Kiwi Worker Paul van Klink
Hokitika-based kiwi worker, Paul van Klink, is helping plan what will happen in the West Coast’s two kiwi sanctuaries over the years up to 2010.
Life in Hokitika follows Paul’s seven years working with Haast Tokoeka in New Zealand’s southern-most kiwi sanctuary. It’s a job that has scarred him for life - literally. His chest will forever bear the silvery scar from an altercation with a kiwi's sharp claws.
"People think these birds are docile," Paul says. While that may be true for species such as the Brown Kiwi up north, it cannot be said for the rare Haast Tokoeka.
"They are quite remarkable birds, but they are also stroppy and very grumpy. Haast Tokoeka don't like us, they're unsociable and flighty and really just want to be left alone. They kick and fight and snap their bill. If you reach into a burrow to check for a chick or egg they will try to kick and stomp on your hand."
Bird personalities aside, Paul is extremely proud of the work being done at the Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary, home to most of the remaining the Haast tokoeka. "I want the species to thrive and survive. They're recognised as a nationally important species to work on, and are a priority for the government and for the department. There are just 200 to 300 adult birds remaining and are classified as 'nationally critical'. They're a unique bird.
His work in Hokitika is helping develop management tools for people managing the Okarito Rowi Sanctuary and the Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary. It includes:
- Developing a proposal to transfer Rowi chicks to an island so they can form a breeding population
- Developing a memorandum of understanding and contract for an Operation Nest Egg facility at Willowbank, Christchurch, so it can be used for Rowi and Haast Tokoeka chicks
- Updating the operational plans for both sanctuaries, taking them through to 2010
- Developing procedures and research proposals for non-productive Rowi and Haast Tokoeka, to see what can be done to increase breeding
- Working with the West Coast Regional Council to co-ordinate the timing of possum control operations alongside kiwi sanctuaries, to gain the most benefit for kiwi
The Future
Paul believes working with kiwi is a long-term investment. "They can live to be 60 years old so we shouldn’t expect results from just five years of monitoring. We have to be patient, just like with the kakapo."
He is pleased that the good results coming out of the Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary during his time there helped secure another five years of funding for this work - up to 2010. "We are learning all the time. Rat numbers are our biggest threat because when their numbers explode, they are food for stoats.
"We can now predict when another rat plague is coming; it's when the kahikatea, rimu, beech or tussock flowers. In those years it could be more effective to stop the predator control, close the traps and put all our eggs into the Operation Nest Egg basket – getting the eggs and chicks away into safety.
"We know enough to chose the most effective response in any one year.”
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