Kiwi Chicks Hatching

Monitored Kiwi dads Wally (at Campbell Road) and Chookie (at Owhiwa Road) have successfully hatched chicks and have now finished their first nests for the season. Wally’s chick has been named “Lumi” by BYK Proud Supporters local company Integrated Electrical & Solar who ran a community facebook vote for suggested names. Thank you for the ongoing support of Backyard Kiwi.  This chick is getting extra protection from stoats thanks to Campbell Road Landcare who are co-ordinating a controlled brodifacoum toxin pulse this spring.

Chookie’s chick has been named “Kiki”- meaning double happiness in French- by BYK Proud Supporter Fay Evans, who also does the huge job of kiwi count data entry on top of financial support of BYK. Kiki is also getting extra protection from stoats on top of the trapping with a 200 ha Kiwi Saver (1080) pulse in bait stations on the Martins’ pine block that Wally lives on.

There will be hundreds of other untransmitted kiwi dads who have hatched or are hatching kiwi chicks at the moment too. So good stoat control through quality trapping and more importantly for trap shy stoats through controlled pulses of secondary poisoning is crucial- along with the additional benefit of giving other bird species extra protection over their nesting time.

Northland Kiwi Hui

Thank you to Ngaire Sullivan and her Kiwi Coast team for a superbly run Northland Kiwi Hui on Sunday. 120 keen kiwi carers got updates from some local projects, the wider Kiwi Coast happenings, heard the science of the  importance of dog and ferret control,  the history of kiwi call counting, the ongoing work on Northland kiwi genetics. Also importantly folks workshopped what is needed for the next 10 years for continued kiwi recovery in Northland with crucial input into the Northland Taxon Plan revision.  Kiwi Coast recorded the presentations and plan to put them up on the KC website for those who couldn’t make it.

 

 What your monitored kiwi are up to?

  Whangarei Heads Radio monitored kiwi:   

• Chookie –Nested in an old slip at Martins’ block Owhiwa Road. His activity started increasing after 82 days  so checked the nest.  1 healthy chick who was ID chipped and DNA sampled (feathers), bill 49mm so probably a girl (named “Kiki” by BYK proud supporter Fay Evans ). 2nd egg was infertile – cold, rotten and pushed to the side by dad. Dad was 1900g and in reasonable condition after his nesting stint.
• Malaika– Still hanging a few 100m to the North of Chookie. Her activity is around 9 hours nightly.
• Valentine – She is still settled for the moment, back in the area of pampas and young pines between Ross road and Owhiwa Road that she was in before going walkabout a month or so ago.
• Teina – He has remained in the young pines at the north end of Martins’ block. Still no sign of nesting; 9 hours nightly average. Beach Girl is roughly 300m away.
• Beach Girl – She is getting closer to Teina after moving out of the native bush on Halses’ place  into the young pines and pampas. 11 hours average activity.
• Pepi – He has headed back up to the top end of Pepi Road, 8.5 hours nightly activity.
• Wally–Nested in pampas/gums at the end of Campbell road. Checked after 98 days nesting when his activity data increased. His 1st chick had died part way through the hatch – only a small section of egg broken and a long dead chick inside, see pic. Dad had rolled the rotten egg out of the nest. His 2nd chick was alive and healthy with a bill of 42mm so probably a boy. ID chipped and DNA sampled. BYK proud supporters  Integrated Electrical & Solar named him Lumi. Dad was down to 1850g after nesting (Wally was a fat 3250g back in 2018 before he started breeding with Mokopuna and nesting hard).

  Rotten egg

  Wally’s nest

• Pakipaki – In a shallow burrow in Johnstone’s paddock McLeod Bay. Did her 6 monthly transmitter band change. She is 2500g and in good condition.

With the school holidays there are even more interested visitors than usual when I park up for lunch at the McLeod Bay Takeaways and get Pakipaki’s signal and data stream while I’m waiting for my burger. The locals there seem proud of the visitors’ surprise  at kiwi being so close.

 

Rarewarewa/Purua ONE dads ­– 3 chicks transferred to Matakohe/Limestone for the season so far:

• Nick– Nesting in the Lovells’ Bush, hatched first chick (LC2201 transferred to Limestone 7/9/22), still on his second egg at 99 days nesting on 28/9/22 with 4 hours activity.
• Sancho– Nesting on the slope north of Lovells’ quarry.  63 days in on 28/9/22 with 3 hours activity.
• Ngutu Roa – Nested west of the big slip in the reserve, hatched his first chick (LC2203 transferred to Limestone on 19/9/22). 2nd chick died at or shortly after its hatch after 89 days nesting by dad 28/9/22- chick was relatively fresh with no obvious injuries.
• Nanakia– Nesting in Lovells Bush on the edge of the pine slash area. Hatched his first chick LC 2202 who was transferred to Matakohe/Limestone on 28/9/22. Nanakia had a rising activity (5.5 hours) but is still on the second egg.
• Moondust– In the reserve behind the Irvine Road woolshed. Still not nesting with 10.5 hours activity.
• Gorgeous – Usual area on the south side of Hawkins’ Hill. Activity down a bit at 7 hours- re-nesting hopefully?.
• Buddha – In the paddock between the reserve and McGraths’ quarry, 8 hours activity.
• Macio– Nesting in or near an old log on Kauri Tree ridge, south side of Purua reserve.  58 days in on 28/9/22, 3.5 hours activity.
• Mitch – South side of Purua reserve, 12 hours activity.
• Otiria – South side of Purua reserve, Nightly activity of 11 hours.
• Kopaki – South side of Purua. Activity of 13 hours.

 

Trapping/ toxin pulses

September catches: Stoats 2, Weasels 5, Cats 3, Rats 87, Hedgehogs 5, Possums 8.

As mentioned last month there have been at least 6 areas of secondary poisoning pulses with either kiwi Saver or pest off done by various local groups targeting trapshy stoats.  Despite this the usual spring increase in stoat sightings  by locals has still happened in some parts of the Heads- there are still stoats out there!

 

Cheers Todd

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385

E  todd.hamilton64@gmail.com