The beach of Motuihe
Before humanity reached New Zealand, there were only two species of mammals living on the islands, both small bats. So this left the rest of the island for the birds… literally. Due to the unique lack of mammals, and predators for that matter, the birds that developed on the island were largely flightless birds that lived, nested and foraged on the ground. To be sure there were predators, the moa, the largest bird ever, ate other ground dwelling birds, and many birds that flew, such as the Tui and Fan Tails. There were even a few indigenous birds that flew and preyed on the land dwelling birds, such as the largest eagle in the world, the Haast’s eagle.
Unfortunately for all of the birds of New Zealand, humanity did discover the islands, and as we tend to do, we wreaked havoc. When the Polynesians landed on the two islands, they found a large population of ground dwelling birds that had no fear of the new strangers. Many of the birds might as well have jumped into the pots of the Maori, for as easy as they were to hunt. This led to the extinction of the moa, and the moa being the primary food source for the Haast’s eagle, it soon joined the ranks of extinction.
There were many birds the Maori revered, such as the kiwi, but this did not stop them from hunting them and eating them. While these birds were equally as fearless as the moa, they and many other birds must have had a few other tricks to survive because they managed to survive the introduction of humanity to the islands. 
Motuihe coast line
They did not fare so well when the next wave of immigration came along. When the Europeans showed up on the island, they did what they have a great reputation for doing, they brought stuff with them. I imagine the Europeans were pretty good at hunting the birds, but this isn’t what wreaked havoc this time around, what was so destructive about the Europeans is they intentionally brought with them their cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, pigs, cow and deer, the dogs and cats being especially destructive. They also unintentionally brought with them mice and rats which competed with the native birds for food as well as eat the native bird’s eggs.
When it was realized a problem had developed with the rats, rabbits and mice, the Europeans decided they need to reduce the rodent population, and they decided the best way to do this was to introduce predators in the forms of weasels, martins, possums and stoats. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the weasels, martins, possums and stoats found the birds of New Zealand far easier prey than the rats, rabbits and mice.
So New Zealand’s indigenous birds have suffered a heavy toll with the arrival of mammals on the islands, and the damage is likely irreversible. The possibility of eradicating all the animals that have been introduced would be extremely difficult, and most New Zealander’s would not be willing to give up their cats and dogs.
But the picture of New Zealand’s birds isn’t all bad. While New Zealand is generally thought of as a north and a south island, in truth there are a great many small islands surrounding the two large islands. One such island is Motuihe, in Auckland bay. Motuihe is a small island, it too was settled, first by Maori, and later by Europeans, and it too had its native bird populations devastated, and flora chopped to make way for farm land, but because of its size, Motuihe is being returned to what it was before the arrival of Europeans.
While the island cannot be completely returned to the condition it was in before people arrived, due to some species such as the Moa and Haast’s eagle being gone forever, there is an effort underway to remove non-native trees and plants, to replant native trees and plants, and to reintroduce native birds. The island has already been eradicated of its mammal population, and is now home to 14 kiwis.
The project is expected to take several years, but it is only one of many islands in the processes of being returned to its natural state. Some islands have been successfully returned to their natural state and some islands much larger than Motuihe will be returned to their natural state if the project on Motuihe is successful.
While it is a shame New Zealand has been as badly damaged as it has, there is hope much of New Zealand’s natural habitat can be preserved on its surrounding islands. It would be a shame for future generations of Kiwi to only be able to see kiwi in books. With the island restoration program that won’t be the case, they will be able to see many of New Zealand’s natives for years to come.
Motuihe's dock
