islands.
- Once common, korimako numbers declined sharply on the mainland during the mid-1800s - about the time that ship's rats and stoats began to arrive.
- The bellbird is recognisable by its melodious song, which Captain Cook described as sounding "like small bells exquisitely tuned".
- In its well-camouflaged plumage, the bellbird is usually heard before it is seen. The female is a dull olive-brown, with a slight blue sheen on the head and a pale yellow cheek stripe. The male is olive green, with a purplish head, black outer wing and tail feathers.
More information:
New Zealand bird sanctuaries
Bird conservation in New Zealand
Iconic New Zealand birds
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