The Wairoa ecological districts reflect the varied landscapes between inland hill country and the coast. Tiniroto is a cool, wet hill district with remnants of podocarp–hardwood and beech forest among farmland, supporting kiwi, blue duck, falcon and weka at their southern North Island limit. Māhia Peninsula, once an island, has a warm coastal climate and retains significant lowland coastal forest rich in tawa, nikau and kohekohe, alongside important seabird colonies on nearby islands. Waihua is drier coastal hill country, once dominated by podocarp–hardwood forests and wetlands, but now mostly farmland with only scattered remnants, still home to fernbird, dabchick and crake in wetland habitats.