Rare and endangered birds have been welcomed home to the Ashley-Rakahuri River.

It was the second time the annual Welcome the Birds event has been held.

Held in the Waikuku Beach Hall it was hosted by the Waimakariri District Council’s greenspace team with support from the Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury, the Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust, Pest Free Waimakariri, Welcoming Waimakariri and the Ashley-Rakahuri Rivercare Group (ARGG).

Mayor Dan Gordon, the guest speaker, said the district was fortunate to have people and organisations in the community who put an enormous amount of time and effort into looking after the birds and their habitat.

The focus of this year’s event was the nationally endangered black-fronted tern/tarapirohe because there are only 5000 to 10,000 thought to remain, and Canterbury is a stronghold for the species, supporting about 60 percent of the population.

“The black-fronted tern is the most endangered of all the Ashley-Rakahuri River birds and faces a precarious future," ARRG committee man Nick Ledgard said.
“Small numbers can be seen ‘hawking’ up and down our local Ashley-Rakahuri river over winter, but the majority retreat to the coast for the colder months, before all return to breed on the riverbed in the spring, usually laying their first eggs during October," he said.
The declining population is largely attributed to losses caused by introduced predators, plus habitat modification and destruction.

Last breeding season, trail cameras along the Ashley-Rakahuri River indicated that cats and hedgehogs were the predominant predators, although predation incidents by Norway rats, stoats, little owl, and black-billed gulls were also observed.

The Welcome the Birds event also featured the unveiling of a new illustrated panel, showcasing 20 of the Ashley-Rakahuri riverbirds on the Annie Currie Viewing Platform at the estuary.

There was also a presentation from ARRG about the birds, opportunities to learn about the birds from managers of various environmental group stalls in the Waikuku Beach Hall as well as the installation of “The Flock”, a large large number of wooden birds painted by Waimakariri school children.