Research to help knock pest off its perch

Horizons Regional Council Wednesday 23 November, 2011

Horizons Regional Council has successfully led a bid for $20,000 worth of Envirolink funding, allowing researchers to take the first step toward improving rook management nationwide.

Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Greater Wellington Regional Councils were also involved in the bid, which stemmed from workshops held in 2010 and a Landcare Research report developed earlier this year.

Horizons environmental manager Bill Martyn said current control techniques have significantly reduced rook numbers within the region, but research into better detection and surveillance will assist in "knocking off the remaining few".

"This is a major step, but it's just the first in a whole list of research items that will help us look at our needs and identify opportunities for improvement.

"Over the next six months Landcare researchers will work to review best practice and help plug any gaps in our knowledge so we can achieve our goal of total eradication throughout the region by 2017", he said.

Landcare Research scientist Dr Phil Cowan said effective identification of the location of rookeries and birds is crucial to cost effective control.

"What impedes efforts to manage rooks is the need to be able to identify where every single one is. Current techniques are very good at finding most of the rooks, but there are still some turning up in unexpected places.

"This research will look at the success of current methodologies and identify cost effective ways in which we can locate more rooks," he said.

Recommendations from this research will help shape rook control going forward.

Rooks are classified as an animal pest. The black crow-like birds feed in flocks and can cause significant damage to crops such as newly sown cereals, ripening peas, broad beans, potatoes, walnuts and fruit.

Since 2004, Horizons has undertaken an annual programme of aerial control to help prevent the birds' spread.

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