Auckland Council says the forests of the Hūnua Ranges are echoing louder than ever, with a surge of young kōkako turning this past breeding season into a full-blown baby boom.
Council’s latest kōkako census has recorded an extraordinary 418 breeding pairs across the Hūnua Ranges, a 61% increase since the last census in 2022, when 259 pairs were counted.
It says the final tally cements Hūnua as the largest single mainland population of North Island kōkako in New Zealand.
Principal Ranger, Miranda Bennett, who leads the programme, says it’s a bit like watching a group of toddlers or teenagers hanging around older siblings or parents in an annoying fashion trying to learn, pushing the limits and figuring out where they belong.
“They follow the adult birds, watch what they’re doing and occasionally seem to test their patience. Seeing so many young birds throughout the forest is exactly what we want. It tells us breeding has been successful over multiple seasons and that these youngsters are surviving long enough to join the breeding population themselves,” she said.
It typically takes around two years for a fledgling kōkako to establish a territory and enter the breeding population.
The census, held every four years, recorded 58 breeding pairs outside the intensively managed project areas, demonstrating the wider benefits of park-wide aerial and intensive ground-based pest control.
“Kōkako are one of our best indicators of forest health,” says Ms Bennett.
“When kōkako are thriving, we know many other native birds, insects and wildlife are benefiting too. This result reflects decades of dedication from our staff, volunteers, contractors and partners who work tirelessly controlling pests and protecting habitat to give these birds a fighting chance.”
She said the success story is even more remarkable given the species’ history in Hūnua. Researchers have estimated around 500 kōkako lived in the ranges in the 1950s, but by the late 1960s numbers had crashed to around 50 birds. In 1994, surveys found just 25 birds remaining, with only one confirmed breeding pair.
Today, the population is not only surviving but flourishing. Among the birds recorded this year were Ruahine and Puna, two female kōkako translocated from Mapara in 2006 who, at 22, remain the oldest known birds in the population.
The census survey was jointly funded by Auckland Council’s Natural Environment Targeted Rate and the Department of Conservation.
Chair of Auckland Council’s Planning, Policy and Development Committee, Councillor Richard Hills says the record number of young kōkako signals a bright future for the Hūnua population and shows what sustained investment in conservation can achieve.
“This is huge news; 418 pairs is a result higher than my most optimistic guess,” he said.
Congratulations to mana whenua, every volunteer, ranger, council staff member, and contractor who has worked so hard to turn their vision, passion, and work into this incredible comeback for a population that was nearly wiped out.
“Every Aucklander contributes to this success through their Natural Environment Targeted Rate. It’s fantastic to see native species not only recovering but expanding across the region.”
“Just last week the Governing Body endorsed a partnership plan to restore our natural environment and position Auckland as a world-leading ‘nature positive’ city. These kōkako numbers show we’re on the right track and exactly what’s possible when communities, mana whenua, conservation groups and councils work together for nature.”
The census field team completed two months of surveying across approximately 2,000 hectares of native forest, with the final report and mapping still to come.
