Bellbirds back in Hamilton after century-long absence

Bellbirds are being reintroduced into Hamilton as part of an urban restoration project.

Fifty bellbirds from Tiritiri Matangi Island and North Auckland’s Tawharanui will be released at the Hamilton Gardens on Sunday May 9 as part of a bellbird project co-led by the University of Waikato and Landcare Research. It is supported by Environment Waikato, the Hamilton City Council, Ngā Mana Toopu o Kirikiriroa, and the Department of Conservation.

Waikato University’s Professor Bruce Clarkson heads the overall urban restoration project and says species such as the bellbird are common in other parts of New Zealand, but have been missing from Hamilton city for about 120 years.

Predators and urban development in the past century have stripped the city of many of its native plants and animals. The urban restoration project, which has been running for six years and is funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, aims to restore natural ecosystems in city areas with depleted biodiversity. Research has underpinned restoration of many Hamilton gullies, and Waiwhakareke (or Horseshoe Lake), which are being returned to their original environment through the replanting of indigenous plants.

“The landscape in Hamilton city has been depleted to such an extent that the only way viable populations of native plants and animals can be maintained is by doing this sort of reconstruction,” says Prof Clarkson. “The whole goal here is to reverse that transformation to the point where we can have viable populations of indigenous birds and plants. So we’ve reached that threshold now where we can start considering bringing back wildlife that have been gone for a hundred years or more.”

Calum Ninnes (SUBS CORRECT), a research assistant at the university’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, has been coordinating the bellbird component of the urban restoration project and says bellbirds are a good species for first introduction.

“Bellbirds are a classic, iconic and endemic songbird,” says Mr Ninnes. “The habitat they’re being released into should be adequate for the birds, with a selection of native and exotic plants. Bellbirds are generalist feeders, eating insects, fruit and nectar, so they should be able to find plenty of food.” He says the birds are also a great disperser and pollinator of native species and this will in turn help the urban restoration scheme.

“The Hamilton Gardens are on the river which acts like a corridor for the bellbirds to move between different local gully systems,” says Mr Ninnes. “It’s also adjacent to Hammond Bush which is a really important remnant of native bush, and could be a place where they prefer to go.”

Mr Ninnes and staff from Landcare Research will carefully monitor the birds’ movements after their release. He will also assess whether the use of acoustic anchors has helped them settle. This involves playing bellbird songs to suggest to the birds that there are more of them in the area, which may help keep them close by.

Mr Ninnes says the next breeding season (September to February) will show whether any of the bellbirds have paired up and are attempting to nest in the city. Nesting bellbirds is the ultimate goal and if this happens, it will demonstrate that native birds can be successfully translocated into urban environments, he says.

ENDS

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