The Great Kererū Count 2021
Using citizen science to understand kererū distribution and abundance throughout New Zealand
Over 24,000 kererū counted in 2021!
...By crikey, the trees are moving and they [kererū] were quite a distance away when they turned around and it was white everywhere. There was a constant cooing all over the place. I was in awe and shivering with fear. I was so afraid I could feel my hairs standing. Some time went by and my excitement finally settled. Poai Nelson; Mātauranga o te Tuawhenua 2011, translated from Māori, Ruatāhuna (Timoti et al., 2017).
Kererū were once abundant in flocks of over 100 birds and distributed throughout the length and breadth of Aotearoa New Zealand. The vision of The Great Kererū Count is to see this distribution restored.
With your help, we have begun to fulfill this vision...
This map shows all the observations from the 2021 count. Move around to find your observation or click the my location button in the bottom right hand corner.
Your counts count
Kererū are found throughout New Zealand and act as nature's great gardeners by spreading the seeds of a variety of tree species. Understanding where kererū are most common, what habitat they are found in, what trees they are found feeding in, and how their population is changing over time can all help conservationists understand how best to protect kererū and increase their population throughout New Zealand. The maps below are updated daily and show where kererū have been observed in the count this year.
Using the maps
All of the following maps are interactive. Buttons in the bottom right hand corner can be used to zoom in and out and to find your location on the map. Clicking the symbol in the bottom left hand corner will display a legend relevant to each map. Feel free to explore these maps and compare your region to the rest of New Zealand.
Kererū were abundant throughout the country, with the highest abundance around Wellington, Dunedin, and the West coast of the South Island. This is a similar trend to what has been observed in previous years.
Urban vs Rural
This map shows the number of kererū observed in rural and urban areas. The highest densities of kererū are found in urban areas, reflecting the difficulty of using citizen science data to answer scientific questions. Is the high density in urban areas due to kererū preferring the urban environment, or due to a larger human population, capable of submitting more observations?
Relative Urban vs Rural
One of the methods we can use to account for these issues is to weight each kererū observation by the resident human population. Doing this shows that per capita, kererū are relatively more abundant in rural areas.
Flock size
Kererū were found in larger flocks in rural areas. However, in Wellington larger flocks were more common in urban areas.
Forest type
Larger flocks of kererū were found in areas with more forest cover. Especially in urban areas, flocks were found in small remnants of forest.
Food preference
The differing colours in this map represent what type of tree kererū were observed on. So far, kererū have most often been observed feeding on willows (green), kowhai (yellow), and fruit tree's (red). In the North Island kererū were also often observed feeding on tree lucerne (white).
GKC participants were asked whether they believed kererū had become more abundant over the last year. Responses were turned into numerical variables and are displayed here. Participants in areas with a value above zero thought kererū had become more abundant while participants in areas with values below zero believed kererū had become less abundant. Across the country the consensus seems to be a shallow increase in kererū numbers.
How you can help kererū
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