"The big news is that we have a Whio pair with six ducklings on the Rangitikei River. I have never seen ducklings on the Rangitikei River in my almost 40 years of rafting. We have been viewing them for a couple of weeks now. No ducklings have been lost in that time. Very exciting stuff! A line of A24 traps protects this particular section of the river. The mahi is paying off!"
A good number of early season sightings reported from all over the Ruahines but so far these are the only ducklings. Still early days.....
From: Philip Hansen
"Was up Dead Dog over the weekend, and on our way out yesterday a pair of Whio flew away downstream ahead of us. Typical Dead Dog birds, they didn't stop to say hello. Later as we neared the sidle track back to Herrick's there were a pair of Whio on the river ahead
of us, didn't let us get close, but weren't too concerned about our presence
"Was up Dead Dog over the weekend, and on our way out yesterday a pair of Whio flew away downstream ahead of us. Typical Dead Dog birds, they didn't stop to say hello. Later as we neared the sidle track back to Herrick's there were a pair of Whio on the river ahead
of us, didn't let us get close, but weren't too concerned about our presence
Reported to Janet Wilson - Pohangina River 2 pairs above Top Gorge, Oroua 3 (or 5) in the lower river near Alice Nash Lodge. Pair up at Iron Gate Hut.
Lisa Whittle - reported sign at Sentry Box and lone whio in other smaller eastern streams near the farmland and a pair at Upper Makororo Hut.
Lisa Whittle - reported sign at Sentry Box and lone whio in other smaller eastern streams near the farmland and a pair at Upper Makororo Hut.
Te Potae team - 7 pairs on the Ikawatea Stream, pair at the Unknown Campsite, not many ducks around on the flood damaged rivers.
Please report your whio sightings so they can be entered in Whio Manager.
Please report your whio sightings so they can be entered in Whio Manager.
Ruahine Whio Protectors Annual Hui 25-27 August 2023
There was excellent turnout for the annual hui/gathering of those with a passion for the Ruahine Whio. This year we met at the very hospitable and comfortable Mākirikiri Marae in Dannevirke where we were very well looked after and catered for. Thanks to Arapera Paewai and her team for ensuring everyone felt very welcome. Thanks also to every one who came along and special thanks to those who did presentations.
As the meeting convenor, I thought it was remarkable how engaged everyone was, even when we went in to Saturday evening and continued through Sunday morning. Good to have a mix of new and more regular faces attending..
The record of the meeting are available by emailing [email protected]. They will be circulated to attendees shortly. There was a lot of interesting information shared which is included so worth a read.
It won't come as a surprise to anyone that whio numbers were well down from last year's survey - Cyclone Gabrielle had done extraordinary damage to many of the rivers and whio food was in short supply. Here is some of the report and a few of the pics supplied. I can email the full report if anyone who would like a copy
As the meeting convenor, I thought it was remarkable how engaged everyone was, even when we went in to Saturday evening and continued through Sunday morning. Good to have a mix of new and more regular faces attending..
The record of the meeting are available by emailing [email protected]. They will be circulated to attendees shortly. There was a lot of interesting information shared which is included so worth a read.
It won't come as a surprise to anyone that whio numbers were well down from last year's survey - Cyclone Gabrielle had done extraordinary damage to many of the rivers and whio food was in short supply. Here is some of the report and a few of the pics supplied. I can email the full report if anyone who would like a copy
Northern Ruahine Post Cyclone Gabrielle Whio Survey
May 2023 - Peter Bird DOC
A post cyclone whio survey in the Mangatera and Ikawetea catchments was undertaken over three days in May 2023 using whio detection dogs. Damage to the rivers and invertebrates which the whio feed on was still obvious three months after the cyclone.
Pair numbers on the Mangatera/Remutupo were well down from the previous survey. The water was discoloured, and the riverbed consisted of mobile gravel, with few or no invertebrates present in most places. Three pairs and two single birds were found in this stretch of the survey.
The Waiokotore stream, having a more stable riverbed held a similar number of pairs to the previous survey undertaken in 2022. The water was running clear, and invertebrates were plentiful. 3.3km of river was surveyed and two pairs and two single birds were found.
The Apias stream was unrecognisable from what it was pre cyclone. The majority of the vegetated river terraces have disappeared and have been replaced by gravel. The water was discoloured and full of mobile shingle. Five pairs and six single birds were found.
8 km of the Ikawetea stream was surveyed. A total of two pairs and two single birds were found. The stream was running clear and cyclone damage was less visible compared to the Apias.
These sites will all be resurveyed in May 2024.
May 2023 - Peter Bird DOC
A post cyclone whio survey in the Mangatera and Ikawetea catchments was undertaken over three days in May 2023 using whio detection dogs. Damage to the rivers and invertebrates which the whio feed on was still obvious three months after the cyclone.
Pair numbers on the Mangatera/Remutupo were well down from the previous survey. The water was discoloured, and the riverbed consisted of mobile gravel, with few or no invertebrates present in most places. Three pairs and two single birds were found in this stretch of the survey.
The Waiokotore stream, having a more stable riverbed held a similar number of pairs to the previous survey undertaken in 2022. The water was running clear, and invertebrates were plentiful. 3.3km of river was surveyed and two pairs and two single birds were found.
The Apias stream was unrecognisable from what it was pre cyclone. The majority of the vegetated river terraces have disappeared and have been replaced by gravel. The water was discoloured and full of mobile shingle. Five pairs and six single birds were found.
8 km of the Ikawetea stream was surveyed. A total of two pairs and two single birds were found. The stream was running clear and cyclone damage was less visible compared to the Apias.
These sites will all be resurveyed in May 2024.
Te Potae O Awarua - early season trap check 14/15 October 2023 - here is Chris Tuffley's post he wrote on facebook and some of his lovely pics - well worth a read.
How did that roll around so quickly? It seems like only yesterday I was splashing down Ikawetea Stre am with Anthony on the last Te Pōtae trap check of the 2022-23 season. But that was May, and now here we are in October, and there I was last weekend, making my way down Ikawetea Stream again on the first trap check of the 2023-24 season, with Lucy from the Palmy DoC office rec team this time.
Looking at the forecast last week I'd been sure the trip would be cancelled - I thought it looked too wet and windy for flying! But Owen from Midwest Helicopters clearly has an inside line on the weather: we got the message on Friday saying he'd given the trip the go ahead, and by golly if the weather didn't turn out pretty alright! Sunny much of the time, the rain didn't amount to much, and the wind did pick up on Sunday but not enough that the helicopter couldn't come in and get us - although we did all wonder! and it was a little bumpy on the way out. Good to get that first check of the season in as scheduled! Last season the first check didn't go until December - and then only after being rescheduled a couple of times.
It's always hard to be completely sure just how many whio you met on a day travelling down the stream. Is this a new pair, or the same one we saw some traps back??? They're territorial birds, so you tend to meet them in ones and twos - or with ducklings in tow if it's later in the season and you're lucky. But trying to account for repeat encounters I think we met as many as seven pairs of whio as we wound our way down the beautiful green tunnel that is the Ikawetea Stream, clearing and rebaiting traps as we went. Seven pairs! Awesome stuff. But - sobering statistic time - DoC estimates the total whio population at less than 3000, which puts those 14 whio at about half a percent of the total population. That's one 200th of all the whio in the world, all in one day, all in an ~8km stretch of just one stream. We'd better look after them, Aotearoa.
Some whio don't want a bar of you - as soon as they see you they're out of there. We met some of those: one pair just drifted away downstream ahead of us every time we rounded a bend and came in sight again. But some whio just aren't that fussed by you, and we met some of them too. One in particular just sat there preening while we watched from only four or five metres away, crouching feet in the water against the rock wall on the other side of the stream. We watched our fill until - traps to check, a hut to get to, before dark if possible - we reluctantly started moving again. Only then did it take its leave - but we met it again a short while later, with its partner this time.
Other close encounters for the weekend include titipounamu / riflemen, a riroriro / grey warbler, a couple of pōpokotea / whitehead, a kārearea / NZ falcon flying by overhead, a mātātā / fernbird ticking away in the bushes out of sight, a water spider, a pūriri moth and a bank covered in glow worms. All in all an excellent haul of nature encounters!
Catches - 8 stoats, 3 weasels, 328 rats, 3 mice, 2 cats and 6 other = 347 kills (some data still to come)
Geoff Whittle Reports from the Eastern Ruahines - Spring is always a difficult time in the hills, but Lisa and I managed to get away for two trapping trips recently.
No Mans Rd, Dead Dog 11-13 September
On our first trip we were dropped of at the start of No Mans Rd. I’d never walked this road before and had never really wanted to, but it was quite a pleasant stroll checking the traps along the road to Ruahine Hut. In the afternoon we checked traps along the track that heads from Ruahine Hut to Shute’s Hut. We had enough time to check 30 traps before returning to the hut. There was lots of fresh whio sign in Waitutu Stream. We didn’t get to the much bigger Koau Stream, but I’ve always thought that it should have a reasonable whio population.
Ruahine Hut is a great place to spend the night. In normal times it usually has hunters there, but Cyclone Gabrielle put an end to that and, judging from the logbook there had been very few visitors for some time.
Next morning we continued trapchecking up the road to Hinemanu Hut (White Hut). It was windy enough to feel glad that we weren’t heading along the tops. Instead we turned back to the Dead Dog turnoff and checked the A24 line down to Dead Dog Hut. I had been interested in checking out the state of No Mans Rd. I had expected that itwould be bad in quite a few places, but it turns out that the only problem is one major washout about a kilometre from the farm gate. That’s a serious problem. There is nothing left of the road and a signifcant vertical drop on the downhill side. I believe that money has been set aside for the repairs, so here’s hoping that it happens soon.In the morning we checked traps down the river from Dead Dog Hut. I always call it Dead Dog Stream, but it is actually Big Hill Stream, although I must admit that it took me quite some time to realise that two familiar streams were one and the same. The river had suffered badly from Gabrielle, but most of the traps were still there. Quite a few had been underwater. There is survival value in being anchored to a tree. We saw quite a bit of whio sign, but didn’t see or hear any. Phillip Hansen has been in more recently and he reported seeing two pairs.
We had difficulty locating the exit from the river to the track that leads to Herrick’s Hut and found ourselves at a point below where we expected to exit. Rather than backtrack we scrambled straight up the grassy slope until we encountered the track. The track itself is currently pretty vague until you hit true forest. From Herrick’s we found our way down to the stream which we followed to Big Hill farmland and were picked up by the Mauri Oho team at the Big Hill gate. All in all a pleasant trip. Not a huge amount in the traps apart from the usual supply of hedgehogs along No Mans Rd.
No Mans Rd, Dead Dog 11-13 September
On our first trip we were dropped of at the start of No Mans Rd. I’d never walked this road before and had never really wanted to, but it was quite a pleasant stroll checking the traps along the road to Ruahine Hut. In the afternoon we checked traps along the track that heads from Ruahine Hut to Shute’s Hut. We had enough time to check 30 traps before returning to the hut. There was lots of fresh whio sign in Waitutu Stream. We didn’t get to the much bigger Koau Stream, but I’ve always thought that it should have a reasonable whio population.
Ruahine Hut is a great place to spend the night. In normal times it usually has hunters there, but Cyclone Gabrielle put an end to that and, judging from the logbook there had been very few visitors for some time.
Next morning we continued trapchecking up the road to Hinemanu Hut (White Hut). It was windy enough to feel glad that we weren’t heading along the tops. Instead we turned back to the Dead Dog turnoff and checked the A24 line down to Dead Dog Hut. I had been interested in checking out the state of No Mans Rd. I had expected that itwould be bad in quite a few places, but it turns out that the only problem is one major washout about a kilometre from the farm gate. That’s a serious problem. There is nothing left of the road and a signifcant vertical drop on the downhill side. I believe that money has been set aside for the repairs, so here’s hoping that it happens soon.In the morning we checked traps down the river from Dead Dog Hut. I always call it Dead Dog Stream, but it is actually Big Hill Stream, although I must admit that it took me quite some time to realise that two familiar streams were one and the same. The river had suffered badly from Gabrielle, but most of the traps were still there. Quite a few had been underwater. There is survival value in being anchored to a tree. We saw quite a bit of whio sign, but didn’t see or hear any. Phillip Hansen has been in more recently and he reported seeing two pairs.
We had difficulty locating the exit from the river to the track that leads to Herrick’s Hut and found ourselves at a point below where we expected to exit. Rather than backtrack we scrambled straight up the grassy slope until we encountered the track. The track itself is currently pretty vague until you hit true forest. From Herrick’s we found our way down to the stream which we followed to Big Hill farmland and were picked up by the Mauri Oho team at the Big Hill gate. All in all a pleasant trip. Not a huge amount in the traps apart from the usual supply of hedgehogs along No Mans Rd.
Sentry Box, Upper Makororo Hut, Piopio Tops, Aranga, Sentry Box, 17-19 Oct
I caught the train from Wellington to Palmy. I like train travel. It’s hypnotic and with the pouring rain and soft light I almost fell asleep. Lisa picked me up and we drove to Ongaonga in more pouring rain. After a night at Mauri Oho base listening to rain on the roof I was beginning to be nervous. We had chosen this trip partly because it didn’t involve river travel, but there is one river crossing just before Upper Makororo Hut. Was that crossing going to be an issue?
At least in the morning it was only drizzle, so after chatting about the weather with the Mauri Oho crew we headed off. The Waipawa river was dirty and swollen. Further in, the Poporangi was high, but clear. More promising. Sentry Box Spur has its charms. My last visit involved a descent in the pouring rain with Lisa, Chris Tuffley and Paul (Scratch) Jansen. Chris had spikes and strolled down, but my descent was essentially a bumslide. To my surprise, this time the traction was quite good
It’s curious what the mind does when wandering along a track. Who knows why, but on the way up the hill I found myself thinking about the weight of A24 gas bottles and lure. There are DOC 200 traps all along our route. There are also a significant number of Goodnature A24 traps so we had gas bottles and lure for all of these in our packs. But all good. We duly arrived at the Makororo Stream to find it to be its usual babbling self. So much for my river anxieties. Lisa heard a pair of whio in the morning, but I must have been asleep.
Travel up Totara Spur is pleasant despite the climb. Frequent rests for trap checking help. I love the tops in this area. The breeze was fresh when we left the bush, but atypically, it moderated as the day went on and it was an awesome walk to Aranga in glorious sunshine. Aranga is a great place to camp. The hut itself is better than it used to be, but it would be a struggle for me to spend the night in it. Lisa and I cut our outdoor teeth in Tasmania where there are few huts and we developed a fondness for camping which we both have to this day.
Next day it was a stroll to the road end and the Tikokino Pub for lunch. Quite a few rats in the traps at lower altitudes and a handfull of stoats as well as a few weasels. We don’t catch much in the traps between Piopio and Aranga, but when we do, it’s usually a stoat, so I feel it’s a valuable line.
A highlight of the trip was seeing fresh whio sign at the stream next to Sentry Box Hut. This is very close to farmland. It seems that there are whio in most of the streams that run from the range to the farmland in this area. It’s also encouraging to hear from Chris Tuffley that he encountered seven pairs in his trip down the Ikawetea. Lisa and I haven’t been down the Apias since we did the whio survey in May with Max Smart and Falco the whio dog. At the time the water was murky and the bottom just loose gravel. Whio were hanging on to their territories in the Apias, but their droppings were full of berries, not invertebrates. We only found three pairs on the Ikawetea. Given that we had the dog with us, that’s probably all there were. I wonder if Apias whio have been relocating to more promising territory until things return to normal. In any case I’m really looking forward to getting to the Apias to see what the story is.
I caught the train from Wellington to Palmy. I like train travel. It’s hypnotic and with the pouring rain and soft light I almost fell asleep. Lisa picked me up and we drove to Ongaonga in more pouring rain. After a night at Mauri Oho base listening to rain on the roof I was beginning to be nervous. We had chosen this trip partly because it didn’t involve river travel, but there is one river crossing just before Upper Makororo Hut. Was that crossing going to be an issue?
At least in the morning it was only drizzle, so after chatting about the weather with the Mauri Oho crew we headed off. The Waipawa river was dirty and swollen. Further in, the Poporangi was high, but clear. More promising. Sentry Box Spur has its charms. My last visit involved a descent in the pouring rain with Lisa, Chris Tuffley and Paul (Scratch) Jansen. Chris had spikes and strolled down, but my descent was essentially a bumslide. To my surprise, this time the traction was quite good
It’s curious what the mind does when wandering along a track. Who knows why, but on the way up the hill I found myself thinking about the weight of A24 gas bottles and lure. There are DOC 200 traps all along our route. There are also a significant number of Goodnature A24 traps so we had gas bottles and lure for all of these in our packs. But all good. We duly arrived at the Makororo Stream to find it to be its usual babbling self. So much for my river anxieties. Lisa heard a pair of whio in the morning, but I must have been asleep.
Travel up Totara Spur is pleasant despite the climb. Frequent rests for trap checking help. I love the tops in this area. The breeze was fresh when we left the bush, but atypically, it moderated as the day went on and it was an awesome walk to Aranga in glorious sunshine. Aranga is a great place to camp. The hut itself is better than it used to be, but it would be a struggle for me to spend the night in it. Lisa and I cut our outdoor teeth in Tasmania where there are few huts and we developed a fondness for camping which we both have to this day.
Next day it was a stroll to the road end and the Tikokino Pub for lunch. Quite a few rats in the traps at lower altitudes and a handfull of stoats as well as a few weasels. We don’t catch much in the traps between Piopio and Aranga, but when we do, it’s usually a stoat, so I feel it’s a valuable line.
A highlight of the trip was seeing fresh whio sign at the stream next to Sentry Box Hut. This is very close to farmland. It seems that there are whio in most of the streams that run from the range to the farmland in this area. It’s also encouraging to hear from Chris Tuffley that he encountered seven pairs in his trip down the Ikawetea. Lisa and I haven’t been down the Apias since we did the whio survey in May with Max Smart and Falco the whio dog. At the time the water was murky and the bottom just loose gravel. Whio were hanging on to their territories in the Apias, but their droppings were full of berries, not invertebrates. We only found three pairs on the Ikawetea. Given that we had the dog with us, that’s probably all there were. I wonder if Apias whio have been relocating to more promising territory until things return to normal. In any case I’m really looking forward to getting to the Apias to see what the story is.
NH90 NZDF HELI TRAP FADGE DROP - MAURI OHO, RUAHINE KIWI (Job for Nature crews) and DOC
The Royal NZ Air Force was instrumental in the biggest lift of traps to the Ruahine Range ever accomplished by DOC. On 7th September 23, an NH90 helicopter and its crew transported 560 pest traps, weighing more than four tonnes in total, into the Ruahine.
Helicopter load master Corporal Evan McKenzie said the hardest part of the job was getting the bags of traps into the aircraft. “They weighed up to 125kg each, and we used the hoist to get them into the aircraft, but there still needed to be a bit of manhandling from the crew to get them in and out of the helicopter.” Paul ‘Scratch’ Jansen said the NH90 delivery was the “single biggest lift of traps into the back country”.
Fadges of 20 were dropped at three sites Nomans-Taruarau, Ruahine Corner and Mokai Patea ridge. Mauri Oho and Ruahine Kiwi (Jobs for Nature crews), DOC and volunteers from the Whio Protectors plan to deploy the traps where they are needed.
Helicopter load master Corporal Evan McKenzie said the hardest part of the job was getting the bags of traps into the aircraft. “They weighed up to 125kg each, and we used the hoist to get them into the aircraft, but there still needed to be a bit of manhandling from the crew to get them in and out of the helicopter.” Paul ‘Scratch’ Jansen said the NH90 delivery was the “single biggest lift of traps into the back country”.
Fadges of 20 were dropped at three sites Nomans-Taruarau, Ruahine Corner and Mokai Patea ridge. Mauri Oho and Ruahine Kiwi (Jobs for Nature crews), DOC and volunteers from the Whio Protectors plan to deploy the traps where they are needed.
The traps would make a “significant” contribution to the protection of kiwi, whio (blue duck), robins, snails and rare plants within the area.
Cyclone Gabrielle significantly affected the whio population by sweeping away traps and introducing large amounts of gravel into the rivers reducing their food supply. Traplines in the Apias, Ikawetea, Mangatera, and Makaroro rivers all had significant numbers of traps washed away.
Cyclone Gabrielle significantly affected the whio population by sweeping away traps and introducing large amounts of gravel into the rivers reducing their food supply. Traplines in the Apias, Ikawetea, Mangatera, and Makaroro rivers all had significant numbers of traps washed away.
Oroua, Rangi Deamdmans Loop and Pohangina Valley Trap Lines - Janet W
The southern Ruahine trap lines have had basic maintenance over the winter , with regular volunteers Malcolm Thomas, Duncan Foord, Kate and Helen Procter, Graham Peters, Janet and the Massey Uni Bird Rescue Club
doing around 180 traps per month in the Oroua Valley. The track to Iron Gate Hut is badly damaged and trips in to here have been limited. Quite a lot of snow fell over the winter so the higher traps have not been visited much. Nor have the river traps. We are ramping up the trapping effort now and as soon as the rivers are low and snow free we will be in to both the Oroua and Pohangina.
Malcolm, Michelle Benton, Ernie Cook and Janet took the opportunity to do some maintenance on the line above Iron Gate hut, replacing several aging
mechanisms. The traps near the top were well buried in snow so they were left for another day.
Leon Kinvig Hut is still teetering on the river bank. The plan is to lift it with a big helicoper on to new piles in a safer location. It sounds like this needs to
be done with some urgency as the helo is heading to Australia for the bush fire season. Fingers crossed this all goes ahead by the end of November.
If you would like to help with the river taps lines please get in touch - I am always keen to hear from capable tampers and hunters who would like to lend a hand once or twice a year - we might even fly in to the Pohangina. Mostly A24 traps.
Here are some statistics as presented at the hui-looks like mustilid numbers might be slowly on the rise again.
The southern Ruahine trap lines have had basic maintenance over the winter , with regular volunteers Malcolm Thomas, Duncan Foord, Kate and Helen Procter, Graham Peters, Janet and the Massey Uni Bird Rescue Club
doing around 180 traps per month in the Oroua Valley. The track to Iron Gate Hut is badly damaged and trips in to here have been limited. Quite a lot of snow fell over the winter so the higher traps have not been visited much. Nor have the river traps. We are ramping up the trapping effort now and as soon as the rivers are low and snow free we will be in to both the Oroua and Pohangina.
Malcolm, Michelle Benton, Ernie Cook and Janet took the opportunity to do some maintenance on the line above Iron Gate hut, replacing several aging
mechanisms. The traps near the top were well buried in snow so they were left for another day.
Leon Kinvig Hut is still teetering on the river bank. The plan is to lift it with a big helicoper on to new piles in a safer location. It sounds like this needs to
be done with some urgency as the helo is heading to Australia for the bush fire season. Fingers crossed this all goes ahead by the end of November.
If you would like to help with the river taps lines please get in touch - I am always keen to hear from capable tampers and hunters who would like to lend a hand once or twice a year - we might even fly in to the Pohangina. Mostly A24 traps.
Here are some statistics as presented at the hui-looks like mustilid numbers might be slowly on the rise again.
- Since July 2008 1152 mustelids ( 837 stoats and 315 weasels)and 4320 rats have been recorded as removed from traps in the Oroua Valley(how many birds has this saved?)
- Total recorded catch count of over 1850 mustelids and 4580 rats (all DOC 200 Traps including the Longview LIne)
- Approx 160 volunteer days in the field on Oroua traps lines alone – up nearly 40 days due to large groups from the Massey University Wildlife Club.
WhatsApp Group for Eastern Ruahine Trappers
Lisa and Geoff Whittle have recently set up a WhatsApp group for Eastern Ruahine trappers. The plan is to create a place where we can keep an informal record of which traplines have been checked and also provide a place where people can notify intended trapping trips. It won’t be anything like as detailed as Trap.NZ. More like the following. “I’m thinking of heading off to do a bit of trapping/tramping and I can see from the Whatsapp group that the line between Piopio tops and Aranga Hut is well overdue to be checked, so I’ll plan to include that.” Actually it’s not. That line was checked recently. It was a great trip. But I digress; I’m sure you get what I mean. Before your trip you can flick a quick message to the group with maybe an invite for other people to join. After the trip send a message saying which lines were checked and report on anything of interest. In particular we feel that the group is a great place to collect data on whio sightings (which can then be entered in Whio Manager - ed.)
The area we are thinking of is roughly the Eastern Ruahine Range North of Kashmir Road end. This area includes the following Trap.NZ projects: Nomans, Upper and Lower Makaroro, Maurioho. We’re deliberately excluding the Western and Southern areas as we feel that those traplines are already really well organised.
Note that the area includes some lines leading into the backcountry, such as Sentry Box spur, Golden Crown and Dead Dog, regularly serviced by the Mauri Oho crew. Mauri Oho welcome people to clear these traps – you can’t check a trap too often. It’s important for them know as it affects their planning and the data is needed for quarterly milestone reporting.
If you are interested in joining, send Lisa a text or WhatsApp message at 021 022 75042 and she can sign you up.
Lisa and Geoff Whittle have recently set up a WhatsApp group for Eastern Ruahine trappers. The plan is to create a place where we can keep an informal record of which traplines have been checked and also provide a place where people can notify intended trapping trips. It won’t be anything like as detailed as Trap.NZ. More like the following. “I’m thinking of heading off to do a bit of trapping/tramping and I can see from the Whatsapp group that the line between Piopio tops and Aranga Hut is well overdue to be checked, so I’ll plan to include that.” Actually it’s not. That line was checked recently. It was a great trip. But I digress; I’m sure you get what I mean. Before your trip you can flick a quick message to the group with maybe an invite for other people to join. After the trip send a message saying which lines were checked and report on anything of interest. In particular we feel that the group is a great place to collect data on whio sightings (which can then be entered in Whio Manager - ed.)
The area we are thinking of is roughly the Eastern Ruahine Range North of Kashmir Road end. This area includes the following Trap.NZ projects: Nomans, Upper and Lower Makaroro, Maurioho. We’re deliberately excluding the Western and Southern areas as we feel that those traplines are already really well organised.
Note that the area includes some lines leading into the backcountry, such as Sentry Box spur, Golden Crown and Dead Dog, regularly serviced by the Mauri Oho crew. Mauri Oho welcome people to clear these traps – you can’t check a trap too often. It’s important for them know as it affects their planning and the data is needed for quarterly milestone reporting.
If you are interested in joining, send Lisa a text or WhatsApp message at 021 022 75042 and she can sign you up.
Northern Ruahine National Predator Control Programme Update
An aerial predator control programme targeting rats, stoats and possums over 37,000 hectares of the Northern Ruahine Forest Park is due to start anytime between now and mid December 2023. This operation was also undertaken in both 2017 and 2019.
The operation will provide protection from predation for some of our precious species found in the park including whio, kiwi, kaka, kakariki, giant powelliphanta land snails and long-tailed bats. It is especially important that this operation goes ahead to protect the local whio population this breeding season as they have already taken a hit this year from Cyclone Gabrielle.
A pre-operational tracking tunnel monitor for rats was undertaken by the DOC Biodiversity Monitoring Team in August 2023 and resulted in a rat tracking tunnel index of 33% TTI. A post operational tracking tunnel index will be undertaken two weeks after the operation to confirm if we have achieved the operational target of <2% TTI for rats.
An aerial predator control programme targeting rats, stoats and possums over 37,000 hectares of the Northern Ruahine Forest Park is due to start anytime between now and mid December 2023. This operation was also undertaken in both 2017 and 2019.
The operation will provide protection from predation for some of our precious species found in the park including whio, kiwi, kaka, kakariki, giant powelliphanta land snails and long-tailed bats. It is especially important that this operation goes ahead to protect the local whio population this breeding season as they have already taken a hit this year from Cyclone Gabrielle.
A pre-operational tracking tunnel monitor for rats was undertaken by the DOC Biodiversity Monitoring Team in August 2023 and resulted in a rat tracking tunnel index of 33% TTI. A post operational tracking tunnel index will be undertaken two weeks after the operation to confirm if we have achieved the operational target of <2% TTI for rats.
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