Hope that Xmas went well.  The rain just before Xmas was great for the kiwi and most visitors with dogs seem to behaving this year – so we have got off to a good start.

The “Take the Lead” video and signs are certainly helping increase the awareness about the need for good dog control.

Upcoming Kiwi Release:

We are planning a kiwi release at the Parua Bay Community Centre

Sunday February 17 at 5.30pm.  Please let your friends and family know about this opportunity to get up close to kiwi in their backyard.

Kiwi Bank New Zealander of the year award nomination

BYK was anonymously nominated for the Mitre 10 NZ community of the year awards for the community driven work that we do – thank you!  We weren’t selected for the 10 national finalists but it was great to be nominated.  The wider community driven kiwi recovery work of many Northland groups working together with the support of the  “Kiwi Coast” has been recognized with the Kiwi Coast also being nominated and making the 10 finalists – this is great recognition of the work that is being done in Northland.

Backyard Kiwi Predator Control Programme :

Catches in the predator traps have spiked for stoats. This is the peak time for stoat dispersal so the juveniles are on the move and a spike in catches is expected. All 5 stoats were caught at the northern end of our trapped area :

October: Stoats 5, Weasels 4, Cats 2, Rats 62, Hedgehogs 14 and 19 possums.

Kiwi nest gets mowed – a happy outcome!

The kiwi nest in the bank that Jim and Yvonne Morgan found back in November after it had been mowed by the roadside mower has been successful. I had been keeping a discreet eye on it and some egg shell at the entrance showed that the surviving egg had hatched.  The dad turned out to be an unknown wild dad – now named “Moa”. The chick was ID chipped etc and named “Kapea” by Jim and Yvonne.  Due to the risk of Kapea falling onto the road I moved him a short distance away into the pampas.  Dad has remained near the roadside and is obviously pretty good at climbing and avoiding traffic. See his full story

What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:

• Darwin – At Lamb road, he has re-nested in the pampas at the quarry – 41 days nesting on 20/12/18 and 1.5 hours nightly activity. Hatch due mid – Jan.
• Lambert – Has re-nested. Up to 82 days now and data stream isn’t showing a hatch (the microprocessor doesn’t always pick up the subtle change in activity). His activity is relatively high at 4.5 hours but fairly steady so he still may trying to get there.
• Whitu – Also re-nested, in pampas at the freezing works. Up to 94 days now and the data stream showed that his first egg hatched 20 days ago but his activity is still very low, so I’m still waiting for the second egg to hatch before I handle him.
• EB – On 12/12/18 some Kerr road locals found him on their lawn at 5.30am looking for somewhere to hole up for the day. They carefully but him in a box and gave me a call. He had a bald butt from a recent injury that had healed and the feathers were regrowing (see pic), he was ok otherwise so I put him  back in his usual pampas spot and monitored his activity for the next few weeks. After the odd quiet night he is back up to 9 hours nightly activity. The injury would explain why he hasn’t been nesting.   Hard to tell what the injury was – possibly a dog bite? – If so it was a lucky escape for EB.
• Pakipaki – Back to the usual area of either the pampas at the Manaia club or across the paddock and down in the “Horse Paddock” opposite the fire station.
• Ross  – Inland from Solomon’s point, but now at the top end of Pepi road. Locals at Pepi road and Te Rongo Road are hearing him or another male kiwi call – still no female yet.  A pair of kiwi are regularly heard slightly further north at Franklin Road so all the hard work of the Kiwi Link groups just north of us is paying off.
• Mokopuna  and Wally –  This new couple had a good shot at their first nest but after 84 days Wally gave up and I found a rotten egg buried in the pampas nest. Moko was still nearby. It is not unusual for new breeders to take a nest or two to be successful so there is still a good chance of the kiwi population at the end of Campbell road increasing after years kiwi being absent from there.
• Harikoa – Has crossed back over the creek between Lamb road and Taraunui road again and is back in the Ross’s pines.

 

ONE program (funded by Kiwis for Kiwi):

Rewarewa

14 chicks have successfully been transfer to Limestone from the first round of nesting and the second round is underway.

• Waimarie – No signal for the past two months- hope that his transmitter hasn’t failed!.
• Ngutu Roa – West end of reserve, 9 hours activity.
• Sancho – Still hasn’t re-nested – but down to 7 hours so he may be starting.
• CFU – 8.5 hours activity- usual area in paddock S of reserve
• Nick – Has renested  in Lovell’s bush -42 days on 11/12/18 – hatch due soon.
• Matarakau – dropped his transmitter on face south of airstrip.
• Ngaro – above the airstrip, nesting 37 days 11/12/18, 4 hours activity.
• Kimposter – high up in reserve. Activity down slightly so may be re-nesting.

 

Cheers

Todd Hamilton

Backyard Kiwi Project Manager

Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum

M 021 1145 385

E   hamiltont@maxnet.co.nz