Kiwi Release this Sunday

Please let your friends, family and neighbours know that our annual kiwi release is on Sunday. . It is a fantastic chance for folks to see their wild kiwi up close and personal, find out about what is happening locally and what they can do to help their kiwi. It is a huge team effort so thanks to all those working hard to make it happen.

FOMLI will also be having a Whakawatea at 11.30am on the Onerahi foreshore by the yacht club with a kiwi talk and chance to see the kiwi there too

Super busy February

It was a super busy February for kiwi and a cyclone thrown in too.

All the monitored kiwi are ok after the cyclone – some had lower than usual activity, some much higher – presumably depending on how wet or exposed they were. Some obviously just tucked up in their pampas bushes and rode it out. Of more concern was last Friday’s flash flooding at the Heads, particularly at Kauri Mt – the water came up fast during the day and may have caught some kiwi out.

It was great to be part of the FOMLI celebrations of 200 kiwi graduating the crèche – a fantastic team effort that we can all be very proud of. On Feb 19 we moved 5 healthy kiwi to the Tutukaka Landcare managed Matapouri area via the FOMLI celebration and Te Whanau a Rangiwhakaahu Marae. The kiwi coped well and there were plenty of locals engaged with their kiwi. As usual they got the important messages that to have kiwi they need good dog control (ie a lead!) and to support Kiwi saver/1080 controlled pulses to control stoats.

Kiwi Chick video

We moved 3 more chicks from Lovells’ at Purua to Limestone, making 14 for the season.  These kiwi are a precious gift from Ngati Hine without which there would be no kiwi releases. I took some video of LC2212 checking out my hat and boots that got good coverage in the media – including the Hearld and Advocate – people love a cutie.

Kiwi Trapped
On a sadder note a local found a dead kiwi trapped in his concrete based compost bin. She was a very old adult female that had got into the bin from the slope above but couldn’t get out.  Please check your place for any potential kiwi traps like this – including water troughs (fill or empty), ponds, old postholes etc. The kiwi had no ID chip so must have been one of the few adult kiwi left in the area before we started recovery work.

What your monitored kiwi have been up to:

Whangarei Heads/Parua Bay Radio monitored kiwi:

• Hope – This the kiwi released back in November after visiting Parua Bay School. She obviously enjoys the pampas and pines of the Martins’ Owhiwa Road pine block as she has moved less than 1 km from her release spot and has settled for the moment. We caught up with her in a patch of pampas last week for her 3 monthly check. She is doing well and has put on close to 300g in weight and is now 2150g, her bill has grown from 118mm to 125mm in length. She is 2 and half years old now and still has at least 2 more years of growing to do but is well on the way to being a big healthy adult kiwi.  11 hrs average nightly activity.(see pic)
• Fish – has remained in the native bush on Martins’ boundary, Owhiwa Road. 10.5 hours nightly activity.
• Chookie– We caught him in pampas on the edge of his native bush patch for his annual transmitter change. 2100g and in Mod-Good condition which is good going after  2 successful nests. 11 hours activity.(see pic)
• Malaika– Has remained over 500m north of her usual area near Chookie. Her activity is still a low-ish 8 hours nightly. She has been heard calling north of Martins’ hut.
• Valentine – This girl has proved difficult to catch up with in the pampas. After several attempts Rolf helped me catch her in a deep gut of pampas. She was 2600g and in Good condition, her bill has stopped growing at 136.4mm showing that she is now fully grown. She is well settled so we removed her transmitter. She should now have a good 50 years adding to the kiwi population at Owhiwa Road.
• Teina– He is in the pampas and young pines at the north end of Martins’ block. Kerry and I finally caught up with this guy and found that he is super fat – 3550g !! (see pic) The heaviest male that I have ever handled. He has a lazy 7 hours nightly activity. All that food and no breeding is not doing him well. Hopefully he can find a girl to slim him down the way Wally has – Wally previously held the record at 3350g before he found a mate and is now down to around 1600g!
• Beach Girl – She has moved between the pines by Teina and the native bush of Halses’ place at the end of Ross Road. 10 hours average activity.
• Pepi– After much searching found this guy back up at the top of Pepi Road and he has since wandered back down to the valley inland from the Parua Bay boat ramp. 8.5 hours activity.
• Wally– After a bit of a blip during the cyclone he has continued with his 3rd nest; 47 days in on 15/2/23 5 hours average activity (got up to 9 hrs one night of the cyclone).
• Pakipaki – In Johnstone’s paddock McLeod Bay. 9 hours of activity.

 

Rarewarewa/Purua ONE dads:
3 chicks transferred to Limestone this month.

• Nick – Nesting in Lovells’ Bush.  Hatched first chick after 75 days LC2212- transferred with Tamra on 7/2/23. The video of this guy checking out my hat and gumboots got good coverage. Transferred 2nd chick LC2213 on 16/2/23 after the cyclone (see pic). Dad is now back to high activity of 10 hours as he feeds up again.
• Sancho– In the paddock north of Lovells’ quarry. 10 hours of activity.
• Ngutu Roa – Usual area SW reserve, located nest with Tamra 7/2/23 and transferred 1st chick LC2214 on 16/2/23 after 82 days nesting, at 93 days yesterday he was still on his 2nd egg.
• Moondust – Behind Lovells’ Irvine Road woolshed, 10.5 hours activity.
• Buddha – In the paddock between McGraths’ quarry and reserve. 10.5 hours activity.
• Macio– On Kauri Tree ridge, southern Purua reserve. 10.5 hours activity.
• Mitch –  South side of Purua reserve, 11 hours activity.
• Otiria – South side of Purua reserve, Nightly activity of 10.5 hours.
• Kopaki – South side of Purua reserve, Nightly activity of 10.5 hours.
• New male – South side of Purua reserve, Nightly activity of 10.5 hours.

Trapping/ toxin pulses

February catches: Stoats 4, Weasels 0, Cats 5, Rats 92, Hedgehogs 6, Possums 7.

The cyclone actually blew some of my ridge traps away, plenty got flooded but the flash flooding the week before and week after actually got more traps.  With the wet conditions I have resorted to chook eggs as lure much earlier in the season than I would usually. Hope to get back to salted rabbit lure before too long.

See you Sunday

 

Cheers Todd

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385

E  todd.hamilton64@gmail.com