News • Southland Ecological Restoration Network

Rona cleared of Mice

Great news from the Pomona Island Trust that they have managed to get rid of the mice incursion that prevented them from using Rona Island as a nursery for the Haast tokoeka kiwi. They managed to gain the funding required to undertake an intensive poisoning programme pre Christmas, with bait stations laid out on a 25m x 50m grid pattern over the entire island. Monitoring with tracking tunnels since then has shown no mice tracks but increased tracks/marks made by insect life, a good sign for food stores for the kiwi when they are reintroduced. The Pomona Island Trust is all to aware that they cannot let their guard down as mice could swim to the island or jump off a boat. As ever with these predator free islands, they ask that boaties take extra care not to carry vermin with them when they head to these areas. In the meantime the Trust will keep monitoring, but great work by the team to achieve this outcome.

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Kiwi in the Back Yard

At the mid-March Landcare Networking Day on Stewart Island we saw photos from an Oban resident of a kiwi standing on their lawn, followed by another of one having a snooze in the sunshine on the lawn, within metres of their deck. How cool is that?! Full credit to the SIRCET group who have been working on pest control and conservation advocacy around the Oban area since 2003 which have enabled such outcomes as this. Their main focus to begin with was the removal of pests from Ackers Point, however this has extended further towards the Oban village. Kiwis have been reintroduced in to the area and are known to be breeding. A major problem for the kiwi is capture by dogs and the SIRCET group offer Oban residents the chance to train their dogs to be well behaved through a kiwi aversion course offered twice yearly. In 2010 SERN held a Bringing Back the Birds conference on Stewart Island. It is wonderful to hear of the great work by groups like SIRCET who are indeed achieving this goal.

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Kakariki back on Bluff Hill/Motopohue

The ongoing pest control work by the Bluff Hill/Motopohue Environment Trust is resulting in much improved bird life on the hill. Five minute bird counts are one way to monitor bird life in an area. In 2008 the bird count monitoring on Bluff HIll registered 40 birds seen or heard calling over the 5 minute period, while by 2014 the number recorded was 235. Along with the increased numbers of birds, the recent establishment of a population of kakariki, our native parakeet, on the hill is very exciting. The group have also gained permission to release some South Island robin on the hill. A further exciting development and a well deserved reward for all the hours the volunteers put in to maintaining a safe environment for our native wildlife.

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Good Nature Traps wipe out Rats

Environment Southland (ES) has been undertaking animal pest control in the Lower Mataura covenants for a number of years now. They have used a variety of control techniques - DOC200s, Timms traps, leg hold traps. Over this last year they established a 100m x 50m grid of Goodnature self resetting traps in the 20ha Stirling Block. This proved to be most successful with monitoring showing a drop in rat numbers from 25% in May to 0% by August. The monitoring remained at that level in November as well, eliminating the pressure of rat predation on breeding birds. Meanwhile in another uncontrolled block to the south east about 1km distance away, the Smith Block, the rat monitoring showed an increasing population through the year, to a rate of 90% by November. Comparing the cost of control using the DOC200 traps versus the Goodnature traps, due to the lower maintenance required, ES felt that the latter were the more cost effective option.

Posted on: Thursday, 11 February 2016

KCC visit Sherwood Forest

The junior arm of Forest & Bird, the Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) had a January field trip to visit Sherwood Forest at Tussock Creek. This rare flood plain forest, dominated by giant matais, was originally covenanted by Pat & Derek Turnbull, ensuring long term protection through a QEII Open Space Covenant. Purchased by the Sinclairs several years ago, they have continued the restoration work on the remnant, gaining an Environment Southland Environmental Enhancement Fund grant to undertake fencing renewal, along with animal and plant pest control. As well as that, they have continued the connection with schools, with Sacred Heart School having undertaken further restoration plantings in the spring.

Posted on: Thursday, 11 February 2016

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