After successful kiwi releases in April and June we have released a further two kiwi into the Heads in the past month. Their release was a team effort between the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum, Department of Conservation, Bream Head Conservation Trust and BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust.

The kiwi chicks came from the Department of Conservation 1080 trials in the study block at Rarewarewa (just north of Purua) and had reached the required transfer weight of 1000g. Todd Hamilton (WHLF) and Cathy Mitchell (Doc) caught the young kiwi and on their way to the Heads they paid a visit to a group of 50 or so NRC staff at their offices in town – including Chairman Craig Brown. This visit was as a thank you to the NRC for their support of the WHLF kiwi recovery programme with funding for the next 5 years. The NRC team were thrilled to be part of the kiwi transfer and named one of the kiwi “Tiaki” which means “To care for.”

Can you find the kiwi?

The kiwi were released at the Capeys’ property at Bream Head, they were wished on their way by a group of 50 of so locals. Tiaki was fitted with a radio transmitter and will be monitored by the BHCT and Doc kiwi team there. So far he has settled in well.

The photo shows David Capey wishing Tiaki well shortly after releasing him (if you look carefully you can see Tiaki).

Also in the last month Todd found a new adult female kiwi cuddled up with “Waka” (Waka is a young male we released last year at the Hunts’ property at Robinson Road ).

Charlotte - The Wild Girl

Todd had tracked Waka’s radio transmitter to a pampas bush on the point between Taurikura Bay and McKenzie Bay where he found the two kiwi together. All the kiwi released have an ID chips inserted just beneath the skin before release so they can be identified. Todd scanned this girl but found nothing showing she is a “wild” kiwi that has hatched at the Heads and grown to adulthood here.  Kiwi like this are testimony to the predator trapping that we have carried out over the past 9 years – without trapping 95% of kiwi chicks are killed by stoats. The landowners of the property that this pair of kiwi have made their home have named the female “ Charlotte ”.

We have successfully released two more kiwi into the Heads in the past month.  “Te Rata” was caught on Limestone Island by ranger Ben Barr who heard him calling nearby while he was cooking tea. Ben snuck out and nabbed him. He was released by a good crowd of locals at Zac Smith’s place on the south side of Kauri Mt.  On his way there he paid a visit to the Whangarei Heads School and Parua Bay School to be welcomed to his new home.   Te Rata was one of last season’s chicks and was a healthy 1725g in weight.

One of the kiwi chicks from the Department of Conservation 1080 trials in the study block at Rarewarewa (just north of Purua) reached transfer weight last month so was also ready to come to the Heads. He/She has been named “Robin” by Moria Pagan and Wayne Burchall who are one of WHLF Backyard kiwi’s Foundation sponsors.  Robin visited the Papakarahi Landcare nursery team at the Nook and Parua Bay School before being released at Grant and Raewyn Fabers on the north side of Kauri Mt.

Some very quiet listeners

“I Heard a Kiwi Night”

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum invite you to come along and hear kiwi in your backyard.

When: 9th April, 6.30pm at Ocean Flowers (100 Robinson Rd, Taurikura)

Come prepared for a 15 minute bush walk to the spot where we will listen out for the many kiwi in the area. You will need warm clothes, sturdy footwear and a torch.

There will be an alternative site for those not so good at walking.

For more information, contact Todd on 021 1145 385 or info@backyardkiwi.org.nz

Conservation Week 2010 came to a good conclusion for the kiwi population of Whangarei Heads on Saturday.

50 people met at Ocean Flowers flower farm in Taurikura to wish the latest addition to the kiwi well.

Waka

As Martin Hunt gently pointed the 1300g  kiwi named Waka into his new burrow, Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum project manager Todd Hamilton reminded the enthralled group that Waka would be living and breeding in the area for more than 50 years.

“That’s longer than I’ll be around,” he noted. “Kia kaha, Waka”.

Thanks to WHLF’s Backyard Kiwi project, effective stoat control is letting more chicks survive, and the growing awareness in the community of the importance of good dog control means less adult kiwi are killed.

Consequently the kiwi population at the Heads has grown from an estimate of just 80 in 2001 to over 300 today.

Todd Hamilton with Kiwi Crossing Sign

Waka joins the Backyard Kiwi ‘Dad of the Year’ Lambert on Taurikura Ridge. Both kiwi are fitted with transmitters that send out a unique radio signal.

Thanks to exciting new technology, we can now record daily kiwi behavior – what time they get up, how long they feed for each night, when they start nesting – and, unfortunately, when they die.

Martin Hunt, landowner and convenor of Taurikura Ridge biodiversity project says “This data is a phenomenal resource in progressing the kiwi population at Whangarei Heads. The more we know about our kiwi – the more we can do to look after them.”

The signal record for Saturday shows that Lambert is at it again. After hatching 3 chicks in 2009, he has been sitting on a nest for 63 days. In another 15 days we can expect more chicks to join Waka and Lambert.

Unfortunately, when checking Sprat’s monthly location for July, the signal from his transmitter was a “mortality signal” – meaning either he was dead or he had dropped his transmitter.  When located, all that was left of Sprat was a pile of bones and a few feathers. The bones showed evidence of a dog kill (broken ribs and a puncture wound to the skull). The data from the transmitter gave his date of death as around the 24 June 2010. We have been checking with locals at the Nook for any sightings of uncontrolled dogs around that (or any other) time. Sprat was a wild hatched kiwi who had become “Jackie’s” partner last season and we had put a transmitter on him to monitor nesting (the dad’s sit on the eggs). Unfortunately 50 years of potential breeding by Sprat has been lost.

Have you heard a kiwi?

More than 40 adults and children from the Whangarei Heads and surrounding community gathered on a warm Saturday evening recently, and ventured out to listen to the call of their kiwi as the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum celebrated the launch of Backyard Kiwi.

Some very quiet listeners

Although the driest conditions ever recorded for the area affected the number of kiwi heard, those who attended the community listening evening are still able to proudly show their bumper sticker declaring “I heard a Kiwi at Whangarei Heads”.

It was a warm and still evening, with no moon in the sky – perfect conditions for hearing kiwi – if we weren’t having a drought!  The kiwi are staying in valleys and close to water, where there is more food available, and as a result, they are not calling much.  However, two groups enjoyed themselves as they sat under the stars and were very quiet (even the children were very intent on listening) and both groups were ultimately able to hear a kiwi – including a male, a female, and particularly pleasing was a juvenile kiwi heard by one group – an encouraging sign that pest control is helping kiwi chicks survive to breeding age.

If you missed our listening night – you can wait until next year! Or, you can contact us if you would like to consider becoming a part of our annual kiwi call count.  Just email us at info@backyardkiwi.org.nz