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.”

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 ).

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 ”.