Boffa Miskell Ltd | Waihi North Project | Terrestrial Ecology Values and Effects of the WUG | 22 June 2022 43 5.6.2 Survey Results Willows Road Farm Bird surveys (single 5MBCs) were conducted at four sites on Willows Road Farm. Species recorded included common native passerine species (i.e. tūī, fantail / pīwakawaka, silvereye / tauhou, grey warbler / riroriro, kingfisher / kōtare) and several common exotic species (e.g. greenfinch, yellowhammer) (Table 10). These species utilise habitat within the farm property, which may include nesting habitat in trees situated within the vegetated gullies. Coromandel Forest Park Bird surveys were not undertaken as part of site-specific surveys of the potential vent raise sites. However, the baseline ecological survey records carried out Wharekirauponga are highly relevant to assessing the ecological value of potential vent raise sites (Section 5.6.1). The bird community included three species that are now classified as rare in many mainland forest ecosystems, primarily due to their susceptibility to introduced mammalian predators. The presence of the whitehead / pōpokatea, yellow-crowned kākāriki and kākā is likely a result of the pest control (including aerial 1080 applications, most recently in 2021) undertaken by DOC in the wider landscape. Species known to be present within the wider CFP that were absent from our surveys include North Island brown kiwi (which has not been recorded in the area for decades) and long-tailed cuckoo, a migratory species that may occupy this area occasionally. 5.6.3 Ecological Value of Native Bird Communities Expected native bird species are summarised in Table 10. The native bird communities at Willows Road farm and in CFP have been categorised as having Low and High ecological value, respectively. Whilst the recorded native bird community within CFP is diverse and contains a number of distinctive species, surveys have not recorded species that might be expected to be present (e.g. long-tailed cuckoo / koekoeā for surveys conducted in November), or were recorded previously at nearby sites (e.g. North Island brown kiwi). We understand that predator control in this area is limited to aerial 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) baiting approximately every 3 years and field observations of rats and possums indicates that predator density may be high at times, impacting birds and other fauna. For these reasons, we have not categorised the native bird community in CFP as ’Very High’. Table 11: Ecological values of bird species within the Project Area at Willows Road Farm and Coromandel Forest Park. Attribute Willows Road farm Coromandel Forest Park Representativeness Low Seven common native and and eight introduced species were recorded during surveys. High Bird species recorded during baseline ecological surveys are common species in the Waihi ED, but representative of forest habitats. Rarity / distinctiveness Low Common native and introduced species were recorded during surveys. Rare and distinctive bird Moderate The species recorded in one-off 5MBCs are common in the ED, but whitehead (Not Threatened), Yellow crowned kākāriki (Not Threatened,
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