WHLF Backyard Kiwi October 2014 report (funded by the NRC):  

ANOTHER KIWI KILLED ON THE ROAD!

Another kiwi has been hit by a car on the stretch of road just north of McLeod Bay.  The badly hurt kiwi was found by a landowner who took it for treatment but it died. It was an adult female with no ID chip so was a wild hatched kiwi. This is the sixth kiwi killed on this short stretch of road in recent years – it is a definite crossing area for kiwi and we have put up “Kiwi Crossing” signs. We are looking at more signage. Please keep an eye out at night for kiwi on our roads.

Radio Tracked Kiwi at Whangarei Heads    Chicks are still hatching all over the place!

 

 

 

 

What your radio tracked Backyard Kiwi have been up to:

 Darwin – Finished nesting in the pampas at the Lamb Road quarry.  He hatched 2 chicks named  “Frank” and “Harold” (see photo) after Frank Lamb who recently passed away.  Both these chicks had feather samples taken for DNA records and ID chips inserted before going back into the nest with Darwin.

 JR – South Taurikura Ridge. JR has already hatched 2 chicks this season and now his nightly activity has dropped so he may be renesting.

 Lambert- As I reported last month this champion dad has already hatched 18 chicks since 2009 and by the look of his declining night time activity is starting to nest again.

Whitu – Still hasn’t nested and I keep loosing his transmitter signal only for him to reappear a few days later. This may be because of the big rock fall at Reotahi – he may have lost his mate and be looking for her or his signal could be being blocked by the rocks if he has found a way to tunnel in to the rock pile.

Charlie – Craig Road at McNamaras’. This guy is well overdue his 6 monthly check but has a habit of roosting (curling up for his daytime sleep) in places I can’t get to.

Dallas – Has renested very close to the main road – McDonald road intersection again. His mate Kahurangi certainly likes to lay eggs near to the human action! Please be extra careful when walking your dog on the roadside.

Waka – He is still moving between Mckenzie Bay and the pampas on the peninsula at the south end of Taurikura Bay – hopefully he will find a new mate soon.

 Lucky – Still playing king of the castle on the very top of Taurikura Ridge – no sign of nesting yet for this young fella.

 

 Breck- This is a new kiwi that was caught in a possum live capture trap by a landowner at Kerr Road. The landowner was quick to give me a call so   I could check that the kiwi was ok. It was named “Breck”, weighed 1890g and had a bill length of 110mm, she or he was bald on the bottom half of her body (see photo) which the vets think may be caused by youthful hormone imbalances!!.  Breck is now radio transmittered so I can monitor her health.

 

 

 

BNZONE program (funded by Kiwis for Kiwi):
The ONE dad’s out at Riponui and Rarewarewa are still busy hatching chicks too. 2 more were transferred to Limestone Is into Bernie’s safe hands.

In return two young kiwi that had safely grown to the required release weight were recaptured on Limestone and released in the Tututkaka Landcare Coalition managed area.  These young kiwi “Hou” and “Koru” were last year’s chicks and visited Glenbervie School before meeting over 100 locals at the Bowden’s property at Tutukaka and being released.  It is always great to see the smiles on peoples’ faces when they get to see a kiwi up close.  Kiwis for Kiwi have been great supporters and funders of this work and the Kiwi Coast also supply funding.  Thanks!

 

Kiwi Predator Control Programme:

Because this is the time of year when there are heaps of kiwi chicks about stoat control is extra important. Stoats are being caught just north of our area but things are still very quiet at the Heads, even though I’m working the traps extra hard! The lack of stoats is because of the Manaia Landcare 1080 work done in the spring. That MLC effort cleaned out much of what was left of the local stoat population. Unfortunately the new season young stoats are starting to disperse from untrapped areas inland (as they do every year at this time) so we have to keep trapping to minimise the reinvasion.

We are also putting an extra effort into catching the possums that are moving back into the Heads at the moment.

Monthly Catches:
Stoats 0, weasels 1, cats 2, rats 61, hedgehogs 17, possums 12

 

NRC Pest Management Plan.
Philip King and I attended a workshop/think tank that gave input into the new Pest Management Strategy Plan that the NRC is currently drafting.  We will let you know when the plan is released and how it may affect us.

Backyard Kiwi Artwork

Join us in  celebrating another great year for kiwi on the Whangarei Heads peninsula. Backyard Kiwi  are releasing two more of Heather Hunts  magnificent kiwi prints   as part of an up coming exhibition at the Newday Café at Parua Bay – 24 November – 7pm – come along and meet the Free Range Kiwi too!
Share a glass of wine and Newday nibbles and award winning Grinning Gecko Cheese!

Proceeds form the sale of prints support the Backyard Kiwi Project

Cheers
Todd Hamilton
Backyard Kiwi Project Manager, WHLF