Bird counting in remote New Zealand wilderness

For more than 20 years, our expert ‘bird counters’ have been flying into the remote Landsborough Valley in South Westland to monitor the effect of predator control on native birds.
The bird counting method collects data on bird numbers in the area. It may sound easy but it’s demanding work. Each counter must identify the calls of all individual birds in the forest over five-minute periods and record what they hear.
This work has contributed to a long-term picture of native birds returning to the Landsborough Valley. Overall we have seen a more than doubling of native birdlife - including 517 mohua in the study area, up from a low of 14 birds when monitoring began 24 years ago. Learn more: www.doc.govt.nz/landsborough-valley