Meet the Team

Here we will introduce you to the people who lend their time and expertise to the job - the Department of Conservation staff at the sanctuary and the husbandry team at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.

Some of the key people involved include:

• Duncan Kay : Rowi Team Leader
  
• Iain Graham : BNZ Operation Nest Egg Ranger (Rowi)
  
• Anna Colombus : Rowi Field Ranger
• Lucy Rossiter : Rowi Field Ranger
  
• Ieuan Davies : Rowi Field Ranger
• Hayley Ricardo : Rowi Field Ranger

Duncan Kay : Rowi Team Leader

How did you get into saving rowi?

I have always had an interest in New Zealand wildlife which led me to study Ecology at Canterbury University. After my studies I got a job with the Department of Conservation at Aoraki National Park. Through this work I gained more experience with pest control and bird handling and was lucky enough to get a job working with rowi in the Okārito kiwi zone.

So what exactly do you do?

I am the Rowi Team Leader, organising the rowi work here in Franz Josef and Okārito. I keeping things ticking-over to make sure the team get an, often demanding, workload completed on time.

What’s so special about rowi?

I think the way they hang out in the whānau (family) groups is pretty special.

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

Being involved with the recovery of such a special taonga is a great honour. I work in such a wonderful place with an amazing bird and a great team; I’m lucky to have such a great job.

If we could do one thing to help you save the rowi what would that be?

By living sustainable lifestyles we can look after our environment and each other. This will mean that all our native species, including rowi, will have the greatest chance of survival.

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Iain Graham : BNZ Operation Nest Egg Ranger (Rowi)

How did you get into saving rowi?

I started working with the Franz Josef office of the Department of Conservation in October 2006 doing track, hut and campsite maintenance. I then moved on to a 12-month temporary Field Ranger position with the rowi team doing transmitter changes, health checks, egg and chick rescues and general field work. This then became a fulltime permanent position involving all aspects of rowi work, co-ordinating and supervising volunteers, and sanctuary maintenance. I started my current position as BNZ Operation Nest Egg Ranger in July 2009.

So what exactly do you do?

It is my job to supervise the DOC Franz Josef Waiau Area’s BNZ Operation Nest Egg programme. This includes co-ordination of egg lifts and chick rescues from Okarito Kiwi Zone and Haast Kiwi Sanctuary and management of Franz Josef egg incubator facility and chick brooder room.

I also plan and organise egg and chick transfers to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve and train Rowi Team members in BNZ Operation Nest Egg techniques. This includes egg lifting, chick rescue, incubation and brooder room techniques, health assessment and general monitoring practice.

I run our predator-free crèche island in the Marlborough sounds – Motuara – including the team’s monthly visits to transfer chicks, change transmitters and conduct health checks on birds.

Part of the job involves keeping all the interested parties up-to-date such as Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, the Kiwi Recovery Group, local iwi, and members of the public. Unfortunately I also have to do a fair bit of administration and paperwork to go with the above.

What’s so special about rowi?

Being New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, makes rowi pretty special. The speed and agility of the birds in the bush at night is something that has to be seen to be believed. When kiwi are seen in captivity or being held during the day the are usually very sedate and may be viewed as slow clumsy birds, however in the wild this is far from the truth.

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

It is extremely saddening to look at the list of birds that have become extinct from New Zealand throughout our short history. I feel privileged to be involved in a project that is helping to prevent rowi, a part of New Zealand’s natural heritage, from being added to that list.

If we could do one thing to help you save the rowi what would that be?

Get involved in conservation. You don’t need to live near a kiwi sanctuary to help these birds. Kiwi are just one aspect of a healthy ecosystem. Protect that ecosystem and you are protecting all the wildlife within it.

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Anna Colombus : Rowi Field Ranger

How did you get into saving rowi?

I previously worked at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve and learned about the rowi project there through assisting with BNZ Operation Nest Egg. However, I really wanted to get out into the field and become involved in the full process and was lucky enough to get the opportunity to become a part of the rowi team with DOC in Franz Josef.

So what exactly do you do?

I am a field ranger, so most of my work is out in the field doing egg and chick rescues, checking on birds, changing transmitters in Okarito kiwi zone and in the kiwi crèche on Motuara Island.

What’s so special about rowi?

Rowi are so special for many reasons, from the way the chicks snuggle together in burrows, to their white markings on their heads which makes each one unique…

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

Being lucky enough to work and live in such a beautiful area and be outdoors every day.

If we could do one thing to help you save rowi what would that be?

Help raise awareness by talking with your friends and visitors you meet about the plight of rowi…and about the role of pets such as dogs and cats and the damage they can quickly inflict in any kiwi areas.

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Lucy Rossiter : Rowi Field Ranger

How did you get into saving rowi?

My previous career was in transport planning. After returning from my O.E. I decided that working in conservation is what I wanted to do, so I contacted the DOC rowi team in Franz Josef to see if I could help them out with some volunteering in the hope that I could gain the skills I needed to get a conservation job in the future.

I loved being part of the project and felt so lucky being able to work in such a beautiful environment and help such a cool bird that I stayed for two months before I got a full-time position within the team.

So what exactly do you do?

I am a field ranger for the Franz biodiversity team which generally involves carrying out the fieldwork necessary for BNZ Operation Nest Egg. This involves tracking rowi using a receiver and aerial to collect information sent from transmitters on the birds regarding their recent activity and location. During the breeding season we track to the bird’s burrow and remove the eggs, carry them out of Okarito forest in carefully monitored chilly bins containing hot water bottles, back to our office in Franz where we weigh and candle them and put them in incubators.

From Franz they are taken to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve to be safely hatched and reared. My role also involves bringing the newly hatched chicks from Willowbank to Motuara Island (in the Marlborough Sounds) and returning them back to Okarito kiwi zone when they are old enough to fend for themselves the following year. I get to do so many other exciting things in my job especially when it involves sharing rowi with the community and walking in some of New Zealand’s most beautiful forest every day!

What’s so special about rowi?

Right now there are only 350 left!!! And their home is in such an amazing location, it’s so special that the remaining population is only found in Okarito kiwi zone.

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

Kiwi are such a cool bird, when we do get to handle them or see them its such pleasure, they can fall asleep in your arms and sometimes blow bubbles which is pretty cute. I love seeing them run around at night cause they are super fast and freeze if they see you. I love the little squeaks that the chicks make and it’s so cool to hear them calling at night. I also get to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I feel so lucky that Okarito is my office.

If we could do one thing to help you save rowi what would that be?

Volunteer! It is such a pleasure to show people who haven’t seen rowi for the first time, it really makes an impression on them, it also gives the public a greater sense of stewardship of the project and species if they can experience it first hand. These are your kiwi. You will learn so much about their situation and environment and success of BNZ Operation Nest Egg which is so encouraging!

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Ieuan Davies : Rowi Field Ranger

How did you get into saving rowi?

In a previous life I worked in the conservation sector in the UK for about 10 years. I left the country to travel and ended up falling in love with New Zealand, particularly the West Coast where I have worked on and off for about five years. I found out a place in the rowi team was coming up and applied…and was lucky enough to be offered the position!

So what exactly do you do?

My job is truly at the sharp end of kiwi conservation…part of the team that is out in the field doing the hands-on work and coming into contact with the birds in their habitat. The job varies greatly throughout the year, at the moment it is breeding season so we are collecting the eggs for BNZ operation nest egg. Other times of the year the job entails transmitter changing, and health checks on the birds, all of which happen in the 11,000 hectare Okarito kiwi zone—got to be one of the best offices in the world!

What’s so special about rowi?

Rowi are one part of the huge fabric of species that make up life on earth. Many of these species are disappearing. In the past people have put in care, time and hard work to find out about these birds and what was causing the numbers to fall so drastically. Rowi are special because they remind us that we can make a difference, that is, we are able to help out a whole species and one that is confined to such a small area. Anyone who comes into contact with this project and the birds is forced to really look at the continuing impact of our lifestyles and attitudes towards the rest of the planet

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

The people and the place are amazing…all are good for the soul! The birds themselves are great characters…grumpy ones and sleepy ones. What’s best? Hard to say…all aspects add up to a great lifestyle out here.

If we could do one thing to help you save rowi what would that be?

Just be mindful of the way in which you live your life. Get involved, maybe with the rowi project or something that’s closer to home. Working with the natural environment in any way really opens your eyes to how everything on the planet is linked…humans, our actions and the rest of nature. 

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Hayley Ricardo : Rowi Field Ranger

How did you get into saving rowi?

I recently moved over from Australia to join the rowi team. I had been working with other threatened species and was looking for an exciting challenge in a new location so applied for this position. I couldn’t have picked a better place to come.

So what exactly do you do?

As a field ranger, my job involves a lot of walking and radio-tracking. We rescue kiwi eggs and chicks from likely stoat predation by removing them from the wild and then returning them when they are big enough to fend for themselves.

What’s so special about rowi?

Rowi, like all kiwi are unique and very cute. This species is the rarest kiwi making them particularly special. Watching them emerge from a burrow at night is a very special thing to witness.

What’s the best thing about working with rowi?

I get to spend my days working outdoors in the most beautiful environment and with a great team of people. It’s a great feeling knowing that I am helping to restore a species back from the threat of extinction.

If we could do one thing to help you save rowi what would that be?

Devise a way to get rid of stoats. They are the main cause of the rowi’s decline and the reason I need to do what I do.

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