Beechmast encourages breeding birds

Forest and Bird, Issue 293, 1 August 1999, Page 9

Beechmast encourages breeding birds

eavy flowering and seediz ing of beech trees in the upper Hurunui valleys of North Canterbury has resulted in a boost in bird breeding, according to John Kearvell, an ornithologist with the Department of Conservation. The predicted ‘beechmast year’ (of heavy beech flowering and seeding) may be responsible for the successful breeding season, particularly for the orange-fronted parakeet and yellow-crowned parakeet. ‘Unlike most other forest birds, which breed each summer, New Zealand parakeets breed more during beechmast years. In many ways parakeets are similar to wild budgies, which also respond to increased food abundance; in their case usually after heavy rains. "We also suspect kaka had a good breeding season in the Hurunui as there was a lot of activity compared to previous seasons, John Kearvell says.

‘The downside of a good beech-seeding season is the increase in the stoat population the following year. We’re predicting that the stoat population, in areas where predators are not controlled, will go through the roof next year, and many birds will be at their mercy. DoC staff have been preparing for this by controlling stoats in the Hurunui ‘mainland island’ for the last four years. ‘The next two years will be the real acid test’, says John Kearvell. Yellowheads (mohua) monitored in the mainland island project have also had a successful breeding season with an average fledging rate of 2.4 per pair, compared with the two previous seasons average of 1.7 per pair. ‘This is an obvious increase from previous years, and a good indicator that other insect-eat-ing birds also had a good year, John Kearvell says.