Ashley/Rakahuri Rivercare Group
A river for all
Nick Ledgard, chair of the rivercare group
lulls birds into accepting his presence
while monitoring, by using cut-outs
Different interest groups (gravel extractors, 4WDrs and bird enthusiasts) normally on opposing sides of an issue, have joined forces to protect braided river birds on the Ashley River, near Rangiora.
Together they have been working to make the Ashley River a safe place for birds such as black fronted terns, wrybill, blackbilled gulls, banded dotterels, oystercatchers. But it’s not just the birds that have benefited;
Some of their achievements include:
- The group has an agreement with gravel extractors to stop work in the river when the birds are breeding - they work flat out over winter to stockpile enough to last the summer. Gravel extractors have helped to create islands in the river for the birds to nest on safely, out of reach of predators. They scrape off the big old lupin and create ideal nesting habitat. It seems to be working, last year a colony of black-billed gulls took up residence.
- With DOC, 4WDers have developed a vehicle track on the stopbank / burn through the willows to encourage people to stay out of the riverbed.
- A walking track has been created alongside the river for people and their dogs, again to reduce disturbance. The group don’t say “keep out”. Instead, they have worked to provide other opportunities for people to recreate here, without disturbing the birds.
- The group have put a big effort into working with community, notifying what’s happening on the riverbed at any time of the year, asking for volunteers to check predator traps - all sorts of people have become trappers for the group from students to old retired hunters and foresters.
How can you help?
The group runs several volunteer days throughout the year; work depends on the season but includes:
- Clearing weeds to create nesting habitat for shorebirds
- Predator trap checking to assist nesting birds
- Annual bird surveys
- Monitoring bird breeding success