As dusk falls at Rotopiko wetland reserve in the Waipā district, a pretty incredible sight emerges: an overhead stream of birds, small dark bodies flitting their way across the fields.
The birds home in on the trees by the lake, squabbling for position, as hundreds of thousands of them find a spot on the branches to rest for the night.
It might be their preferred roosting site, but they are far from welcome here.
Kathryn Ross of Te Pūkenga Toi Ohomai with a 3D printed swallow outline. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ
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The 40-hectare reserve is home to three peat lakes, connected by wetland areas and small groves of trees. A ten-hectare section has been fenced, the predators removed, and it’s to this section that the birds make their way each night.
“It’s the best hotel in town,” says Karen Denyer, the executive officer of the National Wetland Trust of New Zealand. This rat-free space quickly attracted a massive number of sparrows and starlings, estimated to be as many as half a million birds in the wintertime.
Masters student and intern at the wetlands, Rahel Bauerdick, points out the peat forming giant cane rush Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ
The sheer number of birds and the droppings they produce are now threatening the rare and special nature of the area, including the endemic giant cane rush, and its caterpillar tenant ‘Fred the Thread’.
Listen to the audio to learn more about the Rotopiko reserve, and to hear the incredible sound of hundreds of thousands of roosting birds.
To learn more:
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Listen to the full Our Changing World episode to learn more about peat lake complexes in the Waipā district, about the problem the birds present, and how the Wetland Trust is trying to tackle it.
