Kiwi call monitoring season a great success

Another successful kiwi call monitoring season has come to an end in Northland, with many locals lending a hand by sitting in the dark for hours listening for kiwi. 

The Mahinepua community kiwi project in the Far North, who coordinates the annual kiwi call monitoring programme, provides valuable information on whether kiwi populations in the area are increasing or decreasing.

Mahinepua, a group of landowners dedicated to protecting kiwi on their own and their neighbours properties, has been carrying out trapping and other conservation work for nearly 10 years. 

Group monitoring coordinator Fred Barnes, who carries out a monitoring recruitment programme throughout the year, says this year’s season was a great success with many new faces getting involved.

“We were thrilled to see new people getting involved in the fight to save the kiwi,” he says. “Although the concept of call monitoring is simple, it can be a demanding job, with listeners sitting out there in the dark for long periods, so we really appreciate their assistance with this vital task.”

Although call monitoring can be taxing, as new volunteer Diane Brown demonstrated, it can also be highly rewarding. Diane, who is blind, travelled with her husband Colin from the Kerikeri area to help the project. 

“We waited for what seemed like hours in the freezing cold,” says Diane. “Then the most beautiful reward, a male kiwi call in the last few minutes of the first night.”

They returned to complete three nights and heard a number of birds call. “No wonder the female call sounds like a strangled squawk, she has to carry an egg one-fifth of the size of her body!” she says. 

Diane believes it is important everyone helps however they can to protect kiwi and other native birds. She has offered continued support to the group.

This year, 31 volunteers braved the cold of winter evenings to listen for kiwi for two hours each night, over four nights at 10 different sites, Results, presented at a social gathering at the end of the season at which volunteers can share their experiences, showed their efforts were rewarded with more calls heard than the previous year. 

At a social gathering to celebrate the end of the season, participants were presented with certificates courtesy of BNZ Save the Kiwi. Wendy Sporle of BNZ Save the Kiwi presented certificates to Diane and Colin which had been translated into Braille. A mounted kiwi, used by the project for advocacy, was shown to Diane, enabling her to feel the kiwi’s feathers, which she particularly enjoyed. 

The kiwi call monitoring programme is the best way of monitoring a kiwi population’s health from year to year, and involves thousands of people around the country at the same time each year. For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.savethekiwi.org.nz

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Hannah de Valda, public relations consultant to BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust, 021 265 6655, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Wendy Sporle, National Mentor for Advocacy, BNZ Save the Kiwi, (09) 408 4241, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Editorial Information:

BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust was established in November 2002 by Bank of New Zealand, Forest & Bird and the Department of Conservation, building on a sponsorship relationship that started in 1991. BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust is responsible for public awareness and education, fundraising, sponsorship and grant allocations for kiwi recovery nationally. In 2010 alone, nearly $900,000 was allocated to community and DOC kiwi projects. Nearly $6 million has been granted for kiwi work in total. This money has come from BNZ, its staff, customers and supporters of BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust.

 Everyone can play a role in saving kiwi, whether you live near kiwi populations or not, by:

¨      Not taking dogs into bush areas that are known to have kiwi populations, unless you must and if so, ensuring they are on a leash.

¨      Making a donation to BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust at any Bank of New Zealand store or ATM or online with credit card at www.savethekiwi.org.nz

¨      Volunteering your time at a local kiwi protection group or habitat restoration project

¨      Not dumping unwanted cats or ferrets in the wild

¨      Choosing a Save the Kiwi EFTPOS card or cheque book if you are a BNZ customer, which provides an annual donation to the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust.