Birds and other fauna of Pukerua Bay
Before the arrival of people, Pukerua supported a rich population of native birds, lizards, insects and marine fauna. Removal of most of the original forest cover, drainage of wetlands and the introduction of mammalian predators (including humans) has resulted in a huge loss of both diversity and the total number of birds.
The hills surrounding Pukerua Bay were once covered with forest which maintained a wide variety of birds and other fauna. Destruction of the forest and the conversion to farmland resulted in a huge shift in the composition of the fauna in favour of creatures who could survive on open grassland. Over time, some of the bush cover has been returning and we are seeing an increase of species such as tui and kereru which have been absent for many years.
Birdlife
Pukerua was known to Māori as a birding area and supported a much greater number of species compared to what remains. Historically the list of birds would have included several species of moa, kōkako, huia, piopio (native thrush) saddleback, stitchbird, kiwi, kākāpō, whitehead, kākā, snipe, parakeets, North Island robins, riflemen, North Island weka, bats and petrels in the bush. Wetlands would have supported fernbirds, bittern, New Zealand swan, New Zealand goose, brown teal, spotless crake, banded rail and Hodgen’s rail.
Stripping the area of most of its natural kohekohe mixed forest and introducing species such as rats, cats, mice, stoats, weasels, ferrets and possums has meant that Pukerua can no longer sustain many forest species who need larger tracts of forest free from predators.
The last 30 years has seen a lot of regrowth of mānuka and other colonising native plants. A large area of farmland to the east is slowly reverting to native bush, the bare farmland adjacent to Muri Reserve is now covered in trees and people have established trees in their gardens. Now kereru and tui are common throughout Pukerua.
A. Forest birds
Although Pukerua has been stripped of a lot of its original forest cover, several large areas of native forest remain e.g. the area known to locals as the 100 Acre Bush on the hills to the east, and the lesser-known Mount Welcome Bush which contains many mature specimens of nikau, tawa and pukatea. As mentioned above, there has been an increase in tree growth throughout the suburb as people have planted trees in their gardens and these have increasingly matured into a loose forest cover.
Native
- Kereru (resident). Kereru have benefitted from the increase in vegetation cover. They are slow breeders and are vulnerable to predation as they commonly nest near the ground. They are regularly seen around Muri Road where there is a good amount of tree growth and one of their favourite foods, the Genista (broom).
- Kākā (occasional visitor). With the development of Zealandia, kākā have increased in number throughout the Wellington region and the occasional one has turned up here. It is possible that kākā fly from Kapiti Island over to the mainland.
- Shining cuckoo/pipiwharauroa. These are a summer migrant to New Zealand from the warmer climes of Kirbati and Micronesia. They can be found wherever their usual host bird, the grey warbler occurs.
- Long-tailed cuckoo/koekoeā. Occasional visitor. This is also a migratory bird which relies on the whitehead as its host bird for breeding.
- Morepork/ruru. Resident throughout Pukerua where there is good tree cover.
- NZ Kingfisher/kōtare. Resident throughout but more common along the coastal area. Prefers areas where there is water.
- Grey warbler/riroriro. Resident throughout in all types of habitat.
- Bellbird/korimako. Uncommon. Prefers larger bush areas but will visit smaller areas.
- Tui. Until the early1990s, the tui was rarely seen in Pukerua. Since then it has greatly increased in numbers, probably due to the spread of bush cover.
- Fantail/pīwakawaka. Present and common in almost every bush area as well as other habitat types e.g. pine forest and urban gardens.
- Silvereye/tauhou. Found in the same habitat as fantails and grey warblers.
- Whitehead/mohoua. Usually confined to larger forested blocks including pine. Rare in the area. One confirmed in the Mount Welcome bush.
- New Zealand falcon/kārearea. A rare visitor to Pukerua.
- Eastern rosella. Small numbers present throughout the Bay.
- Spoonbill. An occasional visitor.
B. Birds of open spaces and bush margins
These include many introduced passerines and some natives which have benefitted from the clearance of bush.
Native
- 1.Paradise shelduck/pūtangitangi. Although this bird prefers open grassland, and has increased nationally due to forest clearance, it is not common in the Bay. A few occur on local farmland and an intrepid pair have bred near the beach in recent years.
- Spur-winged plover. This is a recent self-introduction from Australia which has increased its range wherever there is open farmland.
- Welcome swallow. Another recent self-introduction from Australia. Occasionally present near water and open farmland where it can be seen darting about catching insects on the wing.
- Harrier/kāhu. Commonly observed cruising over open farmland.
- Pūkeko. Commonly seen anywhere there is open grassland.
Introduced
A variety of non-native enjoy the open paddocks and urban gardens. These include:
Skylarks
Dunnock or hedge sparrow
Blackbird
Song thrush
Starling
House sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Redpoll
Yellowhammer
Along the margins of bush opening out onto open farmland, California quail and
ring-necked pheasant are present. Small families of quail are frequently seen along the bush margins of Muri Road.
C. Beach and foreshore birds
- Little blue penguin/ kororā. Along the beach there is a small population of Kororā. These birds are particularly at risk from attacks by dogs but also ferrets, stoats and cats. They like to nest in underground burrows, under vegetation or in rock crevices. Except where there is good predator control, these birds have been declining.
- Red-billed gulls and the larger black-backed gulls are a common sight along the beach and the rocks.
- White-fronted terns are also commonly seen resting on the rocks.
- White-faced herons are less common though not endangered. These are often seen out in the rock pools.
- Reef heron. Very occasionally one might observe reef herons along the rocky coast. They can be distinguished from the white-faced heron by their overall dark grey plumage. They were reported as breeding at Wairaka Point in the 1970s.
- Paradise shelducks have also been seen frequenting the rocky areas near the beach.
- South Island pied oystercatchers and variable oystercatchers are present along the rocky coast where they have been known to breed.
- Australasian gannets can be observed diving headfirst into the water further out in the Bay.
- The commonly seen little shag also frequents the edges of the sea and there is a big macrocarpa above Brendan Beach which is easily distinguished as their roosting site by streaks of white guano.
- Black shag are also present along the coast.
- Welcome swallows can be seen darting for insects over the rock pools.
- Rock pigeons live along the cliffs to the north and south of the Bay.
- Very occasionally one can observe the Australian black swan, royal spoonbill and white heron.
D. Marine mammals
The New Zealand fur seal is increasingly seen as a visitor to our shores. Seals were heavily impacted by hunting and by 1830 they were on the verge of extinction. Sealing was outlawed in 1926 and numbers have slowly recovered since then. Nowadays it is not unusual to see a seal basking on the rocks along our coast. A leopard seal has also been observed at the beach but these would be very rare visitors. Orca are also becoming a more common sight at sea.
Dolphins
E. Introduced mammals
Apart from sheep,cattle and deer, the introduced mammals found in Pukerua Bay are regarded as pests. Wild goats frequent the cliff faces to the south, possums, rats and mice are present throughout despite efforts to control them. Introduced mustelids present the worst problem. Weasels and ferrets are in lesser numbers but the more omnipresent stoats are a real menace. Other species include hedgehogs, rabbits and hares.
F. Lizards and amphibians
Frogs: Historically, there are no records of any of New Zealand’s very primitive frogs but Pukerua is home to the Australian southern bell frog which can be found in ponded areas of the small sluggish streams which run through farmland.
Lizards: Until recently, there were 5 species of lizard recorded at Pukerua. This is probably half the number that would have been here prior to the advent of predators and the loss of forest. Despite that loss, Pukerua has one of the most diverse populations of lizards on the mainland. Species present are:
Cyclodina aenea (copper skink)
Cyclodina whitakeri (Whitakers skink)
Leiolopisma nigriplantare polychroma (common skink)
Leiolopisma zelandicum (brown skink)
Hoplodactylus maculatus (common gecko)
Nearby, closer to Plimmerton, the green gecko (Naultinus elegans) and the forest gecko (Hoplodactylus granulatus) have been observed.
Unfortunately, the Whitakers skink, which Pukeruvians have adopted as a mascot since it was depicted on the Pukerua Bay Kindergarten T-shirts in the 1980s, has not been seen for a number of years and is probably now extinct in Pukerua. Fortunately, a small number of these very rare lizards was removed and this captive population is being cared for.
G. Butterflies and other invertebrates
Pukerua is home to 5 native butterflies. We have the endemic red admiral and the yellow admiral which is also found in Australia. They lay their eggs on stinging nettles (Urtica spp.). Both species can be observed throughout Pukerua. Along the walk to Wairaka Rock, a common sight are the smaller copper and blue butterflies. There are 4 species of copper butterfly but the one most likely to be found here is Lycaena salustius. It feeds on the Muehlenbeckia, a plant which is common all along the foreshore and the escarpment along the coast. Muehlenbeckia is often intertwined with Coprosma propinqua and forms the “bouncy bushes” enjoyed by generations of Pukeruvians.
The smaller common blue (Zizina otis) is a species of open grassland which relies on leguminous weeds (clovers, vetches and other members of the pea family) to lay its eggs on.
The monarch (Danaus plexippus) originates from north America but is ubiquitous throughout New Zealand and is probably the best-known migratory insect in the world having reached our shores via Australia. They rely on plants which exude a milky sap and a common breeding plant such as the swan plant.
Several species of wētā are found in Pukerua Bay. They are mainly herbivorous but are also known to eat insects. They are mostly nocturnal and live in a variety of habitats including grassland, shrubland, forests and caves. They excavate holes in trees, under stones, rotting logs and soil. A favourite tree is the putaputawētā which in Māori means ‘many wētā’. There they occupy holes left by the puriri moth. Cave wētā are abundant in caves but also live under rocks, loose bark and dark damp places.
H. Freshwater Fauna
Since the clean-up in the Secret Valley, unidentified native fish have been observed. In many of the small streams around Pukerua, small native crayfish or kōura are present and short-finned eels are to be seen where the Waimapihi Stream meets the sea.
The survival of many of the species mentioned in this article depends on all of us. It is clear the increase in the cover of trees has been largely responsible for the increase in birdlife.
Trapping of invasive pests will also enhance the area as a habitat for many native species as will keeping our waterways clean and free of rubbish. There are groups in Pukerua who are active in trapping and weed control but it is important that we endeavour to support these efforts.