Tūī (kōkō) has seen a shallow increase over 10 years. Photo / NZME
Do you know what a dunnock is?
Here’s a chance to school yourself up on the humble-looking bird that’s often mistaken for a house sparrow.
Dunnocks are listed as being in decline nationally but Derek Tearne - a bird expert and photographer who relocated from Auckland to South Hokianga - says there are probably far more in Northland than currently known. It’s just that a lot of people haven’t heard of them and don’t know how to tell them apart from a garden sparrow.
Dunnocks have a thin and point beak compared to a sparrow’s stout beak. Dunnocks have a grey head and chest. House sparrows are often in groups, whereas dunnocks are normally found alone or in pairs.
Tearne is one of a growing number of avid avian enthusiasts who set aside a special hour each year to sit in their gardens and count birds as part of the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey.
Run by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, the survey is the only one of its type in New Zealand and has taken place annually since 2007. It’s an important “litmus test” type tool that helps researchers understand how birds are coping with environmental challenges such as issues affecting the food chain, like the recent emergence of zombie fish. Building a long-term biodiversity dataset is also crucial to understanding the impact of climate change climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.
The survey this year runs from June 29-July 7 and will be Tearne’s 11th time gathering numbers.
Participants have been steadily increasing every year. The number of surveyed gardens in Northland increased from 92 in 2013 to 228, last year, with organisers urging more citizen scientists to get involved every year.
Nationally, more than 45,000 sets of figures had been gathered from gardens and parks by individuals, schools, and community groups.
Anyone can take part, Tearne says. Even people who don’t have a garden can take a chair to a nearby park or someone else’s garden and count the birds there. People with access to a beach bach could also count seabirds if they preferred. It’s a fun, family activity albeit participants could only lodge one set of results per survey location.
Tearne says the methodology of the New Zealand survey is the same as the one in the UK, which has been running for 45 years. There, the survey has surprisingly revealed that garden sparrows are in rapid decline - the population had reduced by 71 per cent over 15 years and was now categorised as “endangered”.
That’s the kind of trend that bird surveys importantly reveal, Tearne says. Some birds might still seem numerous enough and their declining numbers aren’t noticed until there’s actually a data set established from official counts over several years.
For instance New Zealand data over the past decade to 15 years, has shown a surprising and significant decline of about 80 per cent in black billed gull (tarāpuka) and red-billed gull (tarāpunga) populations, Tearne says. “Even though they still seem quite common - especially when they’re trying to nick your fish and chips at the beach!”
It’s also a way to monitor the arrival of new species such as barn owls, which were first recorded breeding in Northland during about 2008.
The survey also enables participants to observe the health of their local bird populations, especially with the inevitable arrival of a severe form of avian flu pending over the next few years, Tearne says.
Native birds that survey participants in northland were most likely to see were tūī (kōkō), kererū (wood pigeon) - also known in Northland as kūkupa, pīwaiwaka (fantail) and tahou (waxeye). Any sightings of korimako (bellbird) or other native species would be of special note.
New Zealand Garden Bird survey results are published online. Last year’s showed key signals continuing for four native species nationally:
Key signals nationally for introduced species that also act as environmental indicators:
In the past five years a total of 1108 NZ Garden Bird Surveys were completed for Northland, the results showing increases in tui, kererū/kūkupa and pīwakawaka; no change in the blackbird population; and declines in song thrush, myna, bellbird, starling, dunnock, house sparrows, tauhou, and finches. (See chart above for percentage results.)
Go to gardenbirdssurvey.nz to find out more.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
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