December 2019
Kaka
St Arnaud residents are being entertained by kaka - groups of up to 15 birds have been seen. FOR members are helping monitor the kaka which have transmitters fitted.
Feral Cats
Trapping catch numbers are low compared with previous years . In the last 4 months there have been 6 catches.
Friends of Rotoiti update- Wayne Sowman
Friends of Rotoiti Great Spotted Kiwi Project
Our new relationship manager, Jen Waite, has taken over from Nik Joice who has moved on to another position within DOC. Thanks to Nik for helping us with the project.
Jen has drawn up a new Draft Operational Plan for the translocation of kiwi to Lake Rotoiti. The operational technical details of the translocation cover consultation with iwi, ongoing training for the Friends of Rotoiti, Rotoiti kiwi territory mapping, translocation proposal documentation and source population. If all goes well translocation could happen late March or early April 2020. In March this year 20 acoustic recorders were placed within and around the RNRP by Friends of Rotoiti volunteers and DOC staff.
Kaka
The five kaka chicks that had transmitters attached in January and February this year are being monitored every Tuesday by Friends of Rotoiti volunteers. The birds seem to be staying in the area of the St Arnaud Range or the [RNRP] Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project area. The beech mast and early nesting efforts of kaka have contributed to one of the best breeding results for several years. Several birds have been sited flying around the Lake village area. Of the 4 chicks that were taken from the lake to be reared and released into the Abel Tasman area, 3 survived and were released at Bark Bay in September. Two Friends of Rotoiti volunteers were invited to attend the release.
Trap Upgrades
In March this year Friends of Rotoiti filed an application to the DOC Community Fund to upgrade the Friends trapping network. This comprises replacing the 450 rusting stoat traps with stainless steel traps and replacing 300 Victor rat traps. This will cost $26,443.75. In September we received notification that the application was successful. The project is active over 3 years. In year one all Victor traps will be replaced. The replacement of the DOC 200s will happen over the 3 years. We feel fortunate to have secured this funding as 378 applications were received, requesting approximately $44.4 million, with $8 million available.
Predator control Updates
Thanks to all the volunteers who have helped check all the trap lines over the last year. It has been very busy with the increase in rat numbers over the last couple of months. There have been some record catches on all lines.
A trial of long-life lures was conducted by a researcher from Victoria University of Wellington with help from FOR volunteers. The lures were placed in 28 traps around Honeydew Walk. Over 13 months there were fortnightly checks with the trial finishing in September. We have decided to keep the trapline in place with a small alteration to the line and the lure changed to Erayz. This line is being checked by volunteers once a week due to the high catches. The catch figures with long -life lures August to December [2018] 5 rats: from January 16th to October 19th [2019] 35 rats:with Erayz, October 23rd to November 19th [2019] 58 rats.
Wasp Control
The wasp control project for the Friends in 2020 will be very similar to last year. We need volunteers for the village area, Mt Robert/ Speargrass, Whisky Line, Lake Head loop( from Lake Head Hut to the swing bridge to Coldwater Hut), John Tait Hut to the swing bridge and East Sabine to Lake Rotorua. The John Tait and East Sabine volunteers will be flown in by helicopter. The bait will be put out about the last week in January and then 7 days later any remaining bait will be retrieved. Most of the lines can be done by two volunteers except the village line which requires about ten. Closer to the time we will ask for volunteers.
FOR Trustee News
The FOR Trustees had a meeting in October. The death of inspirational and hard working Peter Hale had left some positions to be filled. We also thanked Karen Diffenbach who has resigned ( temporarily hopefully) as the treasurer and as a trustee. Our new Trustee is Pip Berkett and Treasurer is Graeme Andrews. Thank you both for taking these positions.
If anybody has any interesting articles or photos they would like to share with FOR members could you please email these to friendsofrotoiti@gmail.com . These could be used on the web site or used by the communication group.
A full Friends of Rotoiti meeting will be held in summer with the date to be advised.