Tūī (kōkō) has seen a shallow increase over 10 years. Photo / NZME
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.
The dunnock or hedge sparrow (pictured) is often mistaken for the more common house sparrow. Photo / Kev Towning
Free as a bird: Sparrows, painted by Ken Hunt.
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”.
A tauhou (waxeye) and garden sparrow share rain water caught in a cup and saucer, left on a backyard trampoline. Photo / Sarah Curtis
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.
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.
A barn owl in flight. Photo / Kurien Koshy Yohannan
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:
Kererū/kūkupa - in shallow decline over the past five years (12%) with Northland one of only three regions last year to record an increase in numbers.
Pīwakawaka (fantail) - a shallow increase over both the past 10 years (43%) and five years (12%).
Tūī (kōkō) - a shallow increase over 10 years (23%) but now little or no change over five years nationally. Regional long-term trends continue to show a rapid increase in Canterbury (210%).
Tauhou (silvereye) - in moderate decline of 26% over the past five years.
Key signals nationally for introduced species that also act as environmental indicators:
Myna - little to no change nationally except for rapid increase in four regions, notably by more than 120% in Wellington over the past five years and longer term (10 years) and in Manawatū-Whanganui a moderate increase of 30% in the past five years.
House sparrow - moderate decline of 16% in the past five years.
Starling, goldfinch, chaffinch, and dunnock - a shallow decline over 10 years, with dunnock counts also showing a shallow decline over five years (11%), and goldfinch and chaffinch counts showing a rapid decline over five years (30% for both species).
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.)
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.
