Gough Needs Moor Bunting!

It’s not all about seabirds on Gough. I know, I’m as surprised as you! Gough is home to two endemic, and rather special land birds, the Gough Bunting and Gough Moorhen. There is still a certain amount to learn about both of these species, and I still find it incredible that they are only present on this small island in the South Atlantic (although moorhens are now found on Tristan having been introduced in the 50s). One of our jobs this season has been to establish 50 transects covering as much of the island as possible, to learn more about the populations and distribution of both species.

Adult Gough Moorhen (David Kinchin-Smith)

Adult male Gough Bunting (David Kinchin-Smith)

During the round-island count last week it was fascinating to visit areas of the island which are only walked a couple of times each year. For most of our four days, Em and I were joined by buntings; indeed we were woken each morning at Waterfall Camp by a rather vocal family. The young from this season were very evident as we walked around, as intrigued by us as we were by them. The buntings on Gough have little fear of humans having very rarely, if ever, encountered our likes before. This is a tameness which surpasses a friendly Robin in your garden; sit still for long enough on Gough and these birds will soon be hopping over your legs. But herein lies a fairly major problem. Before sealers accidentally introduced House Mice onto Gough in the 19th Century, these buntings were completely undisturbed. Having not evolved with mice on the island, the buntings have virtually no predator response and as such the population has been hit hard by egg and chick predation. There are now estimated to be fewer than 500 pairs on the island and it is thought that if the mouse eradication were not to happen we would lose the species within a decade; this would be the next extinction of a bird on a British Territory (RSPB - Gough Island Restoration Programme).

A very friendly juvenile bunting (David Kinchin-Smith)

Our alarm clock at Waterfall Camp (David Kinchin-Smith)

An intrepid mountaineer (David Kinchin-Smith)

The breeding season is over for the buntings and the birds won't be nesting again until Spring 2017 (October/November time). It was encouraging to see good numbers of juveniles in the highlands during our Tristan Albatross counts, so 2016 seems to have been a fairly successful season.

So onto our moorhens......the current population on Gough is thought to be between 4,000-5,000 pairs, and although similarly effected by the mice, the species is not in such imminent threat of extinction. However, our team medic who is on Gough for his 3rd season, says that the numbers around the base are well down compared to his first year here. Whether the distribution of the species has changed or whether the impact of the mice really is as dramatic as we fear, we cannot say for certain. But our transects should help reveal some of the unknowns for the species.

As with the buntings, the season is largely over for our moorhens. October through to December is the peak for the species, and youngsters from this year are fairly independent from adults at this point. Interestingly, Gough Moorhens may raise two broods each season, with chicks from the first helping adults to rear the second. When you leave base they are usually one of the first birds you see. And whereas a bunting may feed off the sole of your shoe, pecking at seeds and insects, if your back is turned a moorhen will feed directly from your plate. So the buntings are certainly the more well-mannered of the two.

Together, both species make Gough that much more special and remind us off what we could lose if we don't act.

A young Moorhen enjoying a sunbathe (David Kinchin-Smith)

David

Reference.

Ryan, P. G. (2007) Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island