by Tony Orman

New Zealand’s ecosystem is showing marked symptoms of ecological decline says the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations (CORANZ).

CORANZ Spokesman Tony Orman said the organisation had issued warnings in the past but a recent major new study on North American bird populations had sparked a reminder to New Zealand.

Details of the American study led by Ken Rosenberg, a conservation scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, appeared in the journal Science recently. It included detail on research warning of alarming declines in bird numbers.

The research said the North American bird population had declined by roughly 2.9 billion birds, a 29 percent drop. It was, the researchers wrote, “an overlooked biodiversity crisis.”

The plight of the birds, “Is a Crisis for Us All,” said the New York Times headline.

Tony Orman sad the signs were evident in New Zealand. He cited the arrival of the migrant native bird the cuckoo, which used to be eagerly listened for around October 1. The bird is small and is more often heard than seen, identified by its distinctive whistling call repeated several times.

"Cuckoos seemed everywhere but last year I heard only one or two. Another native bird which has markedly declined in numbers is the kingfisher, once frequently seen sitting on roadside power lines. Now only very occasionally while trout fishing, I might hear the kingfisher’s distinctive call."

There were other declines such as with insects like bees, moths, cicadas and blowflies. Frogs were now rarely seen or heard. As a trout fly fisherman, he had noticed evening mayfly and caddis fly hatches on rivers were now almost non-existent. There was a big, big decline in insects banging into and being squashed on car windscreens after dark in country areas.

"Are these apparent declines in numbers of wild creatures symptomatic of an ailing and declining ecosystem?"

He said agencies which should be concerned, seemed silent.

"Birds have almost certainly declined drastically but bureaucracies and bureaucrats are thriving in number and dominance and incompetence,” he wryly commented..

The Department of Conservation was just one bureaucracy that is duty bound by an act of Parliament to protect native birds and native invertebrates such as cicadas. But it was strangely silent on the demise of native bird life such as the native cuckoo and kingfisher.

"Nor do regional and district councils seem to show the slightest concern,” he added.

Chemicals from household detergents to agricultural sprays such as diazinon were major suspects in the downward spiral of wildlife. Diazinon, DDT’s replacement and widely used, was classed as “lethal to aquatic life and water birds" which should concern agencies like DoC and Fish and Game. Some urban areas still discharged sewage into waterways, either regularly or in substantial rainfall times.

The controversial pest poison 1080 originally developed as an insecticide, was lethal to not only insects but birds and animals too.

"In essence, it’s an ecosystem poison,” said Tony Orman.

Footnote: For more detail refer to http://coranz.org.nz/bird-decline-a-crisis-for-all/

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