NEWS - CURRENT

New trustee for Maungatautari

30 June 09

A Maungatautari dairy farmer and business owner, with a law background, has been appointed as an adjoining landowner trustee at the Maungatautari Trust’s recent AGM.

Mike Montgomerie operates two dairy farms, one on the edge of Maungatautari, and has been attending and contributing to Trust meetings for the past year.

“It’s a privilege to be appointed as a trustee and to be given the opportunity to contribute more formally”, said Montgomerie. “It is just mind blowing the speed at which the mountain is being restored and the amount that volunteers have contributed. Watching all this I felt it was time I did my bit.”

Chairman of the Trust, David Wallace, said he was delighted that Mike had been appointed.

"The Maungatautari Trust has a strong skill-set which will help us achieve our goals. Mike is no exception; he brings a range of expertise to the table, which has already proven valuable during the past year. Most importantly though, he is passionate about restoring Maungatautari.”

The Department of Conservation advised that Trustee Arthur Hinds from the Coromandel would continue his role as the Waikato Conservation Board Representative.

In his AGM report David Wallace thanked the many volunteers, supporters, funders and Trust staff for their work and commitment over the past year.

“Our actions and tenacity show that a community can take on a bold restoration project and pull it off”.

Puku lives up to name

30 June 09

Photo: Marilyn Mackinder

Maungatautari’s recently released kaka chicks have remained in the southern enclosure and are providing entertainment for visitors.

“These kaka, which have been bred in captivity in the Maungatautari aviary, have bonded to the area giving visitors a greater chance of seeing and hearing these endangered birds in their natural habitat,” said kaka carer Marilyn Mackinder.

“The birds seem to love the public attention as they swoop over visitors, hang off tree branches and climb over the aviary to say hi to their parents at feeding times, and the kaka squawking is definitely filling the forest area near the aviary and viewing tower with the four extra ‘voices’.”

Marilyn uses the supplementary feeding times to record the condition of the kaka via their identification bands.

The kaka chicks are also forming personalities with the aptly named Puku, meaning stomach, living up to her name by regularly arriving first for peanuts and pushing herself to the front to make sure she gets lots of food.

The kaka chicks are joining a number of previously released kaka for the supplementary feeding times which are held in Maungatautari’s southern enclosure at the aviary Monday – Friday between 10.30am and 11.00am, weekends 10.00am and 3.30pm.

Time for kiwi to get breeding

29 May 09

Photo: Phil Brown

The longer autumnal nights have signalled the start of the kiwi breeding season.

Over the past few weeks kiwi calling on Maungatautari has increased as the birds call to their mates and begin to share burrows and prepare for the peak egg laying season in mid winter.

“This is also the time of the year when we put new radio-transmitters on the adult birds and give them a health check,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“Its ideal timing as we can also track the birds and see who is mating with who. Although pair bonds do often last for many years – even for life, last year there was a bit of wife swapping as the kiwi attempted to find a suitable mate.”

“While it is early days we are excited about the partnership of Jo, an older female from the King Country, and Te Tuatahi-a-nui, a younger captive-bred male originally from the Otorohanga Kiwi House, who are sharing a burrow.”

“As one of the last surviving King Country kiwi, Jo carries invaluable genes which are now only available in the few remaining birds. It’s important that those genes survive, and for Maungatautari they would add to the genetic diversity of the population. We know Jo is old - we desperately want her to pass her genes on before her egg laying days are over.”

“She has certainly picked the perfect match. Te Tuatahi-a-nui is young (eight years old) and in great health – in fact he is one of the poster boys for the project – he was the first kiwi to be released into the southern enclosure and the first kiwi to call on the mountain in 100 years – quite a lineage for any resulting chicks.”

Jo was released into Maungatautari late last breeding season along with her King Country mate Mark. They had not produced a viable chick for many years while being monitored by the Otorohanga Zoological Society, and so were separated on Maungatautari in the hope that at least one of them would successfully breed with a new mate. It is not known yet if Mark has settled with a mate this season.

All the kiwi pairs on Maungatautari will be tracked over the winter period from a safe distance. ‘Chick-timer’ transmitters on the male kiwi indicate when they are incubating a clutch – and even emit a special radio signal when a chick is hatching under the male. At approximately 58 days (about three quarters of the way through incubation) the eggs are removed to the expert hatching facility at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua. The removal of the first clutch often promotes an earlier-than-normal laying of the second – and they can even lay a third clutch, which is normally only one egg instead of the usual two. Three weeks after hatching the chicks are transferred back to the pest free enclosures on Maungatautari. The chicks then live entirely independently of their parents.

Specialist aviary in demand

29 May 09

Photo: Julie Milne

Massey University, along with a number of other conservation groups, have requested plan details of the portable kit-set aviary designed and built by Maungatautari volunteers.

Specifically produced earlier this year, the aviary complex was used as a temporary ‘home’ for hihi (stitchbirds) and popokatea (whiteheads) during their recent translocation to Maungatautari.

“It seems that our kit-set structure is just what other groups have been looking for”, said Trust ecologist and co-designer Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“It is completely pest proof, colour coded for easy assembly, and is able to pack down to flat panels for transportation and cleaning. It includes a double-door entry system so birds can’t escape when a door is being opened, which is rather cleverly incorporated into the aviary layout to minimise the need for extra components. The light H4 treated timber framing makes the panels light to carry yet rigid when assembled.”

“Basically we have tried to think of everything from the animals and users point of view, and I think we have. I guess other groups think so as well which is a wonderful complement to the hardworking Trust volunteers who have put a total of 408 hours into designing and building the aviary.”

From an animal perspective the whole structure is enclosed in galvanised or stainless steel wire mesh to keep it pest proof and then internally covered with 30% shade cloth to stop birds injuring themselves and to provide some cover from the sun. All hooks holding the perches and feeding trays have been recessed so as not to damage any inhabitants. The food tray area is placed for easy access to the doors to reduce disturbance.

With other wildlife translocations to Maungatautari planned over the next few years the structure will be well used and will occasionally be on loan to other groups for conservation work.

Maungatautari volunteers Bill Mathers, Bryan Jenkin and Warwick Gatland led the build with assistance from Rod Lugton, Jim McKnight, John Shaw, John Sheat, Bob Vercoe, and David Welch.

Hihi treat for visitors

1 May 09

Photo: Phil Brown

The recently released hihi (stitchbirds) on Maungatautari are regularly visiting specially made feeders in the southern enclosure.

“On the day of the release several birds were seen at one of the feeders and since then there have been a number of sightings throughout the enclosure,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“With the feeders located next to the Rata track, close to the viewing tower and the aviary, visitors to the enclosure have the opportunity to get closer to this nationally endangered bird – it’s the first chance people have had to see hihi anywhere in the Waikato.”

Each feeder contains a bottle of sugar water placed in a red plastic base with artificial yellow flowers. The hihi retrieve the syrup mix from the holes in the ‘flowers’ with their brush-tipped tongues.

To prevent larger nectar feeders such as tui taking the syrup the feeders are wrapped in plastic and wire mesh with 40mm holes.

The Maungatautari Trust has now released 79 hihi into the southern enclosure - 59 from Tiritiri Matangi Island and more recently 20 from Little Barrier Island.

Following the recent hihi and popokatea (whitehead) releases Maungatautari staff and visitors have noticed a marked increase in the number of bird calls in the enclosure. While a hihi sighting during a visit to the southern enclosure cannot be guaranteed, the Trust recommends people stand a few metres from a feeder and wait quietly and patiently.”

Kaka chicks find Maungatautari voice

1 May 09

Photo: Marilyn Mackinder

Three months after hatching and a month after leaving their nest Maungatautari’s four kaka chicks are only now learning to ‘talk’.

Kaka calling in the southern enclosure aviary has recently increased now that the chicks have reached the calling stage in their development.

“But the three female and one male kaka are not just learning to ‘talk’, their parents are teaching them to ‘speak’ a specific dialect,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“The Maungatautari kaka chicks are also exposed to dialects from wild birds visiting from other forest areas such as Pureora Forest Park, and previously released birds constantly flying around in the southern enclosure.”

“By listening to, and imitating, this range of sounds these chicks will learn a combination of calls which will form the start of a dialect distinctive to Maungatautari.”

Kaka are members of the parrot family. Parrot chicks spend an extended time with their parents learning a range of social skills including ‘speaking’.

Other resident native birds on Maungatautari such as tui and bellbirds have already developed a Maungatautari dialect.

The kaka chicks are fed at Maungatautari’s southern enclosure aviary between 10.30am and 11.00am weekdays, and at 10.00am and 3.30pm on Saturday and Sundays.

NEW ZEALAND RESTORATION PROJECTS IMPRESS INTERNATIONAL PANEL

1 May 09

NEW ZEALAND is well represented in a list of Australasian ecological restoration projects drawn up by an international panel to showcase such work.

Nearly a third (eight) of the ‘Top 25’ projects are from New Zealand, which is impressive given the relatively small size of the country, compared to Australia, says Waikato University’s Professor Bruce Clarkson, the New Zealand representative on the selection panel.

“I don’t think the rest of the world really knows what is going on in Australasia, particularly New Zealand,” Professor Clarkson says. “I travel the world and I think some of the things that have been going on in New Zealand are world-class advances, particularly in terms of pest animal species control and predator proof fences.”

The projects include Maungatautari Ecological Island, Wellington’s Karori Sanctuary and Tiritiri Matangi Island. In addition, Hamilton’s Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park was highly commended.

The 18-month search for the top projects was initiated by Ecological Management & Restoration, the management-oriented journal of the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA), in partnership with ESA and the Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER International), the world’s premier restoration body.

The specialist panel was made up of two ecology professors, two natural area managers, a consulting ecologist and the EMR journal’s editor.

“The idea was to spread the word about some of the very high-quality work going on in Australia and New Zealand, which often is overlooked,” Professor Clarkson says.

Large and increasing efforts are being made across the world by agencies and citizens to rectify the enormous negative transformations of the environment that have occurred in recent centuries. “Slowly but surely, native vegetation is beginning to be regenerated and reinstated on lands where it once grew, and populations of native animals are being returned to their native habitats,” he adds.

Name the kaka competition winners

16 April 09

Photo: Marilyn Mackinder

Kaka names and winners

The Maungatautari Trust is delighted to announce the winners of the 'Name the kaka competition': The three female kaka have been named:

'Timata' meaning start, beginning
Winner: Te Raika Murray from Te Awamutu

'Flapper'
Winner: Tessa Winter from Putaruru

'Puku' meaning tummy stomach
Winner: Blake Seavill from Karapiro School

The male kaka's name is:
'Billy T'
Winner: Mrs Raewyn Stokes from Tauranga

The Maungatautari Trust thanks all those who entered – kaka feeding times are between 10.30am and 11.00am weekdays and at 10.00am and 3.30pm Saturday and Sundays.

Help our long term funding by submitting letters of support.

03 April 09

Environment Waikato regional council and Waipa District Council are currently seeking submissions on their Long Term Council Community Plans. The Trust has already done considerable work in ensuring that long term funding for Maungatautari is noted in the Draft Plans – in order to confirm that funding the project needs all Maungatautari supporters to show their support for the project via submissions.

We cannot stress enough the importance of the Maungatautari restoration project to the long term viability of our native species and to the health of our environment.

In only a few years of restoration Maungatautari has already made a positive impact on the state of our threatened wildlife by providing a safe ‘home’ for a pair of critically endangered takahe and nationally endangered kiwi, kaka, kokopu ( native trout) hihi (stitchbirds) and popokatea (whiteheads). More endangered species will join them as funding allows.

Where else in the Waikato can you get up close to such a range of native species – and the restoration of Maungatautari has only just begun! Maungatautari will not only be the single most important site for a number of our wildlife, such as kokako, it will also be an additional safe breeding site for other species such as the hihi and tieke (saddlebacks).

Regardless of where you live, whether it is within the Waikato, New Zealand or overseas, a positive submission from you and your organisation will have an influence on the details in the final Plans - we therefore urge you to give this your immediate attention.

Environment Waikato regional council (note the question relating to Maungatautari is the Natural Heritage rate question (fifth question). Submissions close 4pm 20 April 2009

Waipa District Council (note the question relating to Maungatautari is the fifth question on the submission form at the end of the pdf). Submissions close 5pm 17 April 2009

Thank you for your continued support and I know that your submission will make a difference.

Jim Mylchreest
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Whiteheads return to Maungatautari

30 March 09

Photo: Phil Brown

For the second time in a month the Maungatautari Trust has released a locally extinct native bird species into the pest free southern enclosure on Maungatautari.

Sixty whiteheads (popokatea) captured on Little Barrier Island during the last week were flown to the mountain sanctuary courtesy of Mitch Plaw, Architectural Profiles Limited, in his privately owned helicopter.

“It’s about 20 years since whiteheads were officially sighted on Maungatautari,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“These 60 birds are another important step in the restoration process. We reintroduce them now and let their numbers slowly build up. Whiteheads are likely to become the most commonly seen and heard bird on the mountain – quite simply without them our restoration would be very incomplete ecologically, visually, acoustically, and aesthetically.

“ANZ National Bank Rural Manager Neil Warren attended the release on behalf of the ANZ National Staff Foundation who co-sponsored the whitehead release along with World Wide Fund for Nature.

Mr Warren said that getting a number of species back on the mountain was important and he was delighted that the Staff Fund was able to help with that.

Photo: Phil Brown

Maungatautari has a variety of suitable habitat for whiteheads as the mountain has at least eight distinct altitudinal vegetation zones – and these birds are expected to utilise most of that. In winter the birds will form noisy flocks which will be a highlight for visitors.

Whiteheads are the fifth bird species to be reintroduced on the mountain after kiwi, kaka, takahe and hihi.

Whitehead facts

Whiteheads are primarily insectivorous – they eat a variety of spiders, moths, caterpillars and beetles although they do supplement their ‘meat’ diet with the fruit of several native trees including the matipo and mahoe.

Whiteheads form flocks in winter, and often form mixed feeding flocks with other insectivorous birds like saddlebacks, fantails and silvereyes. The smaller species like whiteheads seem to take advantage of the vigourous foraging of the larger birds like saddlebacks which disturb small insects for them to catch.

Hihi back on Maungatautari

07 March 09

Photo: Phil Brown

Maungatautari volunteers and supporters have welcomed 59 nationally endangered hihi (stitchbird) to the mountain’s pest free southern enclosure – the first hihi on Maungatautari in well over a century.

The birds were transported via helicopter from Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf and mark the first translocation of hihi to the Waikato region and the start of a sustainable breeding population which will eventually see hihi proliferate across the 3,400 hectares of pest free native forest.

Maungatautari Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest said that it was a special milestone for the restoration project.

“It is wonderful to see hihi back in the Waikato and its all thanks to a joint effort from World Wide Fund for Nature, who funded the translocation, and the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi group, along with the Department of Conservation whose great conservation work on the island has provided a surplus hihi population.”

Earlier in the week Maungatautari staff and volunteers, and volunteers from the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi, Zoological Society of London, Ark in the Park and Massey University captured the hihi on the island. The birds were then held in aviaries waiting the results of disease screening before being transported to the mountain reserve.

Photo: Phil Brown

Department of Conservation programme manager in Warkworth Liz Maire said she was delighted with the translocation.

“It’s wonderful to see the cooperation between these two community conservation groups which not only increases the population of hihi on the mainland but also gives more members of the public the opportunity to see these birds in their natural environment – it’s a win-win situation.”

The hihi are the fourth bird species to be translocated to the mountain. Since the restoration of Maungatautari began in 2002 kiwi, a pair of critically endangered takahe, and ten nationally endangered kaka have been released into the pest free enclosures.

In late March the Maungatautari Trust team intend to travel to Little Barrier Island to source a further 20 hihi and approximately 60 whiteheads.

Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest and Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy carry some of the hihi into the release site. Photo: Phil Brown

Hihi (stitchbird) facts

Hihi were once found throughout the North Island but declined due to loss of forest habitat, introduction of mammalian predators and arrival of new avian diseases. The last recorded sighting on the mainland in the Tararua Ranges in 1883.

The hihi is classified as nationally endangered - the total population across all known sites is estimated to be in the low thousands.

Genetic research has revealed hihi belong to a new family of birds found only in New Zealand. Previously it was thought they belonged to the honeyeater family along with tui and bellbird.

Hihi nest in holes in trees and are the only bird known to also mate face to face.

Beside the male with the distinctive yellow band across the chest and a black head the female is brownish and comparatively dull.

Kaka Chicks leave the nest

28 February 09

Photo: Marilyn Mackinder

The four kaka chicks which hatched on Maungatautari in mid December have successfully left their nest box in the southern enclosure aviary.

Kaka carer Marilyn Mackinder found the first chick on the aviary floor on St Valentine’s Day when she arrived at 9.30am to feed the birds and clean out their flight area. The others followed a few days later.

“The chicks have been in the nest box for 60 days and for the majority of that time we couldn’t see them and only heard the odd rustle so I’m just so relieved to see them safely on the ground,” said Mrs Mackinder.

As the chicks are still unable to fly when they leave the nest each one has climbed out of the nest box along a perch and down the mesh walls of the aviary to the ground. They will flap around the aviary until their wings develop - in the wild this behaviour makes them highly susceptible to predators.

“Both parents are caring for the chicks, I have seen Wild-one, the male, feeding them pieces of apple and the Mum, Mia, has been very protective and squawks very loudly if she thinks I am getting too close to them when I am in putting out fresh food.”

In the next few months the kaka chicks will be released from the aviary however the Trust hopes that they stay in the area and join the other kaka for the supplementary feeding and ultimately breed in the pest free protected area.

28 February 09

Photo: Phil Brown

Preparations for the first hihi (stitchbird) translocation to Maungatautari are now in full swing to ensure the transfer of 60 birds from Tiritiri Matangi, planned for March, runs smoothly.

Some additional birds (probably 10-20) will also be translocated from Little Barrier Island, to maximise genetic diversity in the new Maungatautari population. The capture and transfer from Little Barrier will take place less than a week after the Tiritiri Matangi operation.

Leading the operation is seasoned translocation expert and Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy who has managed prolonged operations on various islands around New Zealand including Raoul Island.

Volunteers will be central to the translocation and one group is already building five easy-to-assemble portable aviaries for holding the birds on the islands until they are ready to be transported to Maungatautari.

The aviaries have been specially designed so that they can be transported in a kit-set form, assembled on site, and then dismantled and easily disinfected against disease. They will also be valuable for future translocations of several species.

Volunteer chef Jan Olsen has been given the task of buying enough food for 11 people for a week or more as well as the logistics of getting it onto, and stored, on Tiritiri Matangi.

Along with the hihi the Trust also plans to translocate 60 whiteheads from Little Barrier, as the catching technique used there should work for both species. This will also eliminate the cost of a separate translocation of this species from another site. Whiteheads became locally extinct on Maungatautari about 20 years ago.

Maungatautari should be large enough and have sufficient habitat to hold what might well become the only self-sustaining population of the nationally endangered hihi on mainland New Zealand. The success of the translocation will be intensively monitored.

19 January 09

Photo: Graeme Milne

Maungatautari’s first kiwi chick for 2009 has been released into the pest free southern enclosure. Tetley is Robin and Horokio’s third chick for this breeding season.

The egg was taken to the expert hatching facility at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua part way through its incubation and carefully monitored until it hatched. Two weeks later Tetley was reported to be ‘scoffing its food’ and was deemed ready to return to Maungatautari by the Kiwi Encounter team.

Chief executive Jim Mylchreest said that it had been a great season for the Maungatautari kiwi so far. Five chicks had already been released, one had hatched on the mountain, another was expected to hatch later this month at Kiwi Encounter and the transmitter on male kiwi, Mark, indicated that he was incubating a clutch - his first on Maungatautari.

“We hope to continue that success throughout 2009 and plan to have a number of new species translocations as well as further releases of kiwi and kaka. Plans for hihi and whitehead translocations are well underway with teams scheduled to go to Tiritiri Matangi (and perhaps Little Barrier Island) to collect several pairs in a few months time. Then, if we can secure the estimated $95,000 required to translocate several pairs of kokako, we will be busy with kokako releases later in the year.”

“With the mountain now virtually pest free it is great to be getting into the serious business of species translocations and making progress toward achieving our vision of returning endangered wildlife to Maungatautari.”

19 January 09

Photo: Julie Milne

Regular sightings of kaka in Maungatautari’s southern enclosure are bringing visitors to the mountain restoration project.

Several kaka, which were released onto the mountain from the aviary in the southern enclosure over the last two years, have been seen in the area near the 16 metre high viewing tower and aviary throughout the day.

Keyed into the sound of volunteer kaka carer Marilyn Mackinder’s 4 wheel drive motor bike the birds come to the bird feeders at around 9.30am and again at around 3.30pm when Marilyn arrives with a selection of supplementary food.

Maungatautari Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy said he was delighted that the birds were appearing regularly.

“It’s what we have been strategically working toward since we started the (ongoing) kaka reintroduction programme two years ago. The aim has always been to make sure that people can see these endangered birds in their natural environment, and to increase their numbers.”

“While we would like to think that kaka will continue to visit the release area twice a day there are no guarantees so let’s enjoy them while we can.” The four kaka chicks which hatched in the aviary over Christmas continue to thrive in the nest box. The female is now feeding them small pieces of solid food.

Kaka breed on Maungatautari

23 December 08

The female, Mia begs for food from her partner Wildone. Photo: Phil Brown

For the first time in an estimated 50 years the nationally endangered kaka are breeding on Maungatautari - the restoration project in the Waikato.

Four fluffy white chicks have hatched in the southern enclosure aviary under the watchful eye of parents Wildone and Mia, who are on loan from Auckland Zoo.

“It’s our second reintroduced species to breed on the mountain, after kiwi, since the restoration project began and tangible progress toward our goal of returning native wildlife to Maungatautari,” said Maungatautari Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy

The chicks will remain in the nest for about 60 days – at that stage they are still unable to fly and will climb to the ground where they will flap around for a further few days while their wings develop.

To help the chicks imprint on Maungatautari they will stay in the aviary with their parents until they are six months old. After their release it is hoped that they will remain on the mountain.

Kaka carer Marilyn Mackinder took the chance to check for chicks when she noticed that the female had momentarily left the nest, and was delighted to find them.

Photo: Marilyn Mackinder

Wildlife photographer Phil Brown had to wait in the aviary for another two days for his photographic opportunity. During that time the male fed the female about every 80 minutes and then the female fed the chicks.

To-date ten adult kaka have been released on Maungatautari, each spending time in the aviary while they became accustomed to their new home. Some of the previously released kaka are regularly seen in and around the mountain’s southern enclosure and from the 16 metre forest canopy viewing tower.

Kaka are just one of the species the Maungatautari Trust are reintroducing to the 3,400ha mountain. Takahe, kiwi and kokopu have already been released and over the next few years the Trust plans to reintroduce kokako, tuatara, stitchbird (hihi) saddleback, robins, rifleman, kakariki and whiteheads.

The southern and northern enclosures on Maungatautari have been pest free since early 2005 and in 2006 a 47km predator proof fence was completed around the forest edge of the mountain. To-date 12 of the 15 pest species on the main mountain have been eradicated with only small populations of rabbits, hares, and mice remaining.

Bat search on Maunga

23 December 08

Are there any short tailed bats on Maungatautari? That’s the question Maungatautari Trust will try and answer this summer.

In mid December several weatherproof bat sonar recorders, complete with a digital memory card and enough battery power for several days recording, will be placed across the mountain close to tawari trees, which are currently producing nectar, and other likely bat flight paths. Each box will be set ready to record the ultrasonic sounds of the forest at night which may include the distinctive very high-pitched echo-location of the short tailed bat.

Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy will review the many hours of recordings collected during December and January. The exercise is a necessary prerequisite to any future short tailed bat translocations.

“Before we can translocate any species onto the mountain we check to see if there are any surviving populations. A remnant population could be genetically distinct which would be fantastic news and, in the case of short tailed bats, a rare find. We would then want to look carefully at the existing gene pool before we considered adding any ‘new’ bats,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“If we don’t find any short tailed bats we will begin a translocation proposal to bring them to the mountain. If, on the other hand, we find some it will be incredibly exciting.”

“In 1977 the New Zealand Wildlife Service received a possible report of a short tailed bat on Maungatautari, but that was not followed up or verified as very few people were working on bats in New Zealand in those days.”

Big demand to see night life

23 December 08

Photo: Phil Brown

Maungatautari guides are gearing up for a busy season as demand for the guided night walks in the southern enclosure at Pukeatua steadily increases.

“People don’t want to walk through the forest oblivious to the often hidden animal life – they want an expert to show them what is lurking under a leaf, or a rock and be able to tell them all about it. Whether it is weta, kokopu, spiders or kiwi calling, visitors to the mountain don’t want to miss anything, said Maungatautari Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest.

The $90 per person package includes a pre-set two-course dinner at the Out in the Styx Guesthouse with your guide – a chance to learn more about the restoration project before embarking on the guided walk.

The Trust supplies headlamps but participants should wear warm clothing and good walking shoes. Maungatautari Trust members get a 10% discount. Tours will run with a maximum of ten and a minimum of four people.

Book at the Out in the Styx Guesthouse in Pukeatua on 0800 461 559.

No sign of eleven pest species

23 December 08

Results from extensive pest monitoring on the 3,400ha of native forest on Maungatautari suggest that only small numbers of four pest species - mice, rabbits, hares and goats, remain on the mountain.

“We have effectively eradicated the other eleven pest species. It’s been two years since we have detected any sign of stoats, weasels, pigs, two species of deer, cats, ferrets, hedgehogs, two species of rat, and possums, said Maungatautari Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest.

“It’s incredibly exciting – we are very close to being pest free.”

“No mice were detected in the latest monitoring round but we will need a few more clear monitoring rounds before we are convinced they have been removed. In the meantime as volunteers and staff continue to monitor the 2,500 tracking tunnels across the mountain, we will step up our activities around removing the last rabbits and hares so that we can confidently cross two more pest species off the list.

“Trust field staff will join an experienced rabbiter and systematically work around the forest edge of the mountain to eliminate the remaining few rabbits and hares.

Earlier this year the Trust placed Judas goats on the mountain – goats are social animals so armed with transmitters their task was to congregate with any local populations. After several months they only found each other. Staff will continue to check for goat sign before the mountain is declared goat free.

The northern and southern enclosures were declared pest free in early 2005, they remain pest free and are currently home to 19 kiwi.

Maungatautari is the largest restoration project in New Zealand involving the total eradication of pests. August 2006 marked the completion of a 47km pest proof fence which skirts around the forest edge of the mountain and forms a complete barrier to all pest species.

The Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust is a community led charitable Trust whose vision is to remove forever, introduced mammalian pests and predators from Maungatautari, and restore to the forest a healthy diversity of indigenous plants and animals not seen in our lifetime.

Kiwi, takahe, kaka and kokopu have already been returned to the pest free enclosures. Reintroductions of hihi, robins, whiteheads, kokako and tuatara are scheduled for the next few years.

special guest for kcc celebration

11 November 08

Photo: Phil Brown

Special guest for KCC celebration The Waikato branch of the Kiwi Conservation Club celebrated the national organisation’s 20th anniversary on Saturday with a night walk on Maungatautari and a meeting with a three week old kiwi chick.

Te Koingo was being transferred from Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua to Maungatautari and en route stopped at Matapihi, the Maungatautari education facility, to meet club members and get its transmitter attached.

“We couldn’t think of a better place to celebrate the club’s 20th anniversary than at the iconic Maungatautari restoration project. Maungatautari is being created for future generations and that is exactly why our organisation was developed - to encourage young people’s interest in conservation,” said Chris Eames, KCC’s Waikato Coordinator.

Photo: Phil Brown

“When we booked our celebration many months ago we had no idea that we might see a kiwi. To get up close to Te Koingo was really special for our club - children and parents. It was a wonderful experience and something for our club to treasure.”

Te Koingo, meaning something treasured, yearned for, is Robin and Horokio’s second chick for this season, and is sponsored by Kiwi Camping Company Ltd.

“We just want to do our bit for conservation and in particular Maungatautari - to be able to share the kiwi experience on Saturday with the KCC was the perfect start to our sponsorship arrangement,” said Kiwi Camping marketing manager Kelly Fredrickson.

Photo: Christopher Voss

Following the kiwi experience, wildlife photographer and Maungatautari guide Phil Brown, and education coordinator Gemma Green, escorted approximately 100 children and parents along the Rata Track in the southern enclosure to see the forest night life. The group climbed the forest canopy viewing tower and stopped to say goodnight to the kaka in the aviary before getting up close to weta, kokopu (native fish) and a selection of spiders.

The Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) is a national organisation run by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. It is unique to New Zealand and aims to help children aged between 5-12 years old enjoy and understand the environment, and to develop a concern for protecting and conserving it.

The Waikato branch of KCC began in the early 1990’s and has currently almost 350 members. The branch meets about once a month on the weekend for family-oriented activities such as bushwalks, caving, fossil hunting and native plantings.

Membership is available to schools, groups and families via www.kcc,org.nz or contact Chris Eames at c.eames@waikato.ac.nz or Ph 07 856 7334 after hours.

The website for Kiwi Camping Company is visit www.kiwicamping.co.nz

Bumper crop of Kiwi for maungatautari

11 November 08

Te Koingo - Robin and Horokio's second chick for 2008 Photo: Kiwi Encounter

With one kiwi chick already released onto the mountain and two more releases scheduled for the next few weeks, Maungatautari was already chalking up a successful breeding year.

The latest news from the mountain however, suggests that it could be better than predicted with transmitters on three male kiwi, Robin, Elmo and Parure, indicating that they are incubating eggs.

It will be the second clutch this season for three year old male kiwi Robin, and his partner Horokio.

For Elmo it will be his second egg since his arrival on the mountain in August 2006. In December 2007 he and his original partner Atua hatched Huatahi – the first kiwi chick on the mountain in more than 100 years.

“The process of taking the viable eggs to Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua for hatching is already paying dividends. As hoped we already have two healthy chicks – and one pair appear to be breeding again,” said Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“We’re certainly going to be kept busy over the summer monitoring the chicks, and quite frankly I can’t think of a better way to spend the holiday season.”

Big welcome for little chick

17 October 08

Te Piringa, meaning ‘joining together’ was released into the southern enclosure on 11 October 2008. Fiona Prause

More than 200 Maungatautari volunteers and supporters gathered in the southern enclosure on Saturday morning to welcome the first kiwi chick for 2008.

Kaumatua Wally Papa named the chick Te Piringa, meaning ‘joining together’ before it was removed from its traveling container and introduced to the crowd.

Te Piringa’s mother, Horokio, was bred at the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park. Nancy Jensen from the Park said that she was delighted to be there and to see the chick settle into its new home.

“With all the attention this little chick is getting I feel like a very proud Nana.”

Honorable Members of Parliament and strong supporters of the restoration project, Nanaia Mahuta and Mark Burton, were given the honour of placing Te Piringa in its burrow.

“It was wonderful to be able to share this milestone with our volunteers, said Maungatautari Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest. “And it’s a real thrill to release a chick which will live its whole life in a predator free environment – it really makes you feel as though we are making progress in the fight against native wildlife extinction.”

Te Piringa had been transferred to the artificial hatching facility at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua a few weeks before hatching, and driven back to Maungatautari early on Saturday.

It is the first chick for Maungatautari’s three year old kiwi pair Robin and Horokio, their second fertile egg for this season is due to hatch in a few days time.

The sex of Te Piringa will not be known for a number of weeks.

Kaka flies in for lunch

17 October 08

Fiona Prause

Following an eleven month absence one of the male kaka released on Maungatautari last year has suddenly returned to the aviary in the southern enclosure.

Unfortunately there is no way of knowing whether he was attracted by the imminent flowering of the rewarewa, the memory of carer Marilyn Mackinder’s healthy selection of vegetables, fruit and his preferred peanuts, or the calls of the kaka currently in the aviary.

“Rata arrived just as I was feeding the three kaka in the aviary and was eager to have a slice of apple,” said volunteer Marilyn Mackinder. “He was actually my favourite so I am just over the moon that he has returned. People tell us that they have seen kaka in their gardens and so it is really nice for me to get so close to one that I helped settle in the area.”

All male kaka released on Maungatautari have a red band on the right leg and an individual identification band on their left leg. The opposite banding regime is used for the females and they also have transmitters attached so that they can be tracked and monitored should they start breeding.

“It was always our hope that the location of the aviary would imprint on the birds and that they would return ‘home’,“ said Maungatautari Trust ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy. “We built the aviary close to the viewing tower to provide visitors with a view of birds flying around the area. “

The aviary in the southern enclosure is a temporary home for translocated animals. Within the next couple of months a new group of kaka will be housed there and the current resident trio released.

Kiwi chick success for Maungatautari

25 September 08

Weighing in at 307grams with dark brown feathers the Maungatautari project’s first kiwi chick for 2008 has hatched.

Kiwi pair Robin and Horokio kicked off this year’s breeding season by laying two fertile eggs.

“North Island brown kiwi have been known to lay two eggs in one clutch, however both eggs are not always fertile,” said Maungatautari Trust ecologist Mr Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

To ensure a successful outcome and to encourage the pair to lay more eggs this season, the eggs were taken to the specialist artificial hatching facility at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua.

The chick, as yet unnamed, will return to Maungatautari in about three weeks. [mid October]

The second chick is due in the middle of October.

First kiwi chick for 2008 Kiwi Encounter

Closing in on the last mouse

25 September 08

Mice will soon be an endangered species on Maungatautari if the recent eradication success continues.

That’s certainly the aim of the Maungatautari Trust and, with the results from the latest monitoring round showing a few hot spots of mice in the centre, and dotted along the eastern boundary of the mountain it is close to becoming a reality.

“While mice numbers are decreasing at the moment we are not about to relax - it is imperative that we remain vigilant, continue to gather data via our monthly monitoring regime, and eradicate mice when they are detected,” said Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest.

“Our aim is to have a totally pest free Maungatautari – as a precaution though, we must assume there are still mice in previously indicated hotspots and will therefore still conduct our final aerial poison bait drop for the year once the weather allows.”

A few rabbits and hares remain on the mountain along with two wild goats. Judas goats with bright orange collars with transmitters attached have not paired up with the wild goats prompting the Trust to contract a goat hunter to locate any present.

The northern and southern enclosures on Maungatautari have been pest free since mid 2006. In November that year the Trust conducted the first aerial poison operation across the remaining 3,300ha on the mountain and since then 11 of the 15 pest species have been removed. Possums, weasels, ferrets, stoats, hedgehogs, red deer, fallow deer, Norway rats, pigs, cats and dogs have not been detected during 2008.

During the monthly monitoring round volunteers and Trust staff walk an average of 4.5km each, to replace tracking cards slotted into 2,668 tracking tunnels which are strategically positioned along the 260km of monitoring lines. There is a tracking tunnel within 100 metres of any given point on the mountain.

Once the pest species are removed a host of wildlife, many endangered, can be returned to the mountain.

Rain halts kokako release

10 September 08

A much anticipated kokako release on Maungatautari has been postponed until 2009 due to the ongoing deluge of rain in the Waikato.

Plans were in place to collect the kokako from Pureora Forest Park during October for immediate release onto the mountain.

Continued rain fall across the mountain, however, has delayed the Trust’s final planned aerial pest eradication operation for this year.

“The birds had to be collected before the breeding season at the end of October, and we had to be sure that bait dropped during the eradication operation would have degraded before any kokako release - quite simply, because of the rain, we have run out of time,” said the Trust’s fauna ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy.

“The postponement is incredibly disappointing; however, to ensure the birds safety we must be patient and wait until next year.”

Kokako are critically endangered, with less than 800 breeding pairs left. They are considered, by some, to be New Zealand’s most beautiful song bird. When a population is established on Maungatautari, it is likely to increase the current total population by about 40% - and it will be one of the largest single populations of kokako.

The pests which directly threaten kokako have already been removed from the mountain.

No pests were detected in the western and central sections of the main mountain during the latest pest monitoring round. Mice are now only tracking in some monitoring tunnels along the southern and eastern boundary of Maungatautari.

Rare wildlife comes at cost

10 September 08

With the pest proof fence around the forest line of Maungatautari completed, two enclosures pest free, and only remnant populations of mice to eradicate from the main mountain, staff at the Maungatautari Trust are now planning a series of wildlife reintroduction's.

“Takahe, kiwi, kaka and kokopu have already been released into the pest free areas on Maungatautari. Kokako, robins, whiteheads, and stitchbird translocations, are all provisionally scheduled for 2009 but when you are dealing with rare wildlife it is not an easy, or cheap exercise,” said Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest.

An initial release of ten pairs of kokako, ranked by DOC as nationally endangered, will cost the Maungatautari Trust approximately $70,000. In order to provide a good base population the Trust will have to plan several releases. It is thought that Maungatautari should be large enough for at least 350 pairs – this would represent a 40% increase in the current world wide population.

The stitchbird is also listed as nationally endangered. Maungatautari could ‘house’ several thousand birds with the initial translocations costing approximately $30,000 for about 60 birds.

At approximately $15,000 each for the initial reintroduction's, the North Island robins and whiteheads are the cheapest of the species on the Trust’s list to replenish the mountain.

The planned translocations for 2009, including repeat releases of kiwi and kaka, is conservatively estimated at $150,000. While this cost should cover the anticipated consultation, surveys, catching, transporting, health checks and disease screening of the birds, it will not cover the subsequent ongoing monitoring costs.

“Our aim is to have the mountain packed full of native wildlife as it once was - we now have to further hone our fundraising skills and get these birds onto the mountain while they still exist, said Mylchreest.

Emergency response team kept busy

27 August 08

Recent storms in the Waikato have meant sleepless nights for the Maungatautari emergency response team and prompted 21 call-outs.

Small branches and one tree triggered the surveillance wire along the top of the fence which in turn alerted the emergency response team of the potential breaches via a series of text messages.

“The majority of call-outs were branches falling onto the surveillance wire posing no risk to the integrity of the reserve said operations manager Pim de Monchy. “One tree, however, smashed through two sections of fence in the southern enclosure at 3am, but thanks to the speed of the response team it was secured from pest invasion within 41 minutes of detection. Despite that speed, we have still implemented our emergency response plan and have activated a 200 metre x 400 metre grid of tracking tunnels, traps and bait stations – it is imperative we maintain our pest free status.”

“Thankfully we have an incredibly dedicated team of staff, volunteers and adjoining landowners willing to monitor the surveillance phone 24 hours a day and drop everything they are doing, including sleep, to get to the mountain as quickly as possible if alerted to a potential breach.“

The surveillance system is connected to the 47km pest proof fence, the water culverts, and the pedestrian and vehicle gates on the mountain. If the system detects that something has hit the fence hood, or if a water culvert or a gate is open and the water level low a text message is sent to a preset mobile phone detailing the nearest fence post to the potential problem. The mobile phone is rotated around Maungatautari staff and volunteers on a fortnightly basis.

During the July storm cycle 294 millimetres of rain were recorded at Pukeatua on the southern side of the mountain and winds gusting to 91km/hour at Kairangi.

The Trust is currently seeking sponsorship for its emergency response trailer. Valued at nearly $12,000, it is equipped with the tools and fence components required to rebuild a 16 metre section of fence. For night repairs the response team is supplied with a light-weight temporary fence designed to keep the area pest free until daylight hours when permanent repairs can be made.

Dog alert on Maungatautari

24 July 08

Maungatautari Trust staff have raced to the southern enclosure to check on the health of two takahe and eight kiwi after Trust volunteers reported seeing one couple walking three dogs and another couple walking two dogs in the wildlife reserve.

“I can’t believe how totally irresponsible these people have been,” said Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest.

“They knew they were entering a pest proof fenced wildlife reserve and with all the publicity we have had about our efforts to remove all the introduced mammalian pests, including dogs, it just defies belief that someone would even think about taking their dogs onto the mountain.”

“The signs say ‘no dogs’ and while the three dogs were reported to be on leads one of the other two was not. There are fewer than 240 takahe left in the world, two of which are in the southern enclosure. The prospect that one careless act could result in the death of a critically endangered takahe or a treasured kiwi is unthinkable," Mr Mylchreest said.

Maungatautari Trust fauna ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy said that the two takahe were unharmed and transmitters attached to all kiwi in the southern enclosure indicated that they were still alive including the young Huatahi - the first kiwi chick to hatch on the mountain in 100 years.

“Kiwi haven’t got a sternum, the bone to which the wing muscles are normally attached. One relatively soft dog bite or nudge can kill a kiwi. While a mature kiwi can fend off a stoat it can’t defend itself against a dog. Uncontrolled dogs kill many kiwi in New Zealand every year."

Mr Mylchreest stressed that the enclosures on the mountain had been left freely accessible for everyone's enjoyment. Actions of a few people may force the Trust to reconsider this privilege. Anyone seeing a dog on the mountain is asked to report the situation and collect as much evidence as possible so that a prosecution can be taken under the Maungatautari Scenic Reserve Bylaw 2007.

Maungatautari hosts Governor-General

11 Jun 08

Representatives from local iwi, Maungatautari staff and Trustees were part of the small but enthusiastic group to welcome His Excellency the Governor-General the Honourable Anand Satyanand, and his wife Susan, when they visited the Maungatautari project this week.

Maungatautari Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest said it had been a huge honour to host their Excellencies on the mountain, and he was especially delighted that they had clearly enjoyed their visit.

During the welcome Department of Conservation Conservator Greg Martin talked about the significance of Maungatautari not only to the Waikato but also for New Zealand’s conservation effort.

Following afternoon tea at the Out in the Styx Guesthouse, the Governor General and his wife were escorted to the viewing tower in the southern enclosure. Amidst the forest canopy Trust fauna ecologist Chris Smuts-Kennedy explained how Maungatautari was an important refuge for New Zealand’s most threatened wildlife following their decline in unprotected areas. In particular he referred to the introduction of two, critically endangered, South Island takahe to the mountain as the North Island species was now extinct.

Just before leaving the mountain their Excellencies called in to see the three kaka in the aviary.

Mice under aerial attack

June 08

The Maungatautari Trust will conduct a targeted aerial poison bait operation this winter to reduce remaining pockets of mice on the mountain.

“We’re hitting the mice hard while they are at their most vulnerable - in winter when food is limited,” said Maungatautari Trust operations manager Pim de Monchy.

“Pest monitoring using tracking tunnels and dogs has helped us determine the sites where mice are still present."

Helicopters guided by digital global positioning system (DGPS) units, will be used to apply four kilograms of cereal Brodifacoum-laced bait per hectare across selected sites through southern and middle sections of the mountain.

The operation will require four dry days to allow time for the bait to be eaten by the largest number of mice, and will be repeated seven to ten days later.

The southern and northern enclosures remain pest free and are therefore not part of this operation.

No bait will be aerially dispersed within 100m of the perimeter fence boundaries.

Visitors to the mountain are reminded not to handle any of the green-dyed bait.

Gate locked to keep takahe safe

16 May 2008

As at 12 May, the southern enclosure on Maungatautari will be locked each night (7pm to 8am) to help keep two residents safe. The Trust’s two takahe will winter in the southern enclosure while a pest eradication operation is conducted in their ‘home’, the Tautari Wetland. The gate will remain locked at night until mid August.

The Maungatautari Trust stresses that all visitors to the southern enclosure must remain on the tracks and asks that if people are lucky enough to encounter the takahe they should keep their distance and remain quiet and calm.

“Takahe are critically endangered with only an estimated 260 left. We are privileged to have two on Maungatautari and need to make sure that we do all in our power to ensure their safety”, said Maungatautari Trust operations manager Pim de Monchy.

The Trust received approval to move the takahe from the Takahe Recovery Group but decided to add the precautionary step of locking the southern enclosure gate at night.

Matariki and Hauhunga, were released into the Tautari Wetland on Maungatautari in June 2006. Timing of that release meant that the Trust had only time to remove pests such as cats, stoats and weasels which would threaten the birds. Over the last twenty months populations of mice and rabbits have increased.

The pest eradication of the wetland coincides with the operation currently underway on the remaining 3,300 hectares of native forest on the main mountain.