People across Central are being asked to report rook sightings during spring, when the pest birds are most active.

The Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) delivery lead biosecurity coastal Otago Simon Stevenson said while they have reduced rooks to very low levels, there’s still some occasional sightings. 

“We need the public’s help to target the last remaining birds, bearing in mind the potential always remains for the population to increase again.”

This enables us to better map nests and target these pests,” he said.

Rooks are part of the crow family and are large birds with glossy, purplish-black feathers.

They can be differentiated from other birds, such as magpies, by their larger size, their distinctive ‘kaah’ call, slow wing flap and their wariness of people.

Rooks are attracted to recently cultivated paddocks and will feed on newly sown crops causing significant damage.

Rooks were introduced to New Zealand between 1862-1873 to control insects, but like many other introduced species, their population flourished and spread in some areas.

In recent years, ORC and Environment Southland have worked together to eradicate the pests, with community help, which has pushed rook numbers down to very low numbers from many thousands of breeding pairs in the 1980s and 1990s.

Historic rookery sites throughout Otago and Southland. IMAGE: Supplied

“Both councils appreciate the support from the community for our programme over the years, which has gone a long way toward the successes we’ve had,” Simon said.

“While we haven’t had reports of one for a few years now, should we discover an active nest we would likely use a drone to establish if the rooks are actively breeding or if it is just the male going through the motions of nest building, which they can do regardless of a mate.”

The ORC has produced a brochure for community notice boards, cultivation contractors, and landowners who may have a rookery on their property, or nearby.

You can also find it here on the council website.

Both councils use surveillance equipment to record and collect rook behaviour and age to build a picture of the current population.

If you see a rook, report any sightings as soon as possible to the relevant regional council and do not attempt to control any yourself, as unsuccessful attempts encourage dispersal and make rooks very wary and much more difficult to control.

If you see rooks in Otago email [email protected] or phone 0800 474 082.