THAMES COAST KIWI CARE

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1 THAMES COAST KIWI CARE Protecting and enhancing kiwi populations on the Thames Coast August 2012 From the Project Coordinator Greetings to you all!! There have been a few changes since our last ne wsletter. Lloyd and Jenny Bithell, founding volunteers from the Coast finished contributing to doing trap lines. We are deeply grate ful to them for their work over the years. We also farewelled Moira Coatsworth from the Chair but re main grateful to still have her on our committee! Having taken a moment to think of the losses, we must also take time to celebrate new arrivals. Amongst the m are Richard Moyle, our new Chair (below); our youngest up and c oming trapper, Este r Bullock; Moehau Environment Group s (MEG) ne w Coordinator, Natalie Collicott; a new trap shed, new trappers, hundreds of new trap boxes and ne w ways of celebrating trappers, with feasts and fun. Additionally, projects around the Coromandel had a visit from a group of kiwi advocates, and local DOC staff in April to e nable them to get a feel for the big picture on the Coromandel. A Community Group meeting hosted by MEG and held in June was a great success. Audio sound recorders we re tested in the TCKC project area to see what we can find out from the m. TCKC are always happy to hear from people that are interested in our pro- ject. There are many ways to help. Call me if you are keen In the meantime.... Happy reading. Carol Nanning Te l One of Jenny Bithell s beautiful quilt designs that she donated to raise funds. From the Chair Like any organisation basing its work on voluntary contributions, TCKC re lies crucially on the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment of our 36 volunteer trappers. We simply can t function without you. There are no bells or whistles, but there is that sense of quiet satisfaction that comes from knowing that what we do now can have a lasting positive impact on the future existence of this small population of Coromande l brown kiwi. It s a bit like being a teacher: you may ne ver discover who in the future may think back, re - me mber your contribution, and be grate ful for what you did but in the meantime you keep going with what you belie ve is valuable, and right. The ongoing ne t effect of many small, regular contributions is the ring of traps around the Te Mata/ Tapu region that makes up our project area. Whe n we can t sleep in the early hours and happen to hear a kiwi calling, we know that it s out there in large part because of the work of the TCKC trappers and supporters. Those supporters more than 100 strong continue to contribute in their own way; because of that generosity and desire to help, the Steering Group is able to meet present requirements and plan ahead. I d also like to acknowledge the sterling work of the Steering Committee, and reiterate my admiration for our Coordinator, Carol Nanning, who, in addition to her many other duties out in the fie ld, has produced this ne wsletter. The kiwi s predators mostly stoats, weasels and untrained dogs won t go away, but we can deal to them if you too don t go away. So, sincere thanks for what you have contributed to date and please continue with your interest, time and material support. Richard Moyle Thank you outbound chair, Moira Coatsworth for her contribution!!

2 Trappers Profile Community in Action Thames Coast Kiwi Care Trappers gather. Trappers Gathering Mike Bullock and Jessie Green with newborn babe, Ester. Jessie and I moved to the Coromandel about 3 years ago. Unlike most people who move to the Coromandel, we didn't move here to grow drugs; rather, we came to do maintenance on an inherited property. We didn't intend to stay long, so didn't look into joining any local groups. While browsing the Waiomu fair howe ver, we were accosted by a TCKC recruitment mob. We tried to escape, but the y threatened to track down where we lived and hound us. Appreciating that acquiescence is the most prudent path when dealing with sociopaths, we agreed to join up. We were gifted on the longest trap line. A good 4-5hrs through steep te rrain. Quite enjoyable though, provided it isn t too damp and slippery. Of course being New Ze aland bush, it is always damp and slippery, oh we ll. On the positive, it is a good days worth of exercise and has provided us with an interesting tour of the introduced species, not just the rats and stoats in the traps, but also encounters with wild pigs, goats and the odd feral bull. Othe r activities we have participated in as part of TCKC include: attending various meetings, where the food was excellent and track clearing where we burnt the calories off again. Right now though we are slightly less active with our trap-line, as we are trying to set a good example to the kiwi. Having successfully procreated, we now mostly spend our time lurking around our house protecting our newborn from predators. Mike Bullock As Mike alluded to, TCKC hold trappers gatherings once or twice a year. In the past they have been held at the Tapu Fire Station and catered for by volunteers, but an invitation to host the gathering and enjoy a walk around the beautiful Rapaura Water Gardens was offered by Sally and Sasha Sank this year. The y said, this was a way that they could contribute to the project. Some trappers identify animal pests (stoats, weasels and rats). There are two parts to the gathering: The first is to share information about how things are going on the trapli ne s, wi th roste rs, health and safe ty, critter ID and a trap setting/ cleaning refresher. The second part is eating together (mmmmm). Twenty four people atte nded. 18 days old, - it is about this age that babies start sleeping with one eye slightly open, so as to watch for dingo's. - Mike Bullock 2

3 Community in Action... cont. A divine buffet was served up by Sally and Sasha Sank Trappers shed Whe n Frances Peach of Tapu needed to reclaim the shed TCKC have used for four ye ars to keep trappers gear in, enquiries were made to find a ne w central storage place. We didn t have to go far. Bruce Efford (Royal Oak Hote l fondly dubbed Mayor of Tapu ) said, leave it to me and we did. In the blink of an e ye, Bruce had purchased and dropped off a kitset shed to locals, Wayne and Myra Lincoln for construction. Ve ry shortly a new trappers shed was located and func tioning in central Tapu, complete with floor and shelves!! Acknowledgement Frances Peach It is no small thing to provide a place for people to organise themselves and to have people you don t know come on to your property. A great deal of trust is involved. Frances Peach did this by providing space for our trappers shed for Trap making Working bees to assemble approximately 350 DOC 200 trap boxes afte r the generous donations from Neil John and his associates (see Ne wsletter 7), and to recondition s ome rus ti ng trap mechanisms were a great success and completed in record breaking time last September This could not have happened if we did not have the help of Paul and Jackie White. Once again we were able to assemble the boxes in Paul and Jackie White s BIGGER shed which was re -built after the July 2007 weather event took out their BIG shed!! years. Heartfe lt thanks to you Frances!! Frances is a very good artist. We encourage you to visit her gallery or talk with her about her work. T The comple ted boxes and some nearly completed boxes are stoc k- piled. Also 30 DOC250 traps in boxes were purchased to target ferrets. A bit of critical research has been done to work out where to fill the gaps in our project area bearing in mind how able trappers are to give time and e ffort to service more traps. We all agree that actions we put in place have to be attainable into the long term. 50 DOC 200 trap boxes will be available for pur- chase c at $55.00 each. Bruce Efford, the Mayor of Tapu next to the new Trappers Shed. Cheers Bruce, Wayne and Myra, Bob and Anaru!! 3 Neil John, Chris Brodie and Jim Glenn making DOC200 traps

4 Community in Action... cont. Track maintenance Afte r 13 people spent two full days clearing back vegetation on the Te Mata Ridge, we were able to get an e xcavator in to upgrade the track and re-do the water tables to ensure the safe ty of trappers as they go about TCKC business. Alan Berntsen of Walkways Solutions carried out digger work and generously donated an e xtra $ worth of labour. We are grate ful to be able to work with DOC Hauraki, who provided $ funds for the work which is mutually bene ficial for DOC biodive rsity work as well as the trap work TCKC carry out. Funding will be sought to carry out further work on the track ne xt Autumn. Trappers report a great improve ment on the track. SBA is a delivery site for Thames bait Eve ry month, Jaswant Singh from SBA in Thames offe rs his premises for our egg delivery. This helps our trap weeke nd s r u n s upe r smoothly!! Trappers 36 volunteers service the 360 traps in our project area. Recently we welcomed J. Chrisp, C. Pe nney, A. Paparestis and T. Boyle to Bait that arrives at SBA are donated from Ze agold foods and have been since the group s inception. A staggering 2880 eggs since the team. If you would like to be involved (training and support provided) c ontact: Carol Nanning The track clearing team goes to work!! Is it a rat, is it a stoat? Cara Penney and John Chrisp clear the traps on their maiden trap run. Predator Control update 4 Since between September 2006 & June 2012 a total of 655 stoats, 315 weasels and 3386 rats and two fe rrets were caught. From January 2012, to June 2012, trap results from approximately 364 traps have yielded 72 stoat kills, 20 weasel kills and 1 fe rre t kill. 382 rat kills were reported in the same period. Fe rre t behavior over the last two seasons have specialists puzzled Country-wide. Usually, found near forest margins and farmland where rabbits are plentiful, the two ferrets caught in the TCKC project area were 3 4 km from the bush edge. More box making activity

5 KAT update and dog campaign The Dogs that roam kill Kiwi Campaign coordinated by Thames Coast Kiwi Care and Moehau Environment Group went ahead without too many hitc hes again last Summe r with full support from Carters, RD 1 of Kopu, Hauraki Herald, and CFM with funding that arrived from DOC Thames. The intention behind this initiative is to benefit all kiwi groups and kiwi on the Peninsula by raising awareness and maximizing advertising opportunities for Kiwi Aversion Training (KAT) days by having a c oordinated approach. We seem to be getting be tter at this every year (I think). KAT training (provided by DOC Thames) was held i n va r i ous p lace s throughout the Peninsula including our own local day on the Coast. Forty-e ight dogs and twe nty-one dog owners we re put through their paces at Te Mata. Further support for this initiative was offe red by the Spirit of Coromandel Trust and Adventure Racing Coromandel over the Winter months. The roll out of the new National message was good timing with the ne w poster fixed to the back of the Turley Murphy bus that travels daily be tween Hamilton and Coromandel town. Our vision is to grow the Campaign into Auckland which is our main source of holiday makers, and provide information so people with dogs are aware of the threats dogs pose to kiwi be fore the y come on holiday. Auckland Zoo are keen to be a conduit for information sharing for both Northland and Coromandel dog campaigns and opportunities will come available for dog owners to put their dogs through the KAT in Auckland through DOC Auckland Area. Lindley Bailey walks her pooch past the stuffed kiwi while DOC s Ali Douglas watches for any houndish interest. Ross Hill Rennie and Keith Stephenson, Trustees of the Spirit of Coromandel Trust have transformed the back of the Turley Murphy bus. Job well done! Kiwi protection organisations visited by Kiwi Recovery & DOC staff Twelve Kiwi Groups on the Coromandel met with Wendy Sporle (BNZ National Kiwi Advocate), Avi Holzapfe l (DOC Kiwi Recovery Group Team Leader), Bridget Baynes and Tansy Bliss (DOC Thames) as the y travelled around the Peninsula in March. Whe n TCKC met the travellers, the y had an opportunity to give some background to how the group e volved, how it operates, our c ommunity, our project area, how we monitor our progress and our aspirations going forward. We talked of TCKC s vision for more c ollaboration throughout the Peninsula with DOC and other kiwi groups. Possibilities for translocations within the Coromandel to increase the TCKC kiwi gene-pool as a result of our 2011 Kiwi Surve y were discussed, and also a potential for kiwi from the Coromande l being translocated to pest free, Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Coromandel Brown Kiwi are the only kiwi that don t have an Island sanctuary which means that if we had a catastrophic event (e.g. avian dise ase ), Coromandel brown kiwi populations would be in serious jeopardy. Decisions reached from such discussions will all be incorporated in a Kiwi Taxon Plan (see over) which will guide the future of kiwi on the Pe ninsula. This document has been on hold for some time now but is being picked up again by Bridget. 5

6 Kiwi organisations visited (cont.) Taxon simply means group in this case it re fers to the Coromandel group of kiwi Coromandel brown kiwi. Human taxonomy: Avi belongs to the Kiwi Recovery Group which comprises of Homo sapiens like you and me. Coromandel Community Hui A community group meeting that attracted 46 people was hosted by Moe hau Environme nt Group at Te Moata, near Tairua in June. Eve nt organizer, Natalie Collic ott said, the weekend was a chance for groups to review the draft taxon plan and discuss topics including how groups can better Audio sound recorders Recently TCKC we re loaned 8 recorders to trial in our project area, thanks to P. Ste wart of Re d Admiral Ecology. Rapaura Water Gardens survey kiwi, limit the threat dogs pose to kiwi, collate and use data, source funding and retain volunteers. There was a practical de monstration of monitoring tools and methods along with a workshop on e ffective trapping techniques. Five people from TCKC attended. Because kiwi calls can be episodic in remnant kiwi populations, these recorders give us the capability and freedom to capture calls outside the usual 2 hour surve y time bracket. Sounds over 4 hours each evening will be picked up over a period of up to 30 days in key sites. Many thanks.... to our regular volunteers P & J White Jim Glenn/TMF Anaru Leigh Christine Friis Ian Stewart P & C Bennett Bob Carr L & R Moyle Richard Williams W & M Lincoln N John & B Walker Michelle Pascoe Duncan Farmer Mike Farrant Barbara Barclay John Chrisp J & L Ballantyne Michael Bullock Hannah Blick P & D Burton Chris Brodie Fin Buchanan Louise Deane Niel Smith Brian Boyle Warwick Reed Jessie Green Tania Boyle Sue Canon Grant Tollison R & D Williams Andrew Paparestis Simon Ritchie John Stanley Stephen Chibnall Rob Anderson Cara Penney.... & our supporters, funders and business donors: Members Vetel Contracting Frances Peach Pub Charity Royal Oak Hotel Neil John Tapu Fire Brigade Des Veal Carters (Kopu) Bay Treatments (Rotorua) Waipawa Timber Andrew Crowe Landowners Rapaura Water Gardens RD 1 (Kopu) Hume Pine (Rotorua) Placemakers (Thames) Mainfreight (Rotorua) Hauraki Herald Waikato Regional Council Bennett Family (NZ) Jones Family (USA) Lincoln Family Spirit of Coromandel BNZ Save the Kiwi Walkways Solutions SBA Thames Free Kiwi Aversion Training for dogs and owners is offered by DOC Tel: for more information. Check out the TCKC website by typing this address: In November 2011, TCKC we re invited to have an information stand at the Rapaura Water Gardens Ope n Day. Sally and Sasha invited visitors to give a donation to TCKC and through this we raised $ Many thanks to Sally & Sasha. MEG shared its giant kiwi suit for the occasion. Thanks to all. Thames Coast Kiwi Care PO Box 396 THAMES Tel: Subscriptions for 2012 are due. Please disregard if you have paid. Please pay if you haven t - we need you!! Direct credit: