Kiwi release this Saturday
Things are coming together well for the kiwi release on Saturday 14th Feb –  3 kiwi transmitted on Limestone are ready to come off Saturday morning and the weather is looking good at this stage.
Release at the Dudins’ property McLeod Bay at 4.30pm.

Kiwi Predator Control Programme:
Catches for January:  Stoats 1, Weasels 1, Cats 2, Rats 68, Hedgehogs 12 and 11 possums.

Only once before have I only caught 1 stoat in January (the average catch for January over the past 10 years is 5.2 stoats!).  As I said last month hopefully this is an indication of how effective the controlled pulse of 1080 at Manaia has been.

 

Radio Tracked Kiwi at Whangarei Heads
What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:

Darwin – Nesting in the pampas at Lamb Road quarry.  Hatch is due late February.

JR – South Taurikura Ridge- Unfortunately I haven’t had a signal from JR’s transmitter in over a month, even after a good search so he is either hiding somewhere or his transmitter has failed.

Lambert – Taurikura Ridge. His activity has dropped to 6 hours so he may be starting to nest again.

Whitu – Has moved over the ridge from his usual territory. He is now on the slope above the freezing works at Reotahi.  Adam (from BHCT) and I caught up with Whitu and changed his transmitter – he was in very good condition and weighed 2500g, this is because he has had a relaxed summer not nesting! We found Whitu with a new wild adult female – this is probably the reason that he has moved over the ridge! She weighed 2400g, had a bill of 144.3mm and now has a transponder (ID chip) under her skin.  She has been named Marama by Clarie and Graham of Reotahi.

Charlie – Craig Road at McNamaras’. Still on his nest.  Hatch due in March.

Waka – Mckenzie Bay – no sign of nesting.

Lucky – Like JR I haven’t had a signal from this guy for a while so his transmitter may not be working.

Breck – Keeping busy at Kerr road – nightly activity of up to 10 hours.

Dallas- As reported last month Dallas successfully hatched a chick in a pampas bush next to the main road. Heather put the story of Dallas and his chick “Aroha” on facebook and it got picked up by the Leader newspaper.

 

Adam Willetts (Ranger for the Bream Head Conservation Trust) is keeping us updated on the kiwi monitored in Bream Head:

Jules – In thick pampas on the slip on the North face west of the Peach Cove Track. His transmitter shows non-nesting for 35 days. He is proving hard to catch for his annual transmitter change.

Freda – At Busby Head.  A low transmitter battery gave a mortality signal, then no signal, then normal signal and he was found alive but couldn’t be caught. Rolf and Adam plan to change his transmitter as soon as they can.

Kelly Slater – Above Home Bay – not nesting.

Cheers

Todd Hamilton
Backyard Kiwi Project Manager
Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum
ph 021 1145 385