Kia ora! Welcome to this month’s report. An extremely damp month with loads of rain and even a cyclone. I took some time off last month and Bernie, the previous ranger, island sat for me which was great. A busy month for kiwi as we took three off last month and have three more coming off this month. We also have wētāpunga coming to the island in May.
NorthTec
The first-year students in the conservation course came to the island to visit and have a chat about what working in conservation is like. We visited the key sites and talked about what we do on the island to protect it from pests and the kiwi/lizard work that is ongoing. We also talked about pest weeds that impact the island.
Glenbervie School
The school trips are starting to slow a bit now as the weather starts to cool off. 40 students from Glenbervie school came over to visit. We walked the island, stopping at key points where I gave talks about the sites. The weather was fairly mild, so the kids even went for a swim!
Another group of kids came over to the island for a children’s birthday party. I left them to it, but they let me know they walked to the Visitors’ Shelter and had cake. They left the island after a few hours but had a great time.
Kiwi I have been busy (along with Bernie) for the last couple of months monitoring the kiwi on the island that are going to be translocated. Last month three kiwi came off and went to Te Waorahi, located by Langs Beach and connected to Piroa Brynderwyns. They were welcomed by a pōwhiri which I would roughly estimate 400 people attended. This is a great opportunity to educate the crowd about kiwi conservation and especially dog control as this is key to protecting adult kiwi in Northland. The last three kiwi will be coming off Limestone Island later this month.
Todd Hamilton addressing the crowd at the kiwi release
Volunteer Day A rainy day for volunteer day this month. We had a small crew over who braved the rain to clear the ōi/Grey-face petrel sites as they will start prospecting soon. They come in from the sea to investigate potential nesting sites which they will return to later in the year. The volunteers also cleared fallen trees on the loop track and Prince Charles track. The weather started to worsen so we left the island after lunch.
Trapping Another rat was caught on Limestone Island this month which is a bit concerning. It is the time of year where rats are looking for food so, hopefully, this is the last one to swim over. Several rats were caught on Knight Island this round too, and a mouse. We also caught a monster stoat in a Fenn trap on Knight Island. Great to catch this guy before he decides to swim over!
Motutau Island You might remember a couple months back I mentioned that we had drone sprayed Island again as it is infested with Moth plant. This results in seeds being blown to Limestone Island and surrounding areas like Onemana Point and Onerahi. I checked out the island yesterday and it has been an amazing hit with massive amounts of the plant now dead. There are a couple of pockets that seem to have been missed but, overall, it is mostly dead. The side of the island facing Limestone Island is nearly completely dead which is perfect as that is the side that blows over to this island. Other good news is the native bush there seems to be unaffected, meaning we got the dosage correct. It will most likely have to be repeated next year but good news for this season’s pods.
Wētāpunga Exciting news, we are getting wētāpunga translocated to Matakohe-Limestone Island in May. Wētāpunga are the giant wētā and one of the heaviest insects in the world. If you are visiting the island, although they are nocturnal, you may still be able to see them if you keep an eye out in the bush foliage. They are often hiding in crooks or crevices in the trees, under leaves. They are arboreal so will be in the trees.
Other goings on Over the last few days Cyclone Vaianu hit the island. I went for a walk yesterday and the island seems largely unaffected, which is great news. I did pull the barge out just in case, but it all seems to be okay. Unfortunately, one of the sheep did die yesterday, leaving five remaining. She was an old girl with growths on her and I noticed she was walking slowly over the last week so I suspect the storm was the last straw.
I was on leave for a couple weeks last month. Luckily, as I mentioned earlier, Bernie, offered to island sit for me. This is awesome as I can just hand it over and he knows exactly what to do and can even drive the barge. He told me he got stuck into all sorts on the island but unfortunately the second week for him was bad weather so was stuck inside.
Port Nikau is having a community open day where they will be hosting boat trips to Limestone Island. I met with one of the organizers of this and the boat captain on the island. We walked the island and spoke about how the day will go. If you are interested it is on the 2nd of May at Port Nikau.
That’s all this month, see you next time!
Bevan
