Hi all.

Release on Sunday Feb 12 at 4.30pm

 

Things are going well for the upcoming release – 3 kiwi caught and transmitter’s on Limestone Island ready to come (we actually caught 5 so the other 2 will be going elsewhere). See attached invite – please let others know about it.  The Backyard Kiwi committee will be working hard on the day so if anyone else can help out please let me know.

Backyard Kiwi Predator Control Programme

After the spike of stoats last month things have quietened down a bit.

Catches for month in the predator traps:

Stoats 1, Weasels 2, Cats 3, Rats 37, Hedgehogs 11 and 4 possums.

Hot and Dry

You all know that it is hot and dry at the moment. This weather can be a problem for kiwi, they get most of their moisture from their food so are having to forage for longer and travel further than usual. This means that they are more likely to run into dogs so dog control is extra important at the moment.  The young chicks in particular are struggling. Terry Gill found a dehydrated chick at his place at McKenzie Bay last week so I took it to Robert Webb at the WNBRC. The chick (named TJ) was only 219g in weight but is now putting weight on and will be brought back once we get some decent rain. If you see a kiwi during the day time – please let me know. Also please watch out for troughs, pools and ponds that kiwi can get into but may not be able to get out of. Put some rocks in your stock troughs so the kiwi can climb out.

Road Kill

With the high kiwi activity and extra holiday traffic the risk of the two meeting is higher than usual.  Unfortunately a female kiwi was killed by a car this week – if this happens please let us know so we can check the kiwi out. This girl was well and truly smashed but we can work out the sex from the bill size- the girls are much bigger. I also check for an ID chip – all released kiwi have them and many of the chicks from the monitored kiwi are chipped too. This female didn’t have an ID chip so she had successful grown to adulthood thanks to our predator trapping network, without the traps most kiwi chicks are killed by stoats.

What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:

The males have settled into their second round of nesting for the season.

Darwin – Usual area Lamb road quarry. Renested in pampas bush 5m from Manaia Excavators truck yard. His transmitter data stream shows that he has hatched his first chick and I’m waiting to see if there is a second before going into the nest.

Lambert – Usual area at Taurikura Ridge. He has also hatched his first chick from his second nest of the season and I am watching his activity for a change.

Whitu – Above the freezing works at Reotahi. He was nesting in a long hollow puriri that I couldn’t see in. A trail camera showed him coming and going but no sign of any chicks. After 73 days he stopped nesting and a bad smell indicated a dead chick or eggs.

Dallas – No more shots of Dallas from the Hill’s “bucket cam” but I keep checking.

EB – In the scrub at Kerr road. He is nesting in the pampas near to the road there. Hatch due soon but is activity is looking a bit high and he may not go the full distance.

Tindall – Still on NE Manaia with high activity.

Ziggy – This young male was released last February and then his transmitter failed in April. Landowner on the Kauri Mt coast, John Fulton, spotted a kiwi with a blue transmitter on its leg there recently – it has to be Ziggy so he is still alive and well.

 

ONE program (funded by Kiwis for Kiwi):

The ONE dads at Rarewarewa are winding up their second round of nesting:.

The Acrobat –Usual area. Lovell’s’ bush – Hatched 1 chick LC1609, transferred to Limestone 30/12/16

Waimarie – Nest by Lovells’ quarry failed but it looks like this keen dad had renested again- his 4th attempt this season.

Ngutu Roa- Nesting western end of reserve – hatch due next week.

Sancho- Nesting in deep burrow in usual area. Hatch due soon.

CFU – Nesting paddock south of reserve, has hatched first chick (LC1613 transferred 31/1/17) and on second egg.

Ray- Hatched two chicks, LC 1610 was transferred but LC1611 was too young for transfer so was transmittered and left for 10 days – unfortunately he got stated-see pic.

The Boxer- Hatched one chick – LC 1612 transferred 21/1/16 but second chick died close to hatching..

 

Cheers

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385E     hamiltont@maxnet.co.nz