A pair of Pirongia kōkako. Photo / Bernie Krippner
A pair of Pirongia kōkako. Photo / Bernie Krippner
Mt Pirongia maunga forests have gone from a killing ground for native species to a safe haven in just over two decades.
The Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society was established 21 years ago when a small group of residents from Pirongia and surrounding districts got together to restore the biodiversity of the Mt Pirongia maunga forests.
They were concerned at the loss of taonga bird species, damage to the forest by possums and predation of native birds by rats and stoats.
Led by Clare St Pierre, who was chairwoman until recently, two main goals were set: to return robins/pitoitoi and then kōkako to the maunga.
With support from the Department of Conservation (DoC) and Kessels Ecology, a bait station network was set up over 250 hectares in the Mangakaraa catchment.
Rat bait is placed in the stations every spring to reduce ship rat numbers during the bird breeding season.
The network has since expanded to 1300ha extending across the eastern slopes of the mountain from Corcoran Rd to Sainsbury Rd.
Altogether, there were now 2500 bait stations placed along 250km of access tracks. Mustelid traps have been added for the control of stoats and ferrets.
The last surviving kōkako, ageing male birds, were removed from Mt Pirongia in the 1990s to stop them from dying out.
But now, 20 years of targeted pest control has seen the eastern slopes of the mountain transformed into a safe haven, not just for kōkako but for a whole variety of native birds, bats and insects.
Fifty-four kōkako from Pureora and Tiritiri Matangi were reintroduced to the maunga between 2017 and 2022 and were closely monitored by professional ecologists and society volunteers.
Kōkako breeding has been very successful. Last summer, 16 breeding pairs were located, all within the society’s predator control area. Seven nests were monitored, and those produced 11 fledglings to add to the population.
The society has another area of bait stations covering 1000ha in North Pureora Forest Park.
This was set up to protect and expand a population of kōkako and other rare birds such as kākā, kākāriki, kārearea [falcons] and koekoeā (long-tailed cuckoos).
A Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society volunteer servicing a bait station.
Over the first six years of predator control by the society, the number of kōkako has increased from 45 pairs of birds in 2016 to 92 pairs in 2021.
As well as baiting and trapping, volunteers look after dactylanthus/pua o te reinga plants, monitor long-tailed bats, watch kōkako nests, do restoration planting and look after a 100-year-old school building located on Rangimarie Reserve in Pirongia Village; this is the society’s envirocentre.
Julia Lile became a volunteer with the Pirongia Restoration Society when she saw stoat traps that needed cleaning during her walks on Pirongia and realised how much work was involved in looking after them and the whole network of bait lines.
Pirongia is on her back doorstep, and she spends a lot of time there walking and mountain biking.
After volunteering with the society, her first task was watching kōkako nests, and she was thrilled to see them up close doing their feeding duty. She also helped with stoat trapping and rat baiting.
“It’s good to do something for future generations and to see the massive advancement of the population of kōkako,” she says.
“If we can all do a bit of work, the results show. We have this opportunity to protect species. It’s enjoyable too - what better place to be, up in the bush, on your back doorstep?”
She hopes more people would get on board, as “there is something for everyone” in conservation volunteering.
Kevin Christie, the current chairman of the Pirongia Restoration Society, explained the story of the founding of the society.
“21 years ago, no one thought so much would be achieved with a small group of founding volunteers who had the vision of restoring key species back to Pirongia maunga and restoring key habitat,” Christie says.
“Long-lost robins/pītoitoi and kōkako have been successfully reintroduced by the society, and more recently, tupeia mistletoe has been seeded on to host trees. We are also working in Pureora Forest to protect a valuable population of kōkako.”
He says that they started with 30 to 40 local volunteers, and now there are over 450 volunteers drawn from a wider area.
“Mana whenua have been part of the society from day one, linked by a close association with kuia Sally Uerata and Purekireki Marae. We were fortunate in having strong support from the Department of Conservation and to get seed funding from DoC, Southern Trust, Trust Waikato and Waikato Regional Council,” he says.
“There are lots of groups like us all over New Zealand, but we are one of the more successful ones, and have won national Green Ribbon and biosecurity community awards.
“It’s time to pass the work on to the next generation and take them through that process. We have plans to expand pest control on Pirongia maunga and reintroduce other key species such as kiwi and tieke.
“Our 21st anniversary is a time to celebrate our conservation successes, and to acknowledge the founding members, our many volunteers and our sponsors.”
The celebration will be held at the Pirongia Memorial Hall on Saturday, November 4, starting at 10am, with guest speakers, displays of the society’s work and awards.
In the afternoon, there will be a guided walk in the forest park to look at trapping methods.
