Results are in for City Nature Challenge 2024
13 May 2024, 11:30 AM
The results of the Hoake ki te Taiao City Nature Challenge 2024 have been finalised and it has been a fantastic result.
The City Nature Challenge is an annual international event that encourages people around the world to find and record wildlife in their cities, districts or regions.
Councils across the Wellington region teamed up to support our communities as citizen scientists for a four-day field trip from Friday 26–Monday 29 April.
Across Aotearoa New Zealand there were 51,109 observations made overall, which is a huge increase from the 34,167 observations made in the 2023 competition.
Kōtuku (White Heron) Ardea alba ssp. Modesta (Nationally critical). Photo 372668058, (c) Pam Stapleton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
See larger image.
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There was a big increase in observations in Te Upoko o te Ika (Wellington Region), from 13,002 observations in 2023 to 18,172 observations in 2024.
This still wasn’t enough to beat out Ōtautahi/Christchurch who made a phenomenal 20,108 observations.
Te Upoko o te Ika did take out the top spot for number of species observed with 2,489. This is a fantastic example of the huge breadth of biodiversity found in the region. Of these species, 69 percent were native or endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand.
There were 272 observers involved from around the region.
Here in Kāpiti there were 649 observations made by 37 participants, recording a total of 322 species.
Observed species of note included Kōtuku (White Heron), Tara (White Fronted Tern), Taranui (Caspian Tern), Pohowera (Banded Dotterel), Red-billed Gull, Barking Gecko and Nīkau Palm.
While the City Nature Challenge may have ended for the year, we encourage people to continue to record biodiversity observations – including weeds and pests – using the free app iNaturalist.nz – download on the AppStore | download on Google Play.
Tara (White Fronted Tern) Sterna striata (Near threatened). Photo 373854792, (c) Meltea, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Taranui (Caspian Tern) Hydroprogne caspia (Nationally vulnerable). Photo 372669344, (c) Pam Stapleton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
Pohowera (Banded Dotterel) Anarhynchus bicinctus (Near threatened). Photo 373855413, (c) Meltea, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
Red-billed Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae ssp. Scopulinus (Nationally vulnerable). Photo 373855007, (c) Meltea, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
Above: Barking Gecko Naultinus punctatus (At Risk -Declining). Photo 372366448, (c) Chris Dearden, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). (In captivity).
Right: Nīkau Palm Rhopalostylis sapida (Near threatened). Photo 371477394, (c) Wayne Mitchell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
