June 2022

Kiwi translocation Gunner downs source site summary 3rd-5th May 2022

The kiwi catching team, which consisted of Jane Tansell (kiwi handler) and kiwi dog Ink, Chris Rickard (kiwi handler), Kate Simister (DOC), Ricki Mitchell (DOC), Brent Hartshorne (DOC) and Simon Thomas (Friends of Rotoiti) flew into Gunner downs on the Tuesday 3rd May 2022. The weather remained relatively stable over the course of the trip and flights into and out of Gunner Downs weren’t impaired by cloud, which can present a risk.

Over the duration of the first night approximately 80% of the pre identified pairs in the area were visited and played kiwi calls. Behaviourally, the majority of the birds did not respond to calls or come out into open sections suitable for catching. If catchers were situated on the edge of the vegetation, birds would stick to edge margins and then appear to move away.

One male kiwi was successfully caught approximately 50m into the bush, at the lower sections of Gunner Downs . The male approached as catchers were walking into his territory and from there was able to be enticed in enough with whistle calls to be caught by a net. The female (his mate) also came in approximately 20 minutes later and an attempt was made to catch her, but it was unsuccessful, and she moved away.

Over the duration of night two, teams split up and again targeted the upper and lower pairs. The majority behaved in a similar manner to the first night, but one pair did come into range of catchers. Due to thick sections of bush and unluckiness they were not caught.

An adult female ‘Mahara’ was successfully caught on the way back down to camp. The catch was aided heavily with a thermal scope as catchers had direction of her approach and distance. The call was made to fly the individual female in the morning due to signs of stress and the difficulty of having to carry her back to her home range, which was relatively far from camp.

Dog work was carried out during day hours and was successful in locating a kiwi, but he fled into thick bush and was unable to be caught.

Under the circumstances, catchers felt they had done well to catch two birds and any efforts over subsequent nights would just present the same numbers. Due to this, the call was made to pull the catch team out on May 5th.