Protect our Taiko (Black Petrel)

Policy and budgeting decisions in the Department of Conservation resulted in all of the biodiversity budget for Great Barrier for 2015 to be diverted for the ‘Battle for the Birds’ beech mast 1080 campaign in the South Island and for other mainland campaigns including the Hunua 1080 drop. Unfortunately this resulted in no funds to allocate for cat or rat control in this unique ecosystem during the taiko breeding season.

The GBI Environmental Trust took on the task and was successful in securing funding to set up and monitor a network of cat and rat traps on tracks leading up to and around Hirakimata/Mt Hobson. Hirakimata is a unique remnant of high altitude rain forest which supports the last remaining significant colony of black petrels (taiko), a few tenacious tomtits, kakariki and robins, as well as kaka and kereru and a range of unusual plants, Great Barrier tree daisy, mountain toatoa and creeping kanuka to name a few. The Trust provided a contractor to set and monitor live cat traps on the tracks leading to the summit for 2-3 days each month, with a second monitoring run leading up to Taiko fledging time.