Western Bay Council creates predator-free backyard

Taking the lead in making its own backyard pest free and bird friendly has been an important project at Western Bay of Plenty District Council headquarters this year.

The Barkes Corner site in Greerton has extensive native plantings in its backyard which have been the focus of a predator-free project and planting plan for the past two years.

With many of its communities in the Western Bay encouraged and funded by Council to take up the Predator Free Bay of Plenty campaign, it makes sense for Council to take a lead.

Council has expanded pest control to include rats, stoats, ferrets, hedgehogs and possums and has encouraged bird life by planting groves of native trees. While there were already two stands of mature native trees in Council’s backyard, another stand has been planted this year with a further planned next year to give birds plenty of trees in which to nest and feed.

The area is quite sheltered with many mature trees which has enabled the planting of taller growing and later successional species such as miro, kohekohe and many mid-range edge trees such as manuka and kanuka, kotukutuku (tree fushia) and kamahi.

This year 350 plants were planted and next winter up to 600 are planned.

It is a privilege to see bird life return to the native area. The site is frequented by kereru and tui and occasionally kaka. Smaller birds are resident in the lower valley area, including fantail, wax eye, grey warbler and shining cuckoo.

Of interest, the shining cuckoo are brood parasites, lay their eggs in the nests of grey warbler. Eggs are laid mostly in November, after which the adult cuckoos take no further part in breeding. These lazy birds are possibly the worst parents in the bird world – leaving their young to be dependent on their foster-parents.

Other work done in the Council native grove has been extensive control of invasive weed species and planting of tree species to provide all-year bird food, such as kohekohe, miro, some rongoa (medicinal) species and exotics such as Callistemon (bottle brush) which provide nectar for the wax eyes.

Some of this work has involved working alongside our neighbouring Tauranga City Council which owns adjacent land in the Galatos Grove Reserve in Maleme Street.

Predator Free BOP is a community-led backyard trapping initiative aimed at returning native birds to the urban areas and with the ultimate aim of making New Zealand predator free by 2050.

The goal is to get a backyard trap to one in five houses in suburban Tauranga and Western Bay, which would result in 12,000 traps – enough to turn the tables on the pests.