The following extract from the Department of Conservation website explains why I am so pleased to have the Kereru in my garden. We spent over forty years on a five acre property in the north but I had never seen a kereru until we moved to Kamo.
"In Northland, the kereru is in danger of becoming locally extinct through the combined effects of predation, competition and continued hunting.
But if the kererū is under threat, so too are our native trees which depend on the kererū as a seed disperser. Fruit is its favourite food, and trees such as the karaka, taraire, tawa, miro and others depend on the kererū to carry their seeds to new areas of forest. The bird's extinction would be a disaster for our forests."
"New Zealand's native pigeon, also known as kererū, kūkū and kūkupa and wood pigeon, is the only disperser of large fruits, such as those of karaka and taraire, we have. The disappearance of the kererū would be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.
New Zealand pigeon/kererū.
The kererū is a large bird with irridescent green and bronze feathers on its head and a smart white vest. The noisy beat of its wings is a distinctive sound in our forests. "
Our Pigeons here used to be hunted mercilessly. Now they concentrate on Wild Boar and Red Deer, so the pigeons thrive once again. No doubt when they become a nuisance again, the local freezers will be re-stocked.
ReplyDeleteI don't think these native pigeons have ever been a nuisance but they are (or were) considered a delicacy by the Maori.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you have some up there, also some down here, But the busy birds lately are the Starlings, 3 nest in 3 birdhouses, and another in a conifer tree. That is the most we have had. Cheers,Jean
ReplyDeleteLovely to have one in your garden.
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Doing a catch-up, Susan and have been interested by your posts on birds unknown to me until today. I do hope the keruru survives. Given the nuisance they are in other countries it's hard to imagine a pigeon being in danger of extinction.
ReplyDeletebeautiful birds aren't they. We have a pair that visit here.
ReplyDeleteWe've noticed so many birds are missing here over the years. We used to hear Owls hooting on the railway embankment, House Martins used to nest locally and the call of the swifts used to echo up and down the road. This year we have hardly seen any blue tits or great tits on our feeder. What is man doing to this wonderful planet and mostly through greed.
ReplyDeleteYou'll excuse me if I get on my soap box. lol
Briony
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