SIn the predawn darkness, the riot began. Danae Mossman was in bed when she heard more and more noise: loud romantic liaisons, vomiting, screaming, the sound of bodies hitting the pool at full speed.
Mossman said things get especially rowdy when they get busy from midnight to 4 a.m.
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Danae Mossman has a koror penguin, or little penguin, living under her house and showing no signs of wanting to leave
Mossman’s party-loving housemates are a colony of the world’s smallest Koror penguins, which form a growing colony beneath her house in Karaka Bay, a suburb of Wellington on the Miramar Peninsula. They use her lily ponds for pool parties, and during nesting season they stink.
They go out to catch fish, get nauseated, and eat for three days.
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation encourages the birds to move to purpose-built nests near the ocean, but so far they have shown no desire to leave. So Mossman began hugging her roommates and even installed a ladder in the pond so the penguins could climb out.
“We figured if they were happy and safe in our homes, then we wouldn’t want them anywhere else where they could be more vulnerable,” Mossman said. The most annoying thing about them underneath the house is how loud they are .
In many cities, forests and ecosystems around the world, the sounds of nature are disappearing. But in New Zealand’s capital, people are experiencing an increase in birdsong thanks to decades of conservation work. Some species, such as the Koror bird, remain at risk, but many native birds have recovered by the thousands, transforming the city’s morning chorus.
The dawn chorus was so loud we had to close the door
In the dark, silent moments, Wellington wakes up, traffic rushes, and the city’s birds begin to sing.
First came the high, clear trill that cut through the dawn. The melodious korimako chimes, followed by the kissing squeak of the pwakawaka. As the horizon brightens, huge brown parrots flash across the sky, waking residents with their swoops and screams.
Fifty years ago, Jack and Jill Fenaughty bought what was then bare, rugged farmland in Mkara, 25 minutes from the city centre. They’d be lucky to encounter exotic birds, let alone native birds.
You hardly see any native birds, Gill said. Now, Jack breaks in, and the dawn chorus is so loud that if we want to sleep in, we have to close the door.
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Jack and Gil Fenaughty in bushland near their home in Mkara, near Wellington; Highland cattle and sheep on the Fenaughtys’ farm, near a patch of bushland since Kiwis have been heard here since their reintroduction
Wellington may be bucking local and international trends, but nearly 30 years ago conservationist Jim Lynch described the city as a biodiversity ruin.
Like many cities around the world, human activity, habitat loss and introduced pests have contributed to Wellington’s bird decline. By the 1990s, many native species were on the verge of extinction.
In the mid-1990s, Lynch began establishing a new bird sanctuary in a patch of native forest surrounding an abandoned urban reservoir. It will be called Zealandia and will become the world’s first fully fenced urban ecological reserve. By 2000, all major predators—cats, possums, rats and ferrets—were eliminated indoors. As native species thrive within the enclosure, Zealandia becomes a hub from which restored bird populations radiate out into urban communities.
Jack said the first thing we noticed coming back was the “t”. As if on cue, someone shouted loudly in the garden. Now they are just part of the furniture.
The pair noticed the once-rare native birds in their garden year-round. Two pairs of Correa falcons (the only falcons in the country) nested in a nearby patch of bush, and the Puakkawaka were so numerous that the Finnottis kept the gates tightly closed to ward off the curious birds come in.
Fenaughtys’ experience tracking data shows the 2023 Wellington Regional Council report shows the average number of native birds in the city’s parks and reserves has increased by 41 per cent since 2011. Between 2011 and 2022, kk grew by 260%, kerer grew by 200%, t grew by 85%, and pwakawaka grew by 49%.
The report states that Zealandia Reserve is having a measurable halo effect and is driving the stunning recovery of several previously rare or locally extinct native forest birds.
Jo Ledington, Zealandia’s conservation and restoration manager, said five miles (8 kilometers) of predator-proof fencing meant the birds could thrive, but efforts by communities outside the reserve had allowed them to expand their habitat land.
Wellington is one of the only cities in the world to experience such a rebound, Ledington said, adding that healthy ecosystems were now more important than ever, not just for biodiversity but for people’s well-being.
Perhaps most unusually, the Fenotti family can now hear New Zealand’s beloved national bird, the kiwi, at night in the surrounding hills. In 2022, the Capital Kiwi Project, a community initiative, will reintroduce kiwis into Wellington’s wilderness, where they have been absent for 100 years.
When asked what it was like to hear such a rare bird in the backyard, Gill paused. It’s hard to describe how wonderful it is.
“I don’t think we’ll ever hear these sounds in our lifetime,” Jack said. You’ll know it’s working when you hear the kiwi coming from your backyard.
A protected area alone is not enough to bring urban birds back. The success of Wellington’s biodiversity boom is due in part to extensive community efforts to create a safe environment for birds and a deadly one for invasive predators. An estimated 25 million native birds are killed in New Zealand each year by introduced pests.
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A member of the Capital Kiwi Project prepares to re-release a male kiwi at Mount Tawa, Wellington’s Traviti Station after replacing a transmitter on his leg; and road sign in Mkara
On a sunny Sunday morning on the Miramar Peninsula, 10 minutes east of downtown, six volunteers gathered to inspect a vast network of pest traps and cameras scattered throughout.
Dan Henry, coordinator of Miramar Predators, who trudged up the headland, said volunteers have successfully eradicated the peninsula’s rats, which ruthlessly prey on native birds. The Wellington metropolitan area alone (population 215,200) has at least 50 community pest trapping and cultivation groups. They work with the government’s Department of Conservation on the Wellington Predator-Free Project, making Wellington the world’s first predator-free capital city, and on initiatives such as the Capital Kiwi Project.
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Around the Miramar Peninsula, New Zealand fantails follow Dan Henry, coordinator of the Predator Free Miramar volunteer pest trapping group.
As Henry removes a dead rat from a trap, he explains how the thriving birdlife creates a positive feedback loop: When residents encounter native birds in their daily lives, the desire to protect them becomes even more apparent .
This is especially true during lockdown. People are out walking, birds are out playing and people are closer to nature, he said.I think people see that and [thought]: Oh my god look what’s around us, they’re doubling down. This is quite remarkable.
Ross Findlay, a retired teacher and grandfather, attends the party every Sunday morning. During his 40 years at Wellington, he noticed significant changes.
The birds used to be sparrows, starlings and blackbirds and now we have thrushes, fantails, thrushes and thrushes on our streets and it’s amazing.
Another volunteer, Sue Hope, agreed. She said everyone noticed it, not just us.
As the staff gathered to discuss the morning’s work, a rare kreia bird flew through the branches above, sending ripples of excitement through the team. “We’re in the middle of a big city and we have these amazing birds,” Hope said. It makes you realize you’re not the only one here.
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Image Source : www.theguardian.com