Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum – Backyard Kiwi – Feburary Report 2014

Thanks to all those dog owners who have shown responsible dog control over the summer. Apart from a few visitors taking dogs on tracks dog control has been great at the Heads. Our local kiwi certainly appreciate it!

What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:

Darwin – Was nesting at Lamb road quarry but the nest failed and his activity has increased again.
Whitu – He has re-nested in usual area at Reotahi. Hatch is due early April.
Dallas –  At Hills’ by the Whangarei Heads School. His activity is high as he feeds hard after nesting.
Lambert – Usual area Taurikura Ridge – he is still proving very hard to locate in the dense pampas there.
Waka – Caught up with him at McKenzie Bay for his annual transmitter change. He is in good condition even after nesting twice in a dry summer and was 2110g in weight.  Locals have heard a new female near by – so hopefully he has found a new mate after losing Charlotte.
Lucky –Has moved higher up the ridge behind McKenzie Bay.
JR- South Taurikura Ridge on the slip above Urquarts Bay – This guy has already had two successful nests this season and is now onto his third!
Charlie – At McNamnara’s at Craig Road – high activity after summer nesting.
Kiwiana – You may have seen the story “7 sharp” did on TV about his return from Massey University after treatment for a broken leg. He has stayed in his usual territory since re-release at the Blicks’ and is showing normal activity.  Hopefully this means that he has fully recovered from his injured leg.
Webb – Still on the Kauri Mt coast at this stage.
Bill – Usual area on Kauri Mt coast.

Kiwi Owhiwa road
With the success of kiwi recovery in the Whangarei Heads area kiwi are dispersing northwards. One of Darwin’s chicks that hatched last year at Lamb Road, Paura Bay, was found drowned in a cattle trough at Owhiwa Road.  “James” had reached 1625g in weight showing that the trapping by the Lamb Road Landcare group (and others) had protected him from stoats. James didn’t have a transmitter but we could identify him by his ID chip that he got on hatching because we had been monitoring his dad’s nesting.

The “Kiwi Coast” project has been doing great work helping to increase the predator trapping by Landcare groups in the area between the Heads and Tutukaka so these kiwi are getting better protection all the time.

Check out footage of the Days of their Lives!
HYPERLINK “http://www.backyardkiwi.org.nz/our-1st-film-star” http://www.backyardkiwi.org.nz/our-1st-film-star
JR is a male kiwi who was released at the Whangarei Heads back in 2006. We have kept tabs on him since then by the radio transmitter he wears on his leg. He has grown from 1290g when he was released to around 2000g now and settled into an area at the southern end of Taurikura ridge overlooking Urquharts Bay.

He found a mate and they started breeding in 2011. He has had a successful nest each year since then – it is the kiwi dads that sit on the nest after mum’s big effort laying two large eggs.

This year he nested in a burrow in a small bank that we could easily see. After 80 days of nesting his transmitter data showed that he had hatched his first egg so Kane McElrea of the NRC set up a motion sensitive trial camera near the nest (thanks NRC!).

We got some great shots of his two chicks taking their first steps in the outside world. Check out the footage, see the chicks get their first meal of grubs from the ground – and don’t miss the ear scratch!

The other interesting thing the footage shows is the amount of time that the chicks’ mum spends checking the nest out without ever entering it – previously we thought the mums just left things to the dad.

BYK caps now for sale
Get your own Backyard Kiwi Cap, and support the BYK project … available now for $25 from the Parua Bay Garage. Bumper stickers also available.

Backyard Kiwi caps now available

Kiwi Release at McLeod Bay

Thank you for the big team effort that made the release at Dudins’ farm so
successful. There were 50 people at the blessing at Onerahi and then a
whopping 350 at the Heads. The big crowd were keen to hear about our kiwi
recovery work and even more keen to see wild kiwi up close in their own
backyard. Things went very well – people were patient and got the chance to
get up close to the kiwi and all 3 birds were great (see photos).
It is always pleasing to see the “kiwi” smiles on the faces of the people
lucky enough to welcome these wild animals to their new home.

Over 350 people attend kiwi release at Whangarei Heads, January 2014

Released birds were:

“Nita”, 1925g and 100.1mm bill length – named after Nita
Oxborrow who recently passed away.

“FOMLI” 1450g and 84.0mm- named in recognition of “Friends
of Matakohoe/Limestone Island” – thanks to Pam and her team – especially
Bernie the Island ranger.

“Inyoni” (this means Bird in Zulu), 1425g and 79.0mm – named
by our latest “proud supporters” Fay and Nigel Clayton of McLeods Bay-
welcome to the team and thanks for you financial support.

Kiwi Coast “Release”

As part of our combined BNZONE work with BHCT and Tutukaka LC we took the
opportunity to have a kiwi “release” experience for the Kiwi coast Landcare
groups that are between the Heads and Tutukaka. One of the kiwi we caught
on Limestone recently has had plenty of relatives come to the Heads so it
was decided that her good breeding genes should go elsewhere. She (“Goldie”
1850g, 108.9mm) went to the community project at Maranui (inland from
Mangawai). On the way there she met the Limestone Island Golden Bay
sponsorship crew at the blessing before visiting Kiwi coast groups (80
people) at the Cooks’ at Owhiwa road and then into Doc ranger Rolf’s safe
hands for trip south. We can’t release kiwi into the Owhiwa road area
directly without an approved translocation plan from Doc so this was a way
for people there to see kiwi up close without actually doing a release
there. We have had good feed back about this kiwi event and hopefully it
adds to the momentum of the Kiwi Coast work. See
http://www.landcare.org.nz/Regional-Focus/Whangarei-Office/Kiwi-Coast for
more information on the Kiwi coast.

Dead Kiwi at Owhiwa road

“James” 6E6AD55 1625g, 88.4mm was found drowned in a cattle trough at Owhiwa
rd. He was a wild hatched chick (28/2/13) of Darwin’s from Lamb road. This
is further evidence of the “Kiwi Coast” movement of kiwi happening. Also
hopefully it is a positive indication of the effectiveness of the increased
trapping happening in the area. The trough has some rocks in it now.

Kiwiana

This is the kiwi that broke his leg last October. He was flown back up to
Whangarei up from Massey and was released quietly back in his territory at
Blicks’ at Manaia/Taurikura. The Massey vets have done a great job and he is
walking freely. I put a transmitter with a temporary band only on him so I
can monitor his activity daily for awhile – once he has settled back in I
will either remove the tx or let it fall off -so far his activity and
location show that he has settled in back at home. You may have seen the
story “7 sharp” did on TV about him – link to view is

http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/kiwis-in-rehab-video-5824760

What else has been happening?:

Whangarei Heads:

Waka - He has finished his second nest. 1st hatch was on
18/12/13 and I tried to get a look at his nest in early January when his
activity was rising. Because the nest was deep in pampas I couldn’t get to
it without risking squashing the chicks so didn’t get to ID chip the chicks-
also a wasp nest there wasn’t much fun.

Darwin – Nesting at Lamb rd quarry.

JR – South Taurikura Ridge- 2nd nest hatch is due but his
activity has been high for nesting (6 hours).

Lambert – His transmitter data stream indicated hatches on
9/1/14 and around 30/1/14 but Martin Hunt and I were unable to get to his
nest safely (for him and his chicks) as it is in a patch of dense pampas.
This guy is a great breeder but he is also a real pain to monitor so his
transmitter is definitely coming off the next time I catch up with him!

Whitu – usual area- high activity.

Charlie – After his 1st egg hatched on 14/12/13 he finally
hatched his second chick 24 days later – he was named “Bob” by McNamnara’s.
By then the 1st chick had moved out of the nest but I did get to do
Charlie’s annual transmitter change at the same time.

Dallas – He hatched 2 chicks – 11/1/14 and around 19/1/14 – I
inserted their ID micro chips and took feather samples for DNA records from
the chicks. The two have been named “Iwi” and “McGregory” by landowners and
school. Dallas also had his annual transmitter change done.

Webb – Pleased to have found her signal again – back on the
south side of Kauri Mt.

Bill – this is the wild bird found in November with Webb. He
has remained in a similar spot.

Lucky – the wild bird found in the water tank at McKenzie Bay
has moved up the hill a bit.

What your Backyard Kiwi were up to in December:

Darwin – At Lamb Road quarry in the pampas- high activity.

Whitu – Hatched a chick on 21 November. After monitoring his signal
regularly finally after 21 days his activity started to rise and I could go
and check him without upsetting his nesting on the second egg. His 1st chick
had left by then but his second had recently hatched – he was ID chipped,
DNA sampled and named “Gypsy” by locals (see photo). I did Whitu’s annual
transmitter change at the same time.

Whitu's chick - December 2013

Dallas – Is still nesting in weeds beside road in Taurikura- close to
Baptist camp.

Lambert – On his second nest at Taurikura ridge hatch due any day now.

Waka – Still on second nest. 1st egg hatched on 18/12/13 – still waiting for
activity to increase before going into nest.

Charlotte- Unfortunately she was found on New Year’s Eve drowned in an old
topless concrete water tank that is usually empty. This was 500m south of
anywhere she has been tracked before -which is strange as Waka is nesting -
she may have been disturbed by all the holiday goers’ activity? From her
condition she had been in the empty tank for a few days and then the
extremely heavy rain on the 28th flooded the tank and drowned her. The
other strange thing was that there was a wild male bird in with her – he had
only been in there since the water level had fallen (less than 24 hours).
He appeared in good health but I put a transmitter on him so I check his
activity. The landowners named him Lucky – he now has ID chip 6E6D277,
weight 1900g, bill length 95.0mm. The landowners have covered the tank now.
Also on the upside is that Waka and Charlotte have had two successful nests
this season. We have named one of those chicks Charlotte.

JR – South Taurikura Ridge. He has re-nested as suspected but his activity is
pretty high at 6 hours after 28 days of nesting so it may not last:

Charlie – At McNamnara’s at Craig Road – On nest – he hatched his first ever
chick 14/12/13. He is still on the 2nd egg and I have been waiting for his
activity to increase before going into the nest.

Kiwiana – He is still recovering from his broken leg at Massey University,
x-rays show that the bone is healing but still a few weeks away from having
his pins out.

Webb – Hiding somewhere on the Kauri Mt coast

Bill – this is the wild bird found with Webb last month. He has remained in
a similar spot.

Clover – This guy is in dense kiekie on the eastern slopes of Manaia safe
from dogs and difficult to monitor so when I caught up with him this month I
removed his transmitter.

Keeping your Kiwi safe:

Visitors’ Dogs

Please remind any summer visitors with dogs that they need to keep their dog
under control to avoid kiwi deaths. Most of our local dog owners are very
good but during summer some visitors don’t know about the risk their pets
are to our kiwi.

Road kill

Thanks to Heather and Martin Hunt for making the two “kiwi crossing” road
signs recently put up to remind night drivers to watch out for kiwi.

Remember, our roads are used by cars and kiwi

What your Backyard Kiwi were up to in November:

Darwin – Has moved back to the Lamb Road quarry in the pampas.

Whitu – Still nesting in his usual area Reotahi, his transmitter signal showed that he hatched his first chick after 70 days on 21 November. I will check his activity regularly and when it rises go in and hopefully DNA and ID any chicks.

Dallas – Has started nesting again – once again close to the road at the intersection of McDonald and Whangarei Heads road at Taurikura.

Lambert – On his second nest at Taurikura ridge (hatch due around xmas day)

Waka – On his second nest at Mckenzie Bay – 10m from the landowner’s washing line!

Charlotte – Usual area of McKenzie Bay.

JR – At the southern end of Taurikura ridge, his activity is dropping so he may be about to re-nest. The excellent footage that Kane got of his activity in his last nest can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VMMwTUG9rc&feature=youtu.be

JR's chick spring 2013

Charlie – At McNamnara’s at Craig Road – due to hatch his first ever chick any day now.

Kiwiana – He is still recovering from his broken leg at Massey University, x-rays show that the bone is healing but still a few weeks away from having his pins out.

Webb – This young lady has found herself a mate – We found her in a pampas bush at Fabers’ on the Kauri Mt coast with a large adult kiwi. I checked him and found no ID chip so he has to have been a wild hatched bird that has survived because of our trapping efforts. He was a big 2400g and has been named “Bill” to go with Webb-Ellis (photos attached).

Webb and mate at Kauri Mountain

Visitors’ Dogs
Please remind any summer visitors with dogs that they need to keep their dog under control to avoid kiwi deaths. Most of our local dog owners are very good but during summer some visitors don’t know about the risk their pets are to our kiwi.

October was a pretty busy kiwi month with some highs and lows:

If you haven’t seen the story on Backyard kiwi Facebook about the large
female kiwi run over near Craig Road join the other 5,928 people who have!!
This is the third adult kiwi run over there recently so we will put up
another road sign and do a story for the papers about it.

What your monitored kiwi are up to:

Darwin – Was nesting at Lamb road but the nest failed after approximately 60
days. Did his six monthly transmitter band change while there was Bittern
booming away beside him in the wetland at Lamb Road.

Whitu – Usual area Reotahi, he has re-nesting as suspected – nest will be
approx 65 days on December 9.

Dallas – At Hills’ by WH school. His activity has dropped slightly so he may
be re-nesting.

Lambert – Usual area Taurikura Ridge -transmitter data stream showed eggs
hatching but because he was in dense pampas I couldn’t risk getting a look
without disturbing him and his chicks. His nest finished after 90 days and
22 days after the first chick hatched. He is re-nesting already!

Waka – after hatching 2 chicks last month (which we need to name) he fell
for Charlotte again and is re-nesting already too! The nest is in a pampas
bush in a landowners back garden.

Charlotte – Usual area of McKenzie Bay.

JR's 1st Chick this spring

JR's 2nd spring chick "Blondie"

Charlie – At McNamnara’s at Craig Road – His first nesting attempt failed
(which often happens with a kiwi’s first nest – remember that this is just
his first breeding season of hopefully 50 or more!). The good news is that
he is back re-nesting already.

Kiwiana – Was at Blicks’ at the southern end of Mt Manaia but he managed to break a leg falling off a rock. So after some fantastic treatment by Sandra at Kamo Vets he was jet setted off to Massey University for surgery and is recovering well with a plate in his leg now.

Webb – This young lady seems to have settled on the Kauri Mt coast at this stage.

Clover – Still high up on eastern Manaia

Kiwi Predator Control Programme:
A very big month for stoats compared to our usual September catches with 5 stoats, including 2 mature females on the western side of Mania – catching a mature female in spring is great because it also means that you have also nailed her litter of up to 8 kits!

Traps for September: 5 stoats, 0 weasels, 1 cat, 36 rats, 33 possums and 2 hedge hogs.
Tally for season: 42 stoats, 15 weasels, 18 cats, 421 rats, 148 possums and 49 hogs.

Kiwi monitoring:

Waka won the race for the Dad to hatch the first chick of the season. Lambert also hatched a chick in September.

What your monitored kiwi are up to in September:

Darwin – He is nesting at Lamb road – 3 hours nightly activity – nest will reach 65 days approx 27 October.
Whitu – Usual area Reotahi, activity dropping – possibly renesting after his first nest failed.
Dallas – At Hills’ by the Heads school. A kiwi was reportedly seen during the day (3pm) in Dallas’s area in the storm of 24/9/13 and it ran under a car before running up the bank. I checked Dallas’s signal – and yes he was active during that afternoon!!!! – otherwise his activity has been ok since then.
Lambert – Usual area Taurikura Ridge – nesting – transmitter data stream shows first hatch.
Waka – Takes the title of first recorded hatch of the season- 1st hatched 13/9/13 and a second a week later. Both chicks were in the nest late September and I caught up with them to DNA sample and ID chip.

Waka's chick - number 1

Waka's chick - number 2

Firstly notice of the upcoming WHLF meeting on Thursday October 24 at McLeod Bay Hall 7.30pm – all welcome.

Secondly congratulations to Don McKenzie and his team at the NRC for winning the Peter Nelson Biosecurity Award. This is a much sought after national award and it is great to see one of the WHLF’s key partners (and key funders) recognised for their success.

Northland Regional Council

See details at:

http://www.nrc.govt.nz/News/Council-wins-coveted-Peter-Nelson-biosecurity-award/

“We see this very much as a trophy not just for us as a council, but also the many Northlanders from all walks of life who have worked closely with us over the past decade in a huge range of pest control initiatives both on land and in the water,” Don says.

Kiwi Predator Control Programme:
I’m still struggling to get enough rabbits for bait – if you have any can I have them please. I have started added in the extra traps funded by the Kiwi Coast – 1 has already caught a stoat. Some clever bugger managed to run over a big male stoat outside the golf club last week –well done! Can’t put this guy on our tally but every dead stoat helps!

Traps for August – 2 stoats, 2 weasels, 3 cats, 48 rats, 11 possums and 2 hedge hogs.
Tally for season to date 37 stoats, 15 weasels, 17 cats, 369 rats, 115 possums and 47 hogs.

Kiwi monitoring:
The nesting season is well underway with our 6 usual nesters unfortunately 2 of those nests (Dallas and Whitu) have failed for unknown reasons. There is still plenty of time for these guys to try again.

What your monitored kiwi are up to:

Darwin – He has just started nesting at Lamb road -5 hours nightly activity- nest will reach 65 days approx 27 October
Whitu – Usual area Reotahi, Nest failed after 45 days.
Dallas – At Hills’ by WH school, Nest failed after 36 days.
Lambert – Usual area Taurikura Ridge – nesting – 3 hours activity – nest will be 65 days on 15 September approx.
Waka – Usual area Mckenzie Bay – nesting – 3.5 hours activity– 65 days on 4 September approx.
Charlotte – Usual area of McKenzie Bay. I caught up with her for her annual transmitter change, she was a healthy 2600g and her bill has stopped growing showing she is now a fully grown adult (photo attached).
JR – South Taurikura Ridge above Urquarts Bay – Nesting – 3 hours activity –nest will be 65 days on 1 October..

Charlotte is strong and healthy

Kiwi Call count monitoring for 2013

Every year we do a “kiwi call count” as a way of monitoring the kiwi population at the Whangarei Heads. During 3 weeks in June trained listeners sat at 22 designated listen sites and counted the kiwi calls over a 2 hour period on 4 separate nights – not as easy to do as it sounds! A BIG THANKS to those patient folks who braved the cold and strained their ears.

This season’s data has all come in now and the news is good. We work out the average number of kiwi calls per hour per site. Overall our call count is up from 5.9 in 2012 to 6.8 calls per site per hour. We also identify how many individual kiwi there are at each site by recording the location of each calling kiwi (using a compass bearing and estimated distance from the listening site) – remember that kiwi are territorial and tend to call from roughly the same area each time. The total number of individual kiwi identified has increased by over 10% this season from 183 to 206, which is heartening. Remember we only listened into 30-40% of our kiwi habitat so actually numbers of kiwi will be considerably more – well over 400 now and probably close to 500. Pretty good considering we were down to only an estimated 80 kiwi in total at the Heads back in 2001!!

The increasing call count is due to a combination of things:
Improved kiwi chick survival thanks to our ongoing stoat trapping network (without stoat control 95% of chicks are killed).
The release of new kiwi into the area each year from our BNZONE programme also adds to the population.
The significant improvement in dog control by local pet owners. Our community is to be congratulated on this crucial part of kiwi recovery as dogs are the biggest threat to adult kiwi.

Click on this link to view tables – one shows the trends in call counts from 2001 to 2013, the other shows the details or call counts at each site for 2013.

Keep up the good work Whangarei Heads!
WHLF 2013 call counts table(1).xls
WHLF kiwi call count summary 2001 to 2013