WHLF successfully released two of our Backyard Kiwi as art Prints at special Print Release in November 2010.The evening was well supported by many locals, the mayor, environment organisations and community groups. We were delighted to have Kennedy Warne NZ Geographic as guest speaker.
Read more about the collaboration between WHLF Trapper and Ranger Todd Hamilton and artist and illustrator Heather Hunt…Scene magazine-Dec10

Kicking Kiwi one of the prints released in November 2010

Conservation Week 2010 came to a good conclusion for the kiwi population of Whangarei Heads on Saturday.

50 people met at Ocean Flowers flower farm in Taurikura to wish the latest addition to the kiwi well.

Waka

As Martin Hunt gently pointed the 1300g  kiwi named Waka into his new burrow, Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum project manager Todd Hamilton reminded the enthralled group that Waka would be living and breeding in the area for more than 50 years.

“That’s longer than I’ll be around,” he noted. “Kia kaha, Waka”.

Thanks to WHLF’s Backyard Kiwi project, effective stoat control is letting more chicks survive, and the growing awareness in the community of the importance of good dog control means less adult kiwi are killed.

Consequently the kiwi population at the Heads has grown from an estimate of just 80 in 2001 to over 300 today.

Todd Hamilton with Kiwi Crossing Sign

Waka joins the Backyard Kiwi ‘Dad of the Year’ Lambert on Taurikura Ridge. Both kiwi are fitted with transmitters that send out a unique radio signal.

Thanks to exciting new technology, we can now record daily kiwi behavior – what time they get up, how long they feed for each night, when they start nesting – and, unfortunately, when they die.

Martin Hunt, landowner and convenor of Taurikura Ridge biodiversity project says “This data is a phenomenal resource in progressing the kiwi population at Whangarei Heads. The more we know about our kiwi – the more we can do to look after them.”

The signal record for Saturday shows that Lambert is at it again. After hatching 3 chicks in 2009, he has been sitting on a nest for 63 days. In another 15 days we can expect more chicks to join Waka and Lambert.

New road signs on show in an illustration exhibition

Heather Hunt is exhibiting new Backyard Kiwi road signs in an illustration exhibition which is part of the 2010 National Storylines family day 21st August. Visit the show and enjoy a preview of our latest road signs.
When :21st-27th August,
Where :Old Library Rust Ave, Whangarei

Useful links:

“Illustration and the making” exhibition
“Sketching the Backyard Kiwi” article

Unfortunately, when checking Sprat’s monthly location for July, the signal from his transmitter was a “mortality signal” – meaning either he was dead or he had dropped his transmitter.  When located, all that was left of Sprat was a pile of bones and a few feathers. The bones showed evidence of a dog kill (broken ribs and a puncture wound to the skull). The data from the transmitter gave his date of death as around the 24 June 2010. We have been checking with locals at the Nook for any sightings of uncontrolled dogs around that (or any other) time. Sprat was a wild hatched kiwi who had become “Jackie’s” partner last season and we had put a transmitter on him to monitor nesting (the dad’s sit on the eggs). Unfortunately 50 years of potential breeding by Sprat has been lost.

Have you heard a kiwi?

More than 40 adults and children from the Whangarei Heads and surrounding community gathered on a warm Saturday evening recently, and ventured out to listen to the call of their kiwi as the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum celebrated the launch of Backyard Kiwi.

Some very quiet listeners

Although the driest conditions ever recorded for the area affected the number of kiwi heard, those who attended the community listening evening are still able to proudly show their bumper sticker declaring “I heard a Kiwi at Whangarei Heads”.

It was a warm and still evening, with no moon in the sky – perfect conditions for hearing kiwi – if we weren’t having a drought!  The kiwi are staying in valleys and close to water, where there is more food available, and as a result, they are not calling much.  However, two groups enjoyed themselves as they sat under the stars and were very quiet (even the children were very intent on listening) and both groups were ultimately able to hear a kiwi – including a male, a female, and particularly pleasing was a juvenile kiwi heard by one group – an encouraging sign that pest control is helping kiwi chicks survive to breeding age.

If you missed our listening night – you can wait until next year! Or, you can contact us if you would like to consider becoming a part of our annual kiwi call count.  Just email us at info@backyardkiwi.org.nz