Things are going along nicely for the kiwi at Whangarei Heads this winter – despite all the rain!

Kiwi normally do very well in wet conditions because it is easy for them to probe for food in the soft ground but too much water can be a problem for nesting dads.

It is the adult males that get the 70 day plus job of sitting on the eggs with only a few hours break each night for a quick feed. With the nesting burrows being underground, or more often in pampas bushes for our kiwi, the very wet conditions can make incubation tricky and will probably lead to more eggs than usual getting bacterial infections. On the up side we have never had so many monitored kiwi nesting at the same time at Whangarei Heads – all 6 adult males are nesting!!!

·Darwin – nesting at Lamb road and due to hatch late August.

·JR- nesting southern end of Taurikura Ridge and due to hatch mid September.

·Waka- nesting at Mckenzie Bay and due to hatch mid September.

·Lambert- nesting Taurikura Ridge and due late August.

·Whitu- nesting at Reotahi and due mid-late August

·Dallas- nesting at Hills’ by the School and due mid September

The other monitored kiwi are:

· Charlotte - an adult female at Mckenzie Bay (Waka’s mate). She had her 6 monthly check on 16/8/12 and is a healthy 2450g after laying eggs and is now sporting a new transmitter.

· Charlie - a young male at Craig Road – North of McLeod Bay – is very active at the moment – getting up at 5pm and being active for 12-13 hours a night.

The 100 or so people who were at Kauri Mt a few weeks back for Drummond’s release there will be pleased that this young female (1200g) has settled in well and is hanging around the release area.