NAUGHTY NEIGHBOUR: Researchers are looking for ways to manage conflict between birds, residents and business owners. Image by Duncan
Researchers hope a study of Wellington's kaka and feral pigeon populations will shed light on the sometimes tense relationship between people and wildlife in urban areas.
Wellington was thought to be one of only a few cities with breeding kaka, but the rare parrot could be as much of a nuisance as its more ubiquitous cousin, the Spanish rock pigeon, Victoria University biological science senior lecturer Wayne Linklater said.
One of Dr Linklater's students, Kerry Charles, is investigating the scale of the kaka problem to help Wellington City Council decide if it needs to take action.
"Kaka are already stripping the bark of some exotic trees to get at insects or sap and have ring-barked a number of eucalypts in Wellington reserves and the city's Botanical Gardens, incurring costs for the city council in tree removal and replanting,'' Dr Linklater said.
"It's only a matter of time before we get complaints about them stripping rubber off meter boxes or damaging electrical wire.''
The study is part of a larger research project on the management of biodiversity in urban areas, with a focus on pigeons.
Dr Linklater said his team was looking for ways to manage conflict between birds, residents and business owners.
"There are frequent complaints from cafe owners and retailers about pigeon faeces and acidic aromas. However, when culls have been proposed in the past, there's been a public outcry,'' he said.
"We are trying to understand how tolerant the public would be to things like destroying eggs, or nesting sites and netting or poisoning pigeons.''
Dr Linklater said a more simple approach would be to limit the birds' food supply.
"We believe Wellington is at the limits of the kind of environment the Spanish rock pigeon can thrive in. It could be that they are doing so well because people are feeding them so much,'' he said.
"Public rubbish bins and those put out by food businesses tend to be covered but there are still plenty of people ignoring the signs asking them not to feed the pigeons. If they got less food the population might decline quite rapidly.''