2015 December Update
The Big Dry
Please keep an extra eye out for kiwi in your backyard and on the roads this summer. It has been a very successful breeding season for kiwi with plenty of chicks hatching. Now that conditions are getting drier all the time the kiwi will be out longer and will travel further for food, so they will be spending more time on roadsides and on back lawns – please take extra care with pets as there will be more kiwi spending the day sleeping in the rough patches of grass and weeds on road sides etc.
If we get rain over the holidays take some pleasure that at least the kiwi will be enjoying it!
Kiwi Predator Control Programme (Funded by NRC and Kiwi Coast):
Catches for December: Stoats 1, Weasels 0, Cats 2, Rats 53, Hedgehogs 12 and 11 possums.
From reports from areas inland the stoats are definitely dispersing our way. Our traps are ready for the reinvasion and it is great to have more traps in the Kiwi Coast area nailing them.
Radio Tracked Kiwi at Whangarei Heads (Funded by NRC)
Most of the dads are back on their second nests.
What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:
Darwin – Paura Bay School named his recently hatched chicks “Rocky” and “Rusty”. Darwin is now feeding up in the pampas at Lamb Road quarry recovering from his nest efforts.
Lambert – Usual area at Taurikura Ridge. He has renested and hatch is due late January. His current activity is 4 hours per night.
Charlie – at Craig road, as suspected from his high activity his second nesting attempt failed as quickly as it started but he is a persistent dad and is now onto another nest!
Whitu – At Reotahi above the freezing works. Renesting, with 2 hours nightly activity after 47 days, looking good for mid-January hatch.
Dallas – Has hatched the first chick of his second nest. The nest is in a log near the sewage pumping station by the main road. I will wait to see if his data shows a second hatch but may not be able to get to the chicks to ID chip them because of the log. A trail camera at the nest entrance has given some good close ups of Dallas and the odd visit by his mate Kahurangi but no chicks have ventured out yet.
Waka -The good news is that he as finally nested again (after losing his first mate to drowning in an uncovered water tank almost 2 years ago). I have narrowed down his nest location to the gorse/pampas area just past the last houses at the south end of Taurikura Bay. Unfortunately his activity data shows 6 hours nightly activity at day 56 of nesting – so his nest could be failing.
EB – this the young male released at McLeod Bay back in February. He is just over 3 years old now and has found a mate just north of Kerr road and he has started his first ever nest! Hatch is not due until late Jan or early Feb and is by no means certain as kiwi often struggle to complete their first nesting attempt. He has 50 nesting seasons ahead of him so he is entitled to a bit of practice! .
Tindall – After his release last month he seems to have settled at the Northern End of McLeod Bay – on Manaia above “Our Road”. His activity is a healthy 10 hours per night.
BNZONE program (funded by Kiwis for Kiwi):
Riponui and Rewarewa .
Not visited this month – hoping that the ONE dads inland are following the lead of their coastal cousins and are well into their second round of nesting.
Have a good Xmas and New Year
Cheers
Todd Hamilton
Backyard Kiwi Project Manager
Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum