Pam Stapleton and Michael Peryer in front of a large macrocarpa tree which is home to a lot of birdlife. Photo / David Haxton
Pam Stapleton and Michael Peryer in front of a large macrocarpa tree which is home to a lot of birdlife. Photo / David Haxton
A large macrocarpa tree, home to a variety of birdlife, took a hammering during the recent wild weather.
The tree, next to the Waimanu Lagoons, in Waikanae Beach, is the home to a large number of pied shags, little shags and royal spoonbills.
Large branches of the tree snapped off during the bad weather and various birdlife, both young and old, lost their lives.
"This tree has been shredded with large branches ripped off and I don't know if it can be saved or if it will be cut down completely which would be terrible for our nesting wild birds," local bird watcher Michael Peryer said.
Storm damage to a macrocarpa tree by the Waimanu Lagoons. Photo / David Haxton
He said it was March 2007 when pied shags first found the macrocarpa tree and nowadays he had counted 80 birds in the tree.
Pam Stapleton, from the Guardians of the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve, has been observing the tree, especially as part of a Department of Conservation sentinel study which monitored pied shag colonies in the country including the Waikanae Scientific Estuary Reserve from 2020 to 2021.
The reason shags were chosen for the study was that they were good indicators of marine health, were easy to spot and count, were widely found over the country, and while common, weren't very well understood in many areas of the country.
The shag counts, at four roosting sites on macrocarpa trees at the Waimanu Lagoons, were undertaken 30 minutes before sunset for three consecutive nights in alternate months.
"We counted up to 120 pied shags in November 2021."
Stapleton said the tree was "the main roosting spot" in the estuary.
Damaged macrocarpa tree with public walkway next to it. Photo / David Haxton
"It's possibly connected to the marine reserve, when it was established, because while we were doing the survey, DoC hired some people to put some transmitters on pied shags and it showed them going to fish in and around Kāpiti Island.
"And then they fly back here and feed their young.
"So this tree is quite important."
Both agreed it would be up to Kāpiti Coast District Council to determine the tree's future.
A council spokesperson said arborists would be inspecting the tree to ensure it didn't pose a risk to human safety before a closer inspection of its health.
Arborists had been busy working on damaged trees along the Waikanae River corridor.
