Clearing the way for nesting rare birds
Clearing river islands of weeds is an essential part of protecting nesting bird life.
On Saturday 4 May, in two and a half hours more than 1000 tree lupin plants, as well as gorse, broom, alder, old man’s beard and blackberry, were cleared from Shark’s Tooth Island on the Waiau Uwha River.
This was the efficient work of seven members of Hurunui Weedbusters, carrying out the inaugural working bee in the Hurunui District.
Weedbusters is a nation-wide organisation which provides information and communications support, as well as tools, for groups wanting to go out in nature and tackle some of the weeds that threaten nature. This was administered by Environment Canterbury, who loaned the group secateurs and gloves on Saturday.
Belinda Meares, from the Hurunui Biodiversity Trust, and Rima Herber, Hurunui District Council’s Water and Land Coordinator, have recognised Weedbusters as a means for volunteers to join together to care for the beautiful landscape of the Hurunui and enjoy a recreational and social activity.
The autumn sky was a clear blue for the six volunteers who gathered on David McKenzie’s property at the weekend, which lies between Culverden and Waiau.
Herber joined the volunteers and together they walked across to a river island near Shark’s Tooth Rapid which has been managed as a safe haven for the rare birds which nest on the riverbed. She listed terns, wrybills, dotterels and native gulls as birds naturally nesting on the bare gravels of Canterbury’s braided rivers, with eggs and baby birds a tempting feed for cats, rats, stoats and hedgehogs.
Without protection, survival of chicks can be as low as 6%. But with careful management, the black-fronted tern colony on Shark’s Tooth Island had 96% hatching success in the 2023 season.
“Birds won’t nest where there isn’t open gravel, and predators are attracted to vegetated areas where there is cover to hide in,” said Herber.
She said the working bee was a great example of how rewarding and enjoyable it can be to get together with others amongst the Hurunui landscape, to provide an important service to the environment.
The next Weedbusters event will be Saturday 25 May in the Waipara Valley.
If interested, contact Belinda Meares, Hurunui Biodiversity Trust:
022 160 0383 belindameares@gmail.com