Greater Wellington close to ridding the region of rooks

Greater Wellington is calling on farmers and rural communities to “look for rooks” and report sightings of the introduced bird as the regional council hunts down the remaining population.

Identified by their glossy bluish-purple feathers and harsh “kaah” call, rooks cause significant damage to crops and pasture by destroying newly sprouted seedlings.

Greater Wellington senior biosecurity officer, Steve Playle, says the region is on the cusp of eradicating the species completely, with only a handful of nests or ‘rookeries’ left to target.

“Rook control carried out with the help of local landowners has driven the population down to very few – and we need to find them,” says Playle.

“We’ve gone from targeting 900 nests in a year to just seven last year. We are now in the best position to rid the region of rooks, which will mean less stress and better economic outcomes for local farmers.”

Playle has worked on the Greater Wellington rook control programme for more than 30 years and says rooks are clever, often revisiting the same crops and learning the distance between sown seeds to clear entire rows.

“Rooks start from the middle and work their way out of a crop, and a landowner may not notice the damage until the outer seeds have begun to germinate, and they’re left with empty soil and the cost of having to resow.”

Regional councillor for the Wairarapa, Adrienne Staples, says a rook-free region would be a relief.

“Rooks create havoc for the agricultural industry,” says Cr Staples.

“Our pest animals team have led the way for other North Island councils, using helicopters and other innovative techniques to carry out these operations.”

“Effective pest control isn’t easy, or cheap – it's taken 30 years to get to this point, and we are very close to having all that work pay off.”

A rook nest or ‘rookery’ is likely to be spotted in a pine or gum tree, sometimes near buildings or houses.

“While we want help locating rooks or rookeries, targeting nests is a specialist task which needs to be done by a Greater Wellington biosecurity officer,” Playle adds. “Please resist the urge to approach the birds yourself, and get in touch with us as soon as you can.”

Members of the public who see rooks or a rookery should report them to Greater Wellington by calling 0800 496 734 or emailing pest.animals@gw.govt.nz