Making it count - Nelson City Council gets behind the Great Kereū Count and launches a subsidised trap project to help protect native birds

The annual Great Kererū Count, which starts today 18 September, is a yearly event where the public are asked to get outside, observe and count any kererū they see and record them on the Great Kererū Count website.

Nelson City Council is offering a free native tree to anyone in Nelson who signs up for the Kererū Count – just go to shape.nelson.govt.nz/kereru-count to sign up and find out how to get your free tree.

Nelson Nature, Nelson City Council’s 10 year initiative to protect and enhance our regionals natural environment, is also helping people protect our native birds with a subsidised trap sale at the Nelson i-Site.

Amy Rutledge (DOC Ranger). Leigh Marshall (Team Leader Science and Environment) and Colin Johnstone (Menzshed) with the trap display at the Nelson i-Site.

The trap project is part of Nelson Nature’s work to reduce pests and protect native wildlife in the Nelson Halo, an area outside the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary.

The traps, which can be used to control predatory pests like rats, stoats and possums, have been mainly built for Nelson Nature by the Menzshed. They can be used for backyard trapping in and around Nelson to help reduce the numbers of pests in the Nelson Halo and provide our native birds with safe areas to fly, feed and nest.

The kererū is one of the native bird species that will benefit from community efforts to restore habitat and trap predators as part of the Nelson Halo project. They also play a key role in keeping our forests alive as they spread the seed of many of our larger native trees.

“As we come into spring our native birds will be nesting and feeding their young,” says Clare Barton, Group Manager Environmental Management. “Backyard trapping can help widen the areas that are safe for our birds by reducing the numbers of pests threatening them. Native nestlings are very vulnerable to rats, stoats and possums, so anything we can do to protect them is worthwhile.”

Tunnel traps for rats are $15; DOC200 traps in tunnels are $60 and Possum traps are $30. Traps are limited to one of each type per household, and will be on sale at the iSite from 16 September until all sold out.

Traps come with instructions and links to further information online. You can also download the Nelson Halo Predator Trapping Guide from Nelson City Council’s website.

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