For 10 days each year, thousands of New Zealanders make observations about the presence or absence of kererū, their location and their behaviour. Photo / Tony Stoddard, Kererū Discovery
For 10 days each year, thousands of New Zealanders make observations about the presence or absence of kererū, their location and their behaviour. Photo / Tony Stoddard, Kererū Discovery
Whether you love their classic white singlets, their whooping wingbeats, or their awesome air shows, kererū are a bird unique to Aotearoa and as Kiwi as kiwi.
This year the annual Great Kererū Count runs from September 18 to 27 and Kererū Discovery is calling for all Kiwis to get out and help.
Kererū are also known as kūkū/kūkupa/kokopa/New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) and the parea/Chatham Islands pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis).
They play a crucial role in dispersing seeds of large native trees like tawa, taraire, and miro and are the only bird left in New Zealand that can distribute these large seeds and help keep native forests growing.
Kererū are also known as kuku/kukupa/kokopa/ New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) and the parea Chatham Islands pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis). Photo / Tony Stoddard
Kererū are protected birds and endemic to New Zealand. Kererū numbers today remain much lower than the flocks reported from 50-100 years ago.
Tony Stoddard of Kererū Discovery, who co-ordinates the annual count, says: "At this time of the year kererū will be flocking to trees like willow and tree lucerne. These trees are kererū magnets as the birds come out of their winter feeding grounds and prepare for the breeding season by feeding on the nitrogen rich leaves."
"In urban areas, kōwhai are another important food source for kererū, and you will often see or hear angry tui defending their trees from hungry kererū."
Rural areas aren't left out of the count, and according to Stoddard, if you are very lucky and have a keen eye, you could come across flocks as large as 100 in a paddock free ranging on grass and clover.
Last year people in many districts and cities reported that kererū appeared less abundant. "This might be because last year there was an especially high amount of fruit and food for kererū deep within forests, and so people just didn't see them as much in gardens and around town," says Stoddard.
Some of the questions which may be answered this year are whether or not numbers in urban areas have increased again, whether last year's plentiful forest food means a corresponding bumper year for breeding, or if predators are preventing the kererū population from booming.
Kererū observations are easy on the Great Kererū Count website www.greatkererucount.nz. Simply use the quick observation page (no log-in required).
In urban areas, kowhai are another important food source for kererū. Photo / Tony Stoddard, Kererū Discovery
For more expert community scientists, the iNaturalist app for Android and iPhones can be downloaded for free from www.greatkererucount.nz.
For 10 days each year, thousands of New Zealanders make observations about the presence or absence of kererū, their location and their behaviour.
This data is collected and collated by i-Naturalist NZ and data analysis is carried out by Associate Professor Stephen Hartley and Dr Jon Sullivan, scientists from Victoria University of Wellington and Lincoln University.
Once this nationally significant data set is complete in another two years, we will have a better understanding of what conditions help kererū survive and thrive.
