It’s a special thing when a kiwi kid gets to take part in a kiwi release, and this time it was one of our own. On 11 May, ECOED trustee Reece and his daughter Frankie joined Kiwi Manager Deb for the release of a 6-month-old kiwi in the Kaweka Forest Park. The kiwi had previously… [Read More]
Oji the kiwi gets it right first try
On Saturday 21 March, ECOED kiwi manager Deb and volunteers Rebecca and Kathy went into the Kaweka Forest Park to find Oji’s nest, where they were shocked to find a lively 9 day old chick inside! Oji is a 3-year-old first-time nester, and first-time nesters tend to take one or two seasons to get the… [Read More]
Many hands make light work (especially when it comes to replacing traps!)
Recently ECOED was approached by Peter from Tony’s Tyre & Auto Care, Napier, offering help for the Save Our Kaweka Kiwi project as part of his team’s annual community volunteering day. It just so happens that David, our Trapping Manager, had the ideal job – carrying traps! Peter and Sabiha from Tony’s Tyres plus David… [Read More]
Routine field trip ends with unexpected chick find
The following story is by Kahori Nakagawa, DOC Biodiversity Supervisor. It all started with a routine field trip—just the three of us out installing AT220 possum traps at the end of Don’s Stream Track, about a kilometre from Makahu Saddle carpark. Our mission was to protect a population of Wainuia clarki, a nationally critical native… [Read More]
Sometimes you get the carrot, sometimes you get the stick
Two of our most recent kiwi adventures ended up having quite different endings with one group finding a ‘bonus’ kiwi and the other, a kiwi so well burrowed there was no hope of reaching him. We’ll start with the successful trip. Deb, Kahori (DOC) and Kahori’s kiwi conservation dog Nagi set out to find Carrot,… [Read More]
Kōhanga kiwi from Cape Sanctuary released into Kawekas
On Monday 31 March, six kiwi from Cape Sanctuary were released into the Kaweka Forest Park as part of Save the Kiwi’s Kōhanga programme. We happened upon a group of local school-children visiting Cape Sanctuary on our way out, so Liz from Cape Sanctuary took the opportunity to show them a kiwi. On the Kaweka… [Read More]
First chick of the season released into creche
The first kiwi chick of the season is now safely in the creche at Lake Opouahi. On Tuesday 14 January, we conducted a raid on Mr JC’s nest and were delighted to find a feisty 10-day old chick and two eggs. Unfortunately, one of the eggs had died during the embryo stage. The other had… [Read More]
Three more eggs off to the hatchery
It’s been a busy start to September for our volunteers, with two nest raids and a trip to the Gallagher kiwi hatchery in Taupō. Robyn and Fi completed the raid on Mr JC’s nest, while Tipene, Krysten, Dave and Deb tracked down Mākāhu. In total three eggs were retrieved from the Kaweka Forest Park on… [Read More]
Luke and Joel meet their first wild (and a bit grumpy) kiwi
At a little past 8am, we set off walking with David and Deb Harrington. I was excited, and so was my son Joel. Our mission was to locate Spike. At 20 years old, Spike is a male kiwi, and in a few months’ time he will be faithfully sitting on an egg. Today we would… [Read More]
Robyn, Fi and the adventurous kiwi
It was a cold morning as we headed up to the Kaweka Range to do a health check on Huripari, a young male kiwi. Huripari is an adventurous young bird. He was first released near the Makahu Saddle Hut but decided to venture further afield to discover new lands. He travelled many kms all the… [Read More]
The wanderer and the homebody
David and Deb caught up with Manaaki te Kiwi and Milligan for their 2nd health checks in mid-April. Manaaki was released in January with the help of some wonderful staff from our sponsor Stantec, while Milligan was released earlier that month. It was a windy old day in the Kaweka Forest Park, but David and… [Read More]
A rare sighting on the Makino River trapline
Here’s a trap station with a Goodnature automatic A24 and a double-set DOC 200. We obtained a series of photos showing a weasel checking the A24 and entering the DOC 200. The camera is set up to take three photos in series with a one-minute delay before the camera is triggered again. So the shots… [Read More]
