It's the great kererū hunt - have you seen them in your neighbourhood?

Reporter The Hastings Mail

Hawke's Bay residents are being asked to keep an eye out for any kererū swooping across their backyards as the Great Kererū Count takes flight across the country.

This year the count will run from September 22 to October 1. A partnership between WWF-New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington City Council, and NatureWatch NZ, the project helps build up where the native pigeon can, and can't, be found.

In the 2014-16 Great Kererū Count there were 857 kererū counted in Hawke's Bay.

WWF-New Zealand's chief executive Livia Esterhazy said the count was vital not just for protecting the kererū, but for ensuring the health of forest ecosystems into the future.

"Large flocks of more than 100 kererū were once a common sight in skies over New Zealand – our ambition is to see them prolific again," she said.

Kererū were known as "gardeners of the skies", because they played a crucial role in dispersing seeds of native canopy trees such as tawa, taraire, and matai.

They were the only birds who did so, making them an essential part of forest regeneration.

Senior lecturer in ecology at Victoria University, Dr Stephen Hartley, said the project helped build up a detailed picture of where kererū were distributed across the country, what they were feeding on and where they were found in towns and cities.

"Over time, we hope to discover whether numbers are increasing or decreasing and whether populations are faring better or worse in some parts of the country compared to others.

"This year we are especially keen for people to seek out new locations, as well as returning to old haunts to make timed observations of between five and 30 minutes. Even if you don't see a kererū in this time – that's still useful information and important to submit."

This year, there are three options to make kererū observations – via www.greatkererucount.nz... www.naturewatch.org.nz... or with the iNaturalist App available on iTunes and Google Play.