Hall Rd resident Ross MacFadgen said the Department of Conservation's felling of wilding pines in the Bannockburn Sluicings Historic Reserve was a "crime against ecology".
Mr MacFadgen claims to have seen kakariki at the reserve, where wilding pines and native shrubs have become established over a period of about 70 years.
"There were so few birds in the area when we first came here [about 1972], and now we have waxeyes, silvereyes, bellbirds, tui, kakariki, pigeons, grey warblers and fantails. My feeling is it wouldn't hurt to leave a small area of trees for the birds," Mr MacFadgen said.
Doc Central Otago area manager Mike Tubbs said the department, which manages the 134ha Crown-owned reserve, had been felling pine trees in the reserve boundary for more than 15 years.
Doc staff also sprayed broom and gorse, but they left any native shrubs which had grown in the area, he said.
"Work like this requires constant follow-up to remove larger species and regenerating seedlings. Wilding pines are a threat to the historic heritage the site protects and is managed for. They obscure and displace water races, gold diggings, tailings, and house sites," Mr Tubbs said.
Doc staff had discovered a stone hut on the site, complete with pots and pans.
Mr Tubbs said no-one, other than Mr MacFadgen, had seen or heard of kakariki in the reserve.
"We are not aware of any significant bird values attached to the pine trees. It would be most unusual to find kakariki in Central Otago, as they prefer forests of native podocarp and beech," he said.
Mr Tubbs said the latest felling operation, which began on July 3, would complete the removal of the bulk of wilding pines in the reserve.
Some neighbouring property owners also asked Doc to fell pine trees on their sections, to which the department agreed.
"Without a regular control programme wilding conifers spread rapidly and can quickly take over an area. They are among the most invasive weeds in New Zealand," he said.
Doc permits wood merchants to use fallen trees for fire wood, and all inaccessible trees are left to rot
