The birdsongs of the Catlins are being heard in greater chorus...

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JAMES REARDON/Supplied

The mohua population in the Catlins is on the increase after a successful joint agency pest control programme last spring.

 Birdsongs of the vulnerable mohua are being heard in greater chorus in the Catlins after a 1080 drop, the Department of Conservation says.

The population of mohua, one of New Zealand's rarest songbirds, in the Catlins was increasing after a successful joint agency pest control programme last spring, DOC said.

In August, TBfree New Zealand and the Department of Conservation treated 47,000 hectares of forest in the Catlins with aerial 1080 to knock down possums, rats and stoats.

DOC's focus was to control rats and stoats to protect mohua in 10,000ha of beech forest, while TBfree New Zealand targeted possums to control bovine tuberculosis (TB) over 37,000ha surrounding this area.

Mohua number less than 5000 and are found only in small isolated populations in the South Island and several small islands near Stewart Island, such as Ulva Island and Codfish Island, and Resolution Island in Fiordland.

DOC conservation services manager David Agnew said monitoring results showed mohua numbers increased to the highest level recorded since the population suffered a big decline about 14 years ago.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/9811966/Catlins-mohua-population-recovering-well-after-1080-drop

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