Kiwi Nesting

After a good breeding season the adult kiwi dads are hard out nesting at the moment. The females have done a massive job laying the 1, or more usually 2, large eggs and are having a well earned rest while the males incubate the eggs – a 70-100 day stint with only a few short hours off the nest each night.  Pampas bushes are a favourite nesting location but they don’t make good photos so I Here are a couple of shallow nesting burrows photos[

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These aren’t that much more interesting but better than looking at a pampas bush!  First hatches are happening now and it is looking like a good year at this stage.

Stoat Control at the Heads and wider

There is little value in a big crop of chicks hatching without good stoat control to protect them. We work hard to maintain an extensive trapping network to control stoats but the fact is trapping effectiveness for stoats lasts 3 years at best before trap shy stoats start to dominate and do massive damage. A controlled ground bait station pulse of kiwi saver/1080 is the way to clean out these trap shy stoats – the rats eat the kiwi saver and are irresistible to the stoats, who are super susceptible to the toxin and die.

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A massive thanks to the Manaia Landcare team, led by Martin, Shona and Jess, with many other community members who have put days in clearing the bait station lines on Manaia,  reinstating bait stations and pre feeding them to key the rats and possums into them to maximise the effectiveness of  the toxin pulse. Not to mention the required paperwork. Thank you on behalf of all the kiwi chicks – and all the other birds and plants too!  This kiwi saver toxin pulse in conjunction with at least 5 others on private and public land in the district means a good breeding season becomes a boomer and the forest continues to recover. Remember 25 years ago when Manaia was looking pretty sad?  The forest recovery has been fantasticManaia Landcare/Backyard Kiwi team at Sunday’s briefing by Martin before putting kiwi saver in Manaia.

Two kiwi deaths

Unfortunately it is not all good news for your kiwi.  We had two reported deaths:

• Road Kill – 10/8/24  at the usual spot between Nook Road and McLeods Bay. This was the same weekend that some clown stole our “kiwi crossing” sign there!  She was an adult female – 120mmish (smashed bill) and 2650g in weight. No ID chip – so wild hatched and grown thanks to our good stoat and dog control. Hopefully she had laid this season’s eggs already.
• Long Dead-  Found in a Reotahi backyard 12/8/24 but had been dead for many weeks. He was at the back part of the property that is not visited often.  The bill length was 102mm – so an adult male, once again no ID chip. Very decomposed (see pic) so hard to confirm but it looks like a dog kill. The property owner doesn’t have a dog and her neighbours keep theirs under control.  A wandering dog could access the spot either up the adjacent creek or via the vacant lot next door. The only wandering dogs reported there in the past few months have been visiting tradies’ dogs.

Please if you have a tradie working at your place please get them to leave their dog tied up at home!

A couple of upcoming dates:

Whangārei Heads Combined Conservation Christmas Do

If you haven’t already put Friday November 29 in your calendar for the Annual Xmas Do.  5pm McLeod Bay Hall

Northland Kiwi Hui

The Northland Kiwi Hui is coming up on Saturday 21st September, in Kaikohe. To register for catering purposes, Go to Northland Kiwi Hui 2024

For more information, please email northland@savethekiwi.nz.

If folks are interested we can organise carpooling- let me know please.

What your monitored kiwi have been up to:

Backyard Kiwi monitored kiwi update for August 2024

The usual dads plus Humphries are nesting now. First hatches due soon.

 Whangarei Heads/Parua Bay  Radio monitored kiwi:  

• Chookie– Nesting 70 days on 30/8/24 in a patch of native below Owhiwa Road on the Matins’ block.   A good low 2.5 hours nightly activity for this reliable nester. Hatch due any day now.
• Teina– In his usual valley of pampas and pines at the north end of Martins’ pine block. 9.5 hours activity- no sign of nesting.
• Beach Girl – She is still cruising the pampas at the top end of Teina’s valley on the Martins’ and Halses’ blocks boundary between Owhiwa and Ross Roads.  Her nightly activity is 11.5 hours.
• Murdoch – On Debbie’s block between Ross Road and the end of Owhiwa Road. Nesting 34 days on 26/8/24. A good low 2 hours of activity. His nest burrow is close to the spot that we removed Om’s transmitter so they seem to have stuck together.
• Humphries–  Has started his first nest, he is 3 years old now so just a learner.  NE side of the Martins’ block nearer Tauranui Road, 5 days in on 28/8/24, 4.5 hours of nightly activity.
• Tanker– Still in the pampas up towards the road on Martins’ Owhiwa block.   11.5 hours activity.
• Wally– Nesting. 38 days in on 27/8/24. 3 hours of nightly activity. Usual nesting area – Pine block at end of Campbell Road. In an old dead pampas bush.
• Manaaki–  Has dropped off the radar. Last signal 27/6/24 in pines at Martins’ Owhiwa Road block.  Big searches for no signal- still looking.

Kiwi that have walked to the Whareora Landcare area:

• Fetu Mama – She has moved to the southern side of the peak in the Maungatika Reserve on Mt Tiger.  11 hours nightly activity.
• Te Motu Manu Hine –  Still in the NRC pine block between Mt Tiger and the Money Factory.  12.5 hours of nightly activity.

Purua ONE dads

These are the dads that we get the chicks from to grow up on Limestone Island for public releases

5 nests so far – a huge improvement on last season!

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• Rua– Back of Alisons’ farm – nest burrow 5m from the boundary fence with the reserve. Nesting 66 days on 20/8/24.  3.5 hours activity. He had rolled an egg out of his nest and it was 5m below. The dads do this if the egg is dead and cold. It was dead, infertile and going rotten.  Presume that he is on a second egg.
• Moondust– His nest on a slip, in the paddock by the wool shed has collapsed. I dug in as much as I could but no sign of eggs. His data stream showed 19 days since the nest failed.  Moondust has retreated to the bush behind the wool shed and was in a deep burrow there. 11 hours activity.
•  Buddha – Usual area in the paddock north of McGraths’ quarry.  12 hours of activity.
• Macio– On “Kauri Tree Ridge” in south Purua reserve.  Nesting 17 days on 20/8/24, 4 hours activity
• Otiria–  South end of the Purua Reserve. A busy 12.5 hours of nightly activity.
• 64 – SW side of the Purua reserve.  Nesting 17 days on 20/8/24. 4 hours of activity.
• Tahi – South-eastern side of the Purua reserve, behind Alisons’ farm.  Still a busy 12.5 hours of activity.
• Sam – In the paddock on Hawkins’ place SW of the Purua reserve.  Nesting 15 days on 20/8/24. A moderately high 6.5 hours of activity.
• Derek– On the crater side of “Stump” Ridge South-East Purua reserve.  13 hours of activity.
• Fletcher – Found him!  North side of Purua peak. 12.5 hours activity.

Cheers Tod

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385

E  todd.hamilton64@gmail.com