Te aroturuki o te poro rākau

Mangaoapa kiwi habits emerging from early data

Early data collected from five kiwi in the groundbreaking Mangaoapa Forestry Block research project is starting to sketch a fascinating picture of kiwi life in the area.

For the past year, information has been collected from transmitters attached to the legs of five kiwi, three males and two females. It’s part of a long-term study – planning began three years ago – looking at what happens to kiwi before, during and after pine harvesting.

Parininihi ki Waitōtara (PKW), Te Kāhui Maru, East Taranaki Environment Collective (ETEC), Taranaki Kiwi Trust and NZ Forestry are partners in the taonga species research project.

Owned by PKW, the 400-hectare Mangaoapa block near Purangi, east of Inglewood, is predominantly covered in radiata pine (about 300ha) and edged in native forest (100ha).

ETEC Conservation Manager Kat Strang said that while the kiwi data collection was still in its early stages, it shows kiwi are using their normal habitat of native forest, as well as pine with native shrubs and ferns in the undergrowth.

Western Brown Kiwi typically nest between July through to February. Last breeding season all three pairs nested, although one was unsuccessful. Three clutches were incubated, with anywhere from three to six chicks hatched. The nests were scattered around the different habitats, with one in native forest, two in pine with native undergrowth, and one male kiwi nested at the base of a mature pine, in a pine area with no undergrowth.

“We’re very excited about this research project. We’re learning quite a bit about this population and it has been a really great experience working with the forestry crews as well,” Kat said.

“We tend to think of kiwi hanging out in native forest, but they use whatever they have. At the moment, they’re doing their normal kiwi thing – using their habitat, pairing, nesting successfully. Over time, as the trees are felled, we’re interested in what happens to those kiwi.

“Even though it’s a small population study, it will provide valuable data about the impacts of forestry and clear felling on kiwi populations living in those forests.”

Above image: Kat Strang, ETEC Conservation Manager, and Corbyn Fabish, ETEC Ranger, track male kiwi bird Mapere in the Mangaoapa Forestry Block in May 2024. Mapere was found in a large burrow with his mate Manawa and is in really good condition. His transmitter was updated before he was returned to his burrow to finish his nap.

Felling of the valuable Mangaoapa timber crop planted in 1992 began in a contained area at the end of November last year, allowing roads to be built. Clear felling in parts of the pine forest started in the past month or so.

NZ Forestry staff trained by Taranaki Kiwi Trust to use equipment to get transmitter bearings on kiwi have so far confirmed none were in the immediate area they were working in.

Kiwi location readings are taken every couple of days. Once a week, forestry staff also spend about 30 minutes taking more in-depth readings for data that shows things like time spent on a nest and how long a kiwi feeds every night.

Forestry Manager for NZ Forestry, Katrina Boon, said PKW’s foresight to enter into this research project will benefit kiwi and foresters throughout the country.

“We’re loving being involved – it proves production forestry and conservation can exist side by side. I’ve not heard of any other project like this, where kiwi are fitted with transmitters in production forests. It adds another facet to the operation,” Katrina said.

“Everyone is very interested in this work. Who doesn’t love a kiwi? We’re hoping this work will tell us, one way or the other, how kiwi react to loud noise and disturbance. Best practice tells us to make a loud noise and kiwi should move on from an area. But there are many anecdotal stories about kiwi that refuse to move, so the more data we get, the better.”

Taranaki Kiwi Trust Conservation Manager Sian Potier said that, among other things, data analysis at the end of the pre-harvest period will look at the percentage of time kiwi spend in the pine forest as opposed to native areas.

To improve the kiwi population sample size, researchers were aiming to attach transmitters to three additional kiwi, bringing the total number being monitored in the block to eight. Sian said the intention was to map pair territories and capture breeding data pre harvest, during harvest and post-harvest.

“The pre harvest data is really important to determine how kiwi are spending their time between the different habitat types and what their ‘normal’ breeding rates are prior to disturbance. We can then compare how the disturbance affects these parameters to get a good idea of the impacts on kiwi.”

PKW Te Rau Mātorotoro / Procurement Coordinator

Jenny Feaver said that with so little research focused on this kaupapa up until now, “it’s about sharing as much as we can … whatever data we get may be able to support refreshing the NZ forestry management harvesting guidelines currently in place.”

PKW has a strong commitment to the environment and understanding more about taonga species such as kiwi, with Te Koioratanga (biodiversity), a key pou in its Kaitiakitanga Strategy.