Saving the Pīwakawaka
The Fantail Trust is a charitable organisation set up to establish a native bird and plant sanctuary along the Rakaia Gorge Walkway. Such is the dream and goal of its organisers and dedicated caregivers, who rightfully believe every bird and plant saved is well worth the effort.
Predator Free 2050 is a government-owned charitable company with the lofty ambition to eradicate possums, stoats and rats from the New Zealand landscape by 2050. They provide funding for many large-scale eradication programmes as well as for smaller ones and they support research into the science of predator control, providing funds for the development of better and more efficient traps.
There are of course the cynics and doubters questioning such an endeavour, saying it will never be achievable, and what for? The money would be better spent on other urgent problems. They miss the point. Doing nothing is no longer an option. Luckily, despite all the naysayers, there is a groundswell sweeping throughout New Zealand, and people from all walks of life, young and old, are on the bandwagon.
The Rakaia Gorge has a high ecological value and is considered to be regionally significant ‘as one of the few remnants of lower montane forest of Canterbury’ (Shanks, 1990). There are about 120 hectares in which 121 native species of plants have been recorded and 16 of them are threatened or at risk. But the most common plants are kōwhai, lancewood, cabbage tree, broadleaf with an understorey of New Zealand jasmine, wineberry, bush lawyer and many ferns. There are also a few larger trees such as beech, kānuka and tōtara.
Within this forest there should be a large population of native birds, but alas there are not many. Fantails, bellbirds, silver eye and occasionally kererū are seen. Needless to say the area is infested with predators like stoats, rats and possums. The possums are probably the worst and most prolific. While they do eat birds’ eggs and even fledglings, they have a far greater impact by reducing the available food for the bellbirds and kererū. They also devastate the forest by eating new shoots and seedlings. The forest never has a chance to recover. It is also under threat from weeds such as sycamore trees, elderberries, wild cherries and wilding pines.
This is where The Fantail Trust comes in. Their goal is to eradicate the predators and to eliminate the weeds and even to replant some areas. The trust was established in February 2020 and the project got seriously under way by mid-August 2020.
The trust wants to eradicate the predators as humanely as possible without the use of poison. The A12 possum trap by Goodnature is their mainstay of trap, with now over 75 along the walkway. They use the DOC150 for stoats and rats. There are around 30 of these but a lot more are needed to cover the length of the walkway. So far these traps have eliminated over 300 possums, many rats and stoats.
The Fantail Trust often gets asked, ‘Is it working?’ And they are convinced that it is. Where previously they might hear a single bellbird in the gorge, they now seem to be far more abundant. Volunteers do a bird count each time they walk the trap lines to prove that there are more birds. Having said that, it is early days and only next season will show to what extent the trapping has had an impact. They have no doubt that it will, and that in a few years, it will be an even more spectacular place to visit and enjoy.
It’s important to remember too that the forest is a sacred place, as the Māori well knew. They say when Kupe’s grandson Nukutawhiti came back to New Zealand he was met and challenged by Kupe’s captain Tīwakawaka or Pīwakawaka. It was a reminder to Nukutawhiti that he was entering the realm of Tane, god of the forest. The challenge, or haka, owes indeed a lot to the behaviour of our little fantail, the pīwakawaka!
For those wanting to help, visit thefantailtrust.org to find out more, or pop into Quickenberry Guesthouse or Scorpio Books to help the fundraising effort through the purchase of fantail greeting cards.
