Upcoming Kiwi Release

  Tuesday November 22 at Parua Bay Community Centre – 6.00pm 

Please let your friends, family and neighbours know that our annual kiwi release is back!. It is a fantastic chance for folks to see 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.

Parua Bay School 150th Gala

We will be taking part in the Gala on Saturday November 12th with a small stall. Set up is 6-8am, Gala 11am-3pm and pack up after that. If you have time to give us a hand anytime that day it would be appreciated.

Whangārei Heads combined Conservation Christmas do

Friday the 2nd of December from 5pm at McLeods Bay Hall for our annual get together to celebrate all the great community work going on in the Whangarei Heads and wider area. It is always a great occasion. The invite is attached – please rsvp to this year’s hosts Bream Head.

Kiwi Deaths

A long dead and very decomposed kiwi body was found by a bach owner in their garden at Urquarts Bay. It was missing its head and neck so it had potentially been scavenged by something after dying/being killed.  It was too decomposed to identify the cause of death but the large feet indicated that she was an adult female. There was no ID chip.

Road kill – at the usual spot between the Nook and McLeods during the busy Labour weekend traffic.  95.3mm bill and 1350g weight so probably a young female that had survived to stoat proof size thanks to the local stoat control. No ID chip either.

 

 What your monitored kiwi are up to: 

 Whangarei Heads Radio monitored kiwi:

• Chookie –Has re-nested after a break of only a week or so. He is in a similar area to his last nest at Owhiwa road. 28 days nesting on 26/10/22, 3 hours nightly activity, which is good low activity with Chookie incubating hard out. Such rapid re-nesting is due to the moist ground conditions meaning plenty of kiwi tucker (and Chookie’s healthy sex drive!)
• Malaika – Has moved to over 500m north of her usual area near Chookie. Her activity is 8 hours nightly.
• Valentine – She is still settled for the moment, back in the area of pampas and young pines at Owhiwa Road that she was in before going walk about.
• Teina – He is in the young pines at the north end of Martins’ block. Still no sign of nesting; 9 hours nightly average. Beach Girl is roughly 500m away.
• Beach Girl – She still reasonably close to Teina in the young pines and pampas. 10 hours average activity.
• Pepi – Has stayed back up at the top end of Pepi Road, 11.5 hours nightly activity.
• Wally – After finishing his successful nest last month he has also rapidly re- nested (which is becoming a habit for him), 19 days in on  20/10/22 and a good low 3 hours nightly activity.
• Pakipaki – In Johnstone’s paddock below the Manaia Club at McLeod Bay. 9.5 hours activity.

 

Rarewarewa/Purua ONE dads. 6 more chicks transferred to Matakohe/Limestone this month making 9 for the first round of nesting. This is much better than the past couple of years:

• Nick – Nested in the Lovells’ Bush, hatched his second chick (LC2204 transferred to Limestone 7/10/22) Still on the nest after 108 days but he had  increasing activity so I checked him.  He was still 2200g in weight and in Moderate condition after that long stint.
• Sancho – Nested on the slope north of Lovells’ quarry.  Activity up after 86 days. He successfully hatched 2 chicks (LC2206 & LC2207), transferred to Limestone on 21/10/22. Dad 1900g and PM (poor-moderate) condition rating.
• Ngutu Roa – Usual area SW reserve, 9.5 hours activity.
• Nanakia – Nested in Lovell’s Fenced Bush.  2nd chick LC2205 transferred on 7/10/22 after 90 days nesting. Dad 1900g and PM condition.
• Moondust  – In the reserve behind the Irvine Road woolshed. Still not nesting with 10.5 hours activity.
• Gorgeous- Usual area on south side of Hawkins’ Hill. Has re-nested as suspected, 7 days in on 27/10/22, 4.5 hours activity. Hope that it is a drier spot this time.
• Buddha – His nest failed after only 25 days – 1 dud egg.  He has moved up the paddock towards the Purua reserve, 6.5 hours activity.
• Macio  – nested on Kauri Tree ridge, south side of Purua reserve.  His activity had risen to 6 hrs after 87 days showing he had finished nesting. Hatched 2 chicks (LC 2208 and LC 2209) transferred to Limestone 27/10/22. Dad 2000g, PM. Great to have these new genes from this new kiwi pair.
• Mitch-  South side of Purua reserve, 12 hours activity. Found him with an adult female in a fallen epiphyte but no sign of nesting.
• Otiria – South side of Purua reserve, Nightly activity of 10.5 hours.
• Kopaki – South side of Purua. Activity of 12 hours.

Trapping/ toxin pulses

October catches: Stoats 3, Weasels 4, Cats 2, Rats 75, Hedgehogs 8, Possums 2.

The young stoats have started turning up. The next two months are usually high stoat catch tally months as they disperse. This always looks good on trap catch numbers but they are the young dumb ones of which 80% would die anyway so nowhere near as important as the older stoats. Even so for us trappers they always make life more interesting!

 

Cheers Todd

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385

E  todd.hamilton64@gmail.com