Nearly 100 Birds Found Dead in Suspected Poisoning at New Zealand Community Garden

A community garden in Nelson has become the centre of a wildlife investigation after nearly 100 birds were discovered dead or dying in a suspected poisoning incident over the weekend.

The deaths were reported at the Waimarama Community Organic Gardens, where a member of the public first noticed several dead birds while walking through the area. What initially appeared to be a small number of deaths soon turned into a much larger and more distressing discovery for garden volunteers.

When coordinator Sally Rees and other volunteers arrived, they found birds scattered across the gardens, nearby land and even inside buckets used for feeding horses. Some birds were already dead, while others were still alive but clearly suffering.

The scale of the incident has left the garden community shaken. Rees said she had been involved with the site for 13 years and had never witnessed anything like it.

The dead birds included sparrows, blackbirds, a finch, two grey warblers and a chicken. Grey warblers are native New Zealand birds, making the incident especially concerning from a wildlife protection perspective.

Volunteers also found seven bird nests on the ground beneath trees. Rees suspected the nests may have been deliberately dislodged, adding another troubling detail to an already serious case.

Some of the poisoned birds were still alive when volunteers arrived. With the birds badly affected and unlikely to recover, volunteers made the difficult decision to euthanise them to stop further suffering.

Attention has now turned to whether poison may have been placed in or around the garden’s composting area. The community garden runs a regular composting system, with volunteers collecting food scraps from local residents on Fridays before adding mulch and scraps to compost bays on Saturdays.

Rees said pellet-like material resembling corn kernels was found near the compost bins and in rat traps. One possible explanation is that poison may have been laid to target rats, but birds feeding in the area could have eaten the pellets or contaminated material.

The incident shows how quickly poison use in a shared outdoor space can affect animals beyond the intended target. Community gardens often attract birds, insects, pets, children and volunteers, which makes any toxic substance especially risky if it is not handled with extreme care.

Nelson City Council confirmed that its parks team was notified after the discovery. Council operations delivery manager Eddie Powick said contractors had been arranged to help remove the dead birds from the gardens.

Pet owners have also been warned to avoid the area for now. That warning is important because poison can remain dangerous if pets come into contact with bait, contaminated food scraps or affected animals.

Biosecurity New Zealand is now testing bird samples in a laboratory. Officials are working to rule out exotic disease or an emerging infectious disease, although early information points toward poisoning as the likely cause.

New Zealand authorities treat mass wildlife deaths seriously because they can sometimes signal disease, pollution or contamination. The Department of Conservation advises that when three or more animals are found sick or dead together, people should contact the Ministry for Primary Industries rather than handling the animals themselves. More guidance is available through the Department of Conservation’s official advice on sick, injured or dead wildlife.

The SPCA has also responded to the case after receiving a call about sick birds at the location. The organisation said it was making enquiries and arranging post-mortem checks on some of the birds. The incident has also been reported to MPI.

Police said there were no active lines of inquiry at this stage, but anyone with information has been asked to contact police through the 105 service and quote file number 260518/5029.

While the investigation continues, the emotional impact on volunteers is already clear. Waimarama Community Organic Gardens is meant to be a place for food growing, composting, education and local connection. Instead, volunteers were left dealing with dead and dying birds across a space built around care for the environment.

The case also comes amid growing public focus on bird protection in New Zealand. Conservation stories have recently highlighted both the fragility and resilience of native bird populations, including Swikblog’s coverage of New Zealand’s rarest bird population showing signs of recovery.

For now, the main questions remain unanswered: what substance caused the deaths, how it reached the birds, and whether the poison was placed deliberately or carelessly. Laboratory results and post-mortem findings are expected to provide a clearer picture.

Until then, authorities and volunteers are urging caution around the gardens. The deaths of nearly 100 birds have turned a local community space into a reminder that pest control, when mishandled, can carry serious consequences for wildlife and the wider environment.