Onerahi resident Alicia King with sons Boyd, 5, (left) and Darcy, 3, have had successful results setting traps in their backyard. Photo / Jodi Bryant
Onerahi residents have been laying traps in their backyards after embracing a community vision which will hopefully see their suburban peninsula predator-free.
The community-led project aims to eradicate rats, possums and stoats, the main predators responsible for wiping out up to 80 per cent of bird nest contents.
The project is supported by Tiakina Whangārei which assists those who want to protect and enhance native biodiversity. Tiakina Whangārei co-ordinator and project supporter Dai Morgan said protecting wildlife, especially when young, is critical because this is when species are often most vulnerable.
"You can expect about 70-80 per cent of birds' nests to not succeed as, particularly rats, will prey on eggs and chicks and possums will kill the sitting birds as well. Only about 20-30 per cent of nests are successful in forests with no predator control and then they have to try to get through adulthood."
Onerahi has been identified as an ideal location because, as a peninsula, it can be defended against reinvasion. It is also flanked by forest to support the increase in birds and already has successful similar projects in the area.
Efforts to make nearby Whangārei Heads predator-free to protect the area's threatened wildlife have moved a stop closer with $6 million of government funding. The funding, through Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create about 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over the next five years from nearly 10,000ha around Whangārei Heads.
Morgan said after testing the waters for enthusiasm at the Onerahi Markets a fortnight ago, it became clear the Onerahi community wanted to embrace making their area predator-free too and about 35 traps were handed out within a few hours with many further inquiries.
Although there are a limited number of free traps left, they can be picked up or delivered for $10 each. For Our Real Clean Environment (the Whangārei-based rubbish pick-up group) supplied the first 20 free traps and Tiakina Whangārei, funded by Northland Regional Council, supplied the rest. However, they will be seeking further funding as the project continues.
"It's going to be a slow burn but the aim is to get a trap in every fourth house because rats are quite territorial within a home range of about 100-300 metres," he explained, adding that many people don't realise they have rats.
NorthTec environmental management tutor and Onerahi resident Alicia King has been setting a possum trap during guava season in her backyard for the past year and has caught three possums so far. She has also starting setting rat traps in the past six months and caught two.
"The kids think it's great and we get the neighbours' kids to come over and check out the rats we catch. They then go home and get their families on board," she said, adding that more neighbours have been acquiring backyard traps of late.
King's children Boyd, 5, and Darcy, 3, have also been sharing their enthusiasm for trapping with their school and kindy peers and teachers.
"I like trapping the rats because they eat all our native leaves and birds," Boyd said.
Backyard trapping has multiple benefits; It can help get rid of rats from compost bins, save roses and fruit trees from possums and make gardens a safe environment for native wildlife to live and feed.
Morgan said all birds would benefit and, while tui, fantail and silvereye are fairly conspicuous in Onerahi, birds, such as tomtit/miromiro and New Zealand pipit are occasionally recorded in Onerahi and would increase with pest control.
"Also, fernbird are over on Limestone and, even though they are poor flyers, there is no reason why they couldn't do okay in parts of Onerahi," he added.
Teachers from both Onerahi Primary and Raurimu Avenue schools are on board, with the teachers excited about the potential for lifelong environmental learning outside the classroom.
Raurimu Avenue School assistant teacher Michele Wellington said Year 7 and 8 pupils were getting involved in the predator-free Onerahi initiative and began by conducting a bird count along the Waimahanga Walkway with pupils planning to set traps this week.
"We used an app to identify bird calls and then listened in two places for five minutes and recorded the birds. The students were excited to recognise bird calls and were disappointed when we first checked our [rodent] chew cards after two days as nothing had chewed them," she said.
"They did not think when we went back that there would be any change. Out of 20 cards, we had nine that had been chewed after another week. We will put traps where we found those."
Chair of Friends of Matakohe/Limestone Island (FOMLI) Pam Stevens said any initiative that improves the environment is fantastic and, by reducing animal and plant pests in the wider area, the project supports the work that FOMLI is already doing.
"For over 25 years, an extensive trapping network on Matakohe/Limestone Island has ensured that a rare visit by any rodent, usually stoats or rats, are quickly removed. It is imperative to the survival of the upward of 50 young kiwi on the island, as well as other flora and fauna. A trapper, fortnightly, checks the islands and mangrove areas we call 'the buffer' to intercept them before they swim across."
Stevens said a valuable addition in the form of an energetic group of four Onerahi residents set up a network of 64 traps five years ago with supportive property owners on a stretch of Beach Rd.
"They are checked weekly and recent monitoring continues to show very low numbers of rats. It would be great if neighbours could set up a similar network at either end and start linking with other groups in Onerahi and moving towards a pest-free Onerahi. It's an excellent way to meet your neighbours and get fit at the same time."
Morgan said, while Tiakina Whangārei is kick-starting the project, it needs to be community-led and, all going well, it is hoped Onerahi would be predator-free within four years.
"Between the conservation projects already under way, such as Friends of Matakohe Limestone Island and Dragonfly Springs, as well as initiatives in local schools, early childhood centres and kindergartens, and enthusiasm from those new faces wanting to get involved, I believe this project has all the makings of success.
"Predator eradication is a fantastic opportunity to connect communities and leads to awesome conservation, educational and social outcomes."
For further information, go to info@tiakinawhangarei.co.nz or the Tiakina Whangārei Facebook page.
To help identify which predators you have, look for signs of predator activity, by:
• Identifying teeth marks on fruit or chew cards
• Identifying faeces
• Tracking tunnels – the predator walks through ink on a pad, leaving clear footprints which can be used for identification
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