Rowi Blog: Archive for October, 2009

Welcome to Mike Robb, our new trainee ranger who started last week.  Mike is completing the National certificate in Conservation through the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.  The course is designed by DOC and Learning State and is registered on the NZQA framework.  DOC fully supports this course and works in partnership with NMIT to produce graduates who are trained and experienced in most DOC basic fieldwork roles.

Mike will be with us for four months as part of his course work and will be assisting the rowi team in undertaking egg and chick rescues, monitoring kiwi and pest populations in the Okarito kiwi zone.  After the last week spent inducting Mike in the ways of the rowi, Anna - another fairly recent addition to the Rowi Team herself - took him out for his first egg lift and possibly his first glimpse of a kiwi. The healthy egg was rescued successfully and made for a great first field experience for Mike.

Mike Robb

When they’re not saving the world’s rarest kiwi, the Franz Josef team are out honing their skills to protect us common Kiwis.

Rural firefighting is a large, but often forgotten, role undertaken by the Department of Conservation and many of the rowi rangers are also trained firefighters.  Four of the team took part in a crucial fire exercise last week - the 2009 Firefighter Challenge where 33 crews from 10 different fire authorities competed to fine-tune their skills in preparation for summer.  The Franz team came in third place - proving that rowi will be well-protected in the case of fire.  To see the fire crews in action and find out about the challenge click here

The Franz Josef team completes the rafting event as part of the 2009 Firefighter Challenge

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Thanks to transmitters attached to rowi, we are able to tell when an egg has been laid, and so get to eggs and chicks before stoats do!  However, not all the birds on Okarito can be monitored.  The team has been out in the field the past couple of nights trying to catch chicks hatched from eggs laid by unmonitored birds.  Of four that were due to be rescued, three are likely to have already been predated by stoats - the number one enemy of rowi and an extreme killer of kiwi all over New Zealand.

We are very grateful that one lucky chick ran into the safety of a ranger’s net at 2am on Tuesday morning.  This chick was carried out of the forest and popped onto the next available flight from Hokitika to Christchurch where the Willowbank staff will take care of it before it travels up to Motuara for the year.

This sad news highlights again why we really need to use BNZ Operation Nest Egg!

This week we returned the remainder of last season chicks back to Okarito.

Iain, Ieuan and Lucy had a trip out to Motuara Island on Sunday to collect 8 of last year’s chicks. On Monday they had big drive back to Okarito, stopping briefly in Hokitika for Richard Wallace from Makawhio to give the bird, and staff, a blessing to help them on their journey home. The 8 chicks all now over 1000 grams were welcomed back to the forest by 8 helpful volunteers that lent Anna, Duncan and Haley a hand to carrying them to their new home. After a wee walk we left all the birds peacefully in their new home and their big journey was over.

Rowi in its burrow in Okarito bush

It was a really great event and awesome to have some of the Franz Josef locals help with the return. Seeing their excitement on their faces and hearing their comment “that is the best thing I have ever done” “I feel so privileged to do something so special”, makes everyone on the Rowi team realise what a great job we all have.

A very special delivery flew across the  alps this week thanks to Air New Zealand and the friendly staff at Hokitika Airport. A young chick, discovered in a burrow when rangers went in expecting to find an egg, had a seat all to itself on the little plane.  The chick was delivered into the safe hands of Cory-Ann, who reports it is doing well in the  chick-rearing facility at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.

Special delivery

Rangers Ieuan Davies, and Sharon Haarsma rescued the first wild hatch chick of the season from South Okarito forest this week. The chick weighed in at 270 grams and is not only the first wild hatch chick, but the first chick of the season. It is extremely lucky to be found by friendly rangers rather than a wandering stoat.

It spent 3 days in Franz Josef before hitching a ride on an Air New Zealand flight to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch. Who said ‘Kiwis can’t fly’?

The chicks collected had an incredible welcome party waiting for them in at DOC’s Franz Josef Area Office, including Makaawhio kaumatua Archdeacon, Richard Wallace and Associate Minister of Conservation, Kate Wilkinson. After a blessing to help these birds on their way, the rowi were taken out to the forest where volunteers helped with the release into their home territory - Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary.

Good luck to all the birds in their new home and thanks to everyone from the local community for tackling the difficult terrain in order to get the young birds to safe burrow locations.

This week we’ve been on beautiful Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds, collecting the young birds who’ve been growing up there in order to get big enough to defend themselves against stoats - their big killers in the wild. Now they’re over 1 kg we’re able to return them home to Okarito. Our trip got a whole lot easier when we discovered six birds cosying up in one nesting box ready for us to bag up and transport off the island.