January Storm

January Storm

We were lucky at the Heads to miss the worst of January’s storm.  A few kiwi were forced out at daytime by the flooding – as sighted and reported by locals and confirmed by the transmitter data streams of some monitored kiwi.  Other monitored kiwi in high, dry pampas bushes just stayed home out of the wet conditions. A few traps also got washed away but apart from the big slip on the Manaia track we got off lightly.  With the rain and now the boost in insect numbers overall kiwi benefited from the summer moisture.

 

Continued Good dog control by most visitors

As reported last month it was very heartening to see great dog control by the vast majority of visitors over the holidays and this has continued into the new year. Thank you everyone!

Kiwi recovering at Massey

The kiwi that was hit by a car, at the Nook, before xmas is still recovering at Massey University. It is making slow progress.  Hopefully it will recover and return for release.

The pathology report for the skinny, dead kiwi found at Mckenzie Bay back in October also came from Massey – there was no obvious cause of the poor body condition and death.

 

Backyard Kiwi monitored kiwi update for January 2025

Whangarei Heads/Parua Bay  Radio monitored kiwi:–

• Chookie–    His radio transmitter has definitely failed. Kerry’s trail cam had shown him healthy and active with the transmitter still attached but still no radio signal. He should have finished his second nest by now and isn’t showing up on the trail cam in the nesting area anymore. We never located the exact nest site in the area of pampas he was in; we didn’t want to disturb him. So hopefully he has added some more chicks to the population and is feeding up to recover. He is 10 years old now and  has set himself up in a good safe place for another 40 or so years of breeding.
• Teina– In his usual valley of pampas and pines at the northwestern end of Martins’ pine block. Still no sign of nesting. 9 hours of activity.
• Beach Girl – In the pampas at the northwestern end of Martins’ pine block.  Did her transmitter change – 2800g in weight and in good condition (see pic).
• Murdoch  –He finished nesting and moved off after 82 days on 20/1/26. His single chick had died during hatching 4 days previously – the hatch was shown on Murdoch’s datastream.  The egg only had a small hole in it and a very rotten body inside.  I caught up with Murdoch a couple days later for his tx change – he had moved 400m east out of the native into the pampas in the logged area at Halses’. He was 1800g in weight and as to be expected was in poor body condition after his nesting efforts (see pics).
• Humphries –  Nesting – 77 days in on 29/1/26.   He is in the pampas /pines in a valley at the North-eastern end of Martins’ pine block.  2 hours of nightly activity and a couple of low nights so may have hatched.
• Wally –Nesting in pampas just north of the area of gums  at the end of Campbell road.  After 86 days of nesting his activity started rising and with a hatch 26 days previous showing on his data stream I carefully located his nest in thick pampas. His first chick had gone but the second was still with him. She was 310g in weight and  45.5mm bill, stage 3, now ID chipped. Took the opportunity to do dad’s tx change – he was 1900g  and in Poor-Moderate condition (see pics).
• Myra–  Her transmitter band was due for a change  but we had to wait for the January handling season to open and it broke in early January. She was well settled in the middle of Martin’s pine block at the start of Owhiwa Road.  Hopefully she has found a mate there and has 50 years of breeding ahead of her.

 

Kiwi that have walked to other areas:

 

• Whareora Landcare area/NRC pines:  Te Motu Manu Hine–  Joyce from NRC and I did her transmitter band change on 19/1/26. She was 2400g in weight and in good condition. She was still in the NRC pine block behind the Money factory but we found her 200m up the hill from her usual area.  Joyce has led the kiwi saver/1080 pulse there so it was good for her to meet Hine (see pic).
• Tamaterau/Waikaraka: Kim– She has still remained in the valley up the behind  Waikaraka – towards Franklin road, in an area of pampas and scrub. She has been there for over 2 months now. 10 hours of nightly activity.
• Whanui Pine Block:Ping – She is still in the Whanui Pine Block.  Carl from PNLC got a data stream in her usual area.

Purua Operation Nest Chick (ONC) dads

Didn’t visit in January. Rua is due to hatch in the next week or so – will check him and others next week.

 

Matakohe/Limestone

We caught an adult female on Matakohe in preparation for upcoming kiwi releases. She was  126.5mm, 2050g, and in poor condition – her activity has been a fairly steady 9 hours since then – this is way better than the 15-20  hours transmitted kiwi were doing on the island as in last year’s drought.

 

Trapping/ toxin pulses

January catches: Stoats 3 (another 3 juveniles just north of Bream Head), 9 weasels – which is unusually high for this time of year (a total of 35 weasels caught in the last 7 months). The high weasel numbers are hopefully a sign of continued low stoat numbers in the kiwi saver/1080 pulsed areas (stoats prey on weasels).

Cheers Todd

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum