Forest & Bird Magazine 343 Feb 2012 by Forest & Bird

ISSUE 343 • FEBRUARY 2012 www.forestandbird.org.nz

Would you eat the

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PLUS Oil spill saviours

Kererü count

Springbok imposters

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ISSUE 343

• February 2012

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. General Manager: Mike Britton Advocacy Manager: Kevin Hackwell Services Manager: Julie Watson North Island Conservation Manager: Mark Bellingham South Island Conservation Manager: Chris Todd Communications Manager: Marina Skinner Central Office: Level 1, 90 Ghuznee St, Wellington. PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Tel: (04) 385-7374, Fax: (04) 385-7373 Email: office@forestandbird.org.nz Web: www.forestandbird.org.nz Auckland Office: 34A Charlotte Street, Eden Terrace, Auckland, PO Box 108 055, Symonds St, Auckland 1150. Tel: (09) 302 0203, Fax: (09) 303 4548 Email: n.beveridge@forestandbird.org.nz Christchurch Office: Email: c.todd@forestandbird.org.nz Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No. CC26943.

Tiaki Taiao www.forestandbird.org.nz

Contents 2 Editorial 4 Letters 5 50 years ago 6 Conservation news

Stella McQueen on native fish

43 Amazing facts about … Longfin eels

Kökako chicks, Kermadec book draw, Denniston update, snail deaths, Jonathan Watts tour, Seabird Genius book draw, Honda at school, Forest & Bird recruiters, fairy terns, Antarctic alliance, fairy tern coin draw, Organic Explorer draw, kererü count, Kapiti Island stoat, Vanuatu tour

Soapbox

Cover story

Nature knows no borders

Springbok invasion

T (04) 801-2763 E d.brooks@forestandbird.org.nz ART DIRECTOR /DESIGNER:

Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design E rob@dileva.co.nz

ADVERTISING:

Vanessa Clegg T 0275 420 337 E vanclegg@xtra.co.nz Karen Condon T 0275 420 338 E mack.cons@xtra.co.nz Membership & Circulation T 0800 200 064 F (04) 385 7373 E membership@forestandbird.org.nz

Backyard conservation

Saving the wood and the trees

Breeding big bugs

In the field

Community conservation

NZ’s big spill

The Rena disaster

Birdman of the Bay

Book reviews

Parting shot

Our people

Conservation Ambassador Gerry McSweeney, Captain Val Sanderson’s daughter, Heidi Quinn, Teresa Hurst, Sue Maturin, Claire MacLennan and Hannah Irwin, Cory Meister

0 4 41

Proud to be a member

Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago, Native by Design, Seabird Genius, Ikawai, Kiwi: A Natural History, Organic Explorer New Zealand, Winged Sentinels, Collins Field Guides: Birds of New Zealand, Hawaii, Central and West Pacific

Welcome swallows by Joy Anderton

Rangatahi

Young kiwi minders KEEP UP WITH NATURE

PREPRESS/PRINTING:

Printlink

Going Places

Denniston’s true treasures

DEPUTY EDITOR: David Brooks

Places for Penguins, Aorangi Restoration Trust, North Shore history, swamp fever

John Groom and dotterels

PO Box 631, Wellington. T (04) 801-2761 F (04) 385-7373 E m.skinner@forestandbird.org.nz

Nature of tomorrow

Don Stewart on the Pacific’s extinction crisis

Selfless seed raiser

Praying mantises

EDITOR: Marina Skinner

NZ Forest Accord 20 years on

The price of fishing

Frittering away our whitebait

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Sign up to Forest & Bird eNews Fresh conservation news delivered to your inbox 6 times a year Go to www.forestandbird.org.nz COVER SHOT Snapper – one of the least sustainably harvested fish you can choose to eat. Photo: Malcolm Francis

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editorial

Beyond our wildest dreams I

magine that. A few weeks ago I was eating breakfast at home, 20 minutes’ walk from central Wellington, when a North Island käkä squawked past the kitchen window. The next day I was in a rainforest, 30 minutes’ drive from central Auckland, watching and listening to a pair of kökako tending their nest. Ten years ago such sights and sounds were almost inconceivable (a flock of käkä in Wellington – crazy greenies) but they’ve happened because Forest & Bird members and volunteers had the imagination to believe it was possible, and the skills and determination to see it through. Everyone who joins Forest & Bird must have a pretty wild imagination: Imagination to think we can protect landscapes and wild places from destruction like Manapouri, Waitutu and Denniston. Imagination to believe we can restore ecosystems like the Waitäkere Ranges or the Kaimai-Mamaku connection. Imagination to want a marine reserve, or a pest-free island, or käkä in their community. We shouldn’t underestimate the achievements we’ve made. The fact is it’s the imagination of conservationists that has led to better pest control tools, stronger environmental laws, clever science to save species, and powerful community action to protect what we value. At a time when international financial disasters and environmental crises threaten to overwhelm us, it would be easy to lose optimism and our focus on the future, to stop imagining what’s possible. That would be wrong. We need to keep proposing new ideas for protecting and restoring our natural environment, keep challenging unacceptable exploitation and development, and remain optimistic that we can do better for nature. So whether you’re a recently joined member, someone who’s been with us for many years, a volunteer, a financial supporter, someone who occasionally helps at a tree planting – whatever your level of involvement – thank you for having the imagination to believe we can make a difference.

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. (Founded 1923) Registered Office at Level One, 90 Ghuznee Street, Wellington. PATRON: His Excellency

Lieutenant General the Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, GovernorGeneral of New Zealand NATIONAL PRESIDENT:

Andrew Cutler DEPUTY PRESIDENT:

Mark Hanger IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:

Barry Wards NATIONAL TREASURER:

Graham Bellamy CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS:

Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton EXECUTIVE COUNCILLORS:

Brent Barrett, Lindsey Britton, Craig Potton, Ines Stager, John Wenham DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS:

Bill Ballantine, Stan Butcher, Ken Catt, Audrey Eagle, Alan Edmonds, Gordon Ell, Stewart Gray, Philip Hart, Joan Leckie, Hon. Sandra Lee-Vercoe, Peter Maddison, Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Margaret Peace, Eugenie Sage, Guy Salmon, Lesley Shand, Gordon Stephenson, David Underwood

Ngä mihi nui Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of

Andrew Cutler Forest & Bird President

New Zealand Inc. Forest & Bird is a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and is the New Zealand partner of It’s hard to stop smiling after watching a pair of kokako tending their nest. Grant Capill, left, is an Ark in the Park volunteer who believed it was possible and worked to make it happen.

BirdLife International. • Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird. • Forest

Forest & Bird conservation conference

& Bird is printed on chlorine-free

Conservation: Our Future is the theme for Forest & Bird’s annual conference this year. It will be at Te Papa museum in Wellington on 15–17 June 2012. New Zealand’s leading thinkers on the most significant nature conservation issues will present their visions for our future. The conference is open to the public, and we look forward to seeing many Forest & Bird members there to join the stimulating debate. The Annual General Meeting will be at 8.30am on 17 June, followed by workshops and presentations on Forest & Bird topics. More information: www.forestandbird.org.nz, office@forestandbird.org.nz, 04 385 7374

sourced from sustainably managed

| Forest & Bird

paper made from wood fibre forests. • The magazine is bulk mailed in biodegradable cellulose film, which is made from wood pulp sourced from managed plantations. • Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine. ISSN 0015-7384. Copyright. All rights reserved.

Not one thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been brought here from overseas Becoming a member of Forest & Bird is one of the best ways you can help preserve our native animals and plants for future generations. Every year, the people at Forest & Bird invest over a million hours of their time, establish thousands of native plants and help protect our wildlife from introduced pests. As an independent, non-profit organisation, we rely on Kiwis like you joining, to help us save New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique wildlife and the precious environments they live in. The more New Zealanders who become members, the stronger our voice.

Help give nature a voice. Join Forest & Bird today. Call 0800 200 064 or visit forestandbird.org.nz/joinus

letters Forest & Bird welcomes readers’ letters on conservation topics. Letters should be up to 200 words and must include the writer’s full name, home address and daytime phone number. We don’t always have space to publish all letters or publish them in full. The best contribution to the Letters page of the May issue will win a copy of Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago (Penguin, $95). Please send letters to Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 or e-mail m.skinner@forestandbird.org.nz by March 19.

Lizards with nowhere to go Money-hungry developers are directly responsible for the demise of many of our native lizards. Our onceinterconnected suburban bush has become isolated patches of vegetation. Many native lizards have taken to living in “surrogate” habitats, such as rank grass, weedy scrub and under domestic debris. Councils often regard rank grasslands as having no ecological value, and ignore this habitat during the resource consent process. I have seen destruction of lizard habitat on multiple occasions, and have witnessed the mutilated remains of both common and threatened native skink species. All our native lizards are absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 but I am not aware of any examples where developers have been convicted and fined for mindlessly killing protected lizards. This probably stems from the fact that the Resource Management Act 1991 fails to even consider the Wildlife Act, which is administered by the under-funded Department of Conservation. The RMA does, however, consider “significant habitat for native wildlife”. This statement is open to interpretation. I would argue that a small patch of rank grass on a roadside verge on the Whangaparäoa Peninsula, or a retired paddock in the North Shore are significant habitats for threatened ornate skinks (Oligosoma ornatum). Developers regard these as untidy and insignificant, and they are often neglected by councils during the consenting process.

It seems ironic that we have a Threat Classification System for our native wildlife yet threatened species are constantly being killed during development with no consequences for those involved. Is the point of a Threat Classification System not to provide a spectrum where more emphasis is placed on the protection of protected and threatened species? Furthermore, neglecting the more common species will inevitably result in them becoming threatened in the future. Inconsistencies that arise through district council consent conditions are a likely result of heavy workloads, increased pressure from developers and in some instances poor education; and this will only become worse with National’s proposed policies to streamline the RMA. Fortunately, the Auckland Council is becoming more aware of the importance of habitat protection for native lizards. The same cannot be said for most councils. If we are to conserve our wildlife we need to introduce robust, consistent and regulated protocols for ecological investigations, mitigation and biological offsets whereby developers are made responsible for their actions. Dylan van Winkel, wildlife ecologist/herpetologist, Torbay This letter is the winner of Collins Field Guide to New Zealand Wildlife by Terence Lindsey and Rod Morris.

Ship Creek gem I was interested to read about the West Coast marine reserves (November Forest & Bird), in particular the small reserve at Ship Creek. I visited Ship Creek, near Haast, two years ago while on a walking tour of New Zealand with my brother, and it remains one of the gems of that trip. We spent some time on the forest walk and took lots of pictures – 30-40 between us. To me, the area is indicative of New Zealand forest swamps, with water, trees, ground flora and epiphytes. A further piece of information – when I have finished with the magazine I pass it on to a friend who sends it to the British troops serving in Afghanistan and he has had appreciative thanks for the “intellectual magazines”! Jim McHugh, Hamilton, Scotland

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DIY pest control Forest & Bird President Andrew Cutler inspired readers with his last editorial (November Forest & Bird) about trapping rats. If you would like to start trapping rats, stoats and hedgehogs on your property, you can find a supplier for a DOC 200 here www.predatortraps.com/stockists You could also try a Goodnature self-setting trap to catch rats and stoats. See www.goodnature.co.nz If you use traps or bait stations to protect the native wildlife on your property, your experiences could help other readers. Please send your tips (up to 300 words) to Marina Skinner, Forest & Bird magazine, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 or e-mail m.skinner@forestandbird.org.nz by March 19.

Tick for Vote for Nature Brilliant work on your sets of perfect Vote for Nature posters. I found homes for stacks of them. Luckily there is still the odd wall to stick them on in Christchurch. It’s a shame that many more of the average public, blinded by Mr Key’s bright smile, did not wake up to the realities affecting our country and face the future with us. Well done on the Vote for Nature campaign and thank you all. The money spent is, in my opinion, some of the best Forest & Bird has spent so far. Linda MacIntyre, Christchurch Linda MacIntyre and Kevin Dean putting up Vote for Nature posters in Christchurch.

50 years ago

From left, photographer Rod Morris, South Island Conservation Manager Chris Todd, General Manager Mike Britton and Top of the South Field Officer Debs Martin at Denniston Plateau. Photo: Kathy Gilbert

Thank you from Denniston Thank you very much to all Forest & Bird members who gave a gift of hope at Christmas to the special plants and animals on the Denniston Plateau threatened by an open-cast coal mine. More than $75,000 was donated towards protecting the plateau before Christmas. We singled out six keystone species – the South Island käkä, the Powelliphanta patrickensis giant land snail, the great spotted kiwi, the West Coast green gecko, the köura and the southern rätä – that will lose their habitats if the mine goes ahead. The funds are being used to prepare Forest & Bird’s legal work appealing the resource consent granted to the Australian mining company, and to advocate to the government to protect the plateau.

The captive käkäpö It is most unfortunate that four of the five käkäpö captured by Wildlife officers in Fiordland and taken to the Wairarapa for study and breeding did not live. A report to the National Parks Authority states: “Because the käkäpö has proved initially to be a difficult subject to adapt to the artificial environment of captivity, it is proposed to concentrate next year’s work largely on a study of the birds in the wild. The käkäpö is a prehistoric and nocturnal bird and virtually nothing of real value is known of its eating and living habits. In captivity each bird had its own particular food preferences. While information about how to care for these birds in captivity can be obtained only from a study of captive birds, it is hoped that more background knowledge about the birds in the wild can now be obtained. Work will again be concentrated in the valley (from where the five birds were obtained). An attempt will be made to estimate the number of birds. The three ‘capture sites’ where the five käkäpö taken this year were caught will be retrapped to ascertain what birds remain”. Forest & Bird, February 1962

Forest & Bird

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conservation

news

And baby makes three A

uckland’s Waitäkere Ranges turned a bluer shade of green last November with the early arrival of the first kökako chick at Ark in the Park. Pests evicted these blue-wattled crows from the West Auckland forest in the 1960s, but intensive pest control by volunteers at the Ark has allowed the return of the birds. Over the past three years, 26 endangered kökako have been translocated to the 2300 hectare Ark in the Park from Pureora Forest Park and Tiritiri Matangi Island. At least four chicks were born last season. Since the discovery of the first kökako chick, ecologist and Ark in the Park field officer Andy Warneford has beefed up pest control to safeguard this new generation. Most kökako couples only produce one chick a season, however, Andy has great hopes the new parents – Maurice and Köwhai – will try for a second, given their first chick was born so early in the season.

2 1 Kökako were absent from West Auckland for 40 years until they were reintroduced to Ark in the Park. Photo: David Hallett 2 New kökako chick Mataï at Ark in the Park. Photo: Grant Caphill

“When there’s a low density of birds, kökako behave a little unpredictably and could have another nest. If they have another chick, they’ll evict their first chick from the area once it has started feeding itself,” he says. After Andy and a team of four volunteers banded the first chick, Mataï, they sent one of its feathers off for gender-testing and reinforced the pest control ring of steel around the rewarewa tree where it is nesting. In the first month, the 40 traps around the perimeter of the tree caught three would-be predators. As well as closely monitoring pest levels in the area, they’re watching out for any newly formed couples. “Kökako are similar to humans, and they’ll form all types of pairings. One of the latest pairings is a lesbian couple, Rhonda and Karen, and they seem to be spending a lot of time with the chicks from the previous season whose gender is unknown. It’s a soap opera out there.” n Mandy Herrick

WIN A BOOK Forest & Bird is giving away four copies of Kermadec, an artists’ view of the Kermadec Islands. The book is the result of an expedition to the islands last May by artists including painter Robin White, sculptor Elizabeth Thomson, photographer Bruce Foster and writer-artist Gregory O’Brien. To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@forestandbird.org.nz Please put Kermadec in the subject line and include your name and address in the email. Or put your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to Kermadec draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close on March 12.

| Forest & Bird

Kermadec is available from Forest & Bird’s online shop at www.forestandbird.org.nz or send a cheque for $40 (includes packaging and post in New Zealand) to Kermadec Book, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140.

Denniston in public eye

he new government sent a grim signal about mining on conservation land as soon as the votes were counted last year. On 28 November, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson sent a letter to Forest & Bird saying the government will break its promise to give New Zealanders a say about whether an open-cast coal mine on Denniston Plateau public conservation land can go ahead. After the government’s backdown on opening national parks to mining, Ms Wilkinson and then Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said on 20 July 2010 that “significant applications to mine on public conservation land should be publicly notified”. Ms Wilkinson told Forest & Bird representatives last year that she would give the public a say about mining at Denniston. But her November letter to Forest & Bird said the government would not be doing this. Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Nicola Vallance said the government was taking a closed-door approach with an open-cast coal mine at Denniston. “This will allow Australian-owned Bathurst Resources to dig up over 160 hectares of the Denniston Plateau without an opportunity for the public to have a say about conservation concerns. This would be the biggest open-cast coal mine on New Zealand’s conservation estate,” she said. “This stunning landscape belongs to the people of New Zealand and is held in trust for them for future generations.” The Crown Minerals Act does not stop ministers calling for public submissions on the proposed mine at Denniston. They could then take these into consideration, and any decision would be better informed. Pure Advantage, a group of New Zealand business people championing green growth, in December publicly backed Forest & Bird’s call for a public say in a Denniston mine. Pure Advantage chairman Rob Morrison also said mining the biodiversity-rich Denniston Plateau threatened New Zealand’s clean, green image.

A media release from Mr Brownlee and Ms Wilkinson announcing the mining U-turn on 20 July 2010 said: “The government has agreed in principle that significant applications to mine on public land should be publicly notified – currently no notification is required. This proposal was not raised in the discussion paper as an issue for discussion, but the government has noted public feedback on this matter and is responding accordingly. “The proposal will ensure that mining-related applications are treated in the same way as other applications for access to conservation land. The change will provide an opportunity for affected people and businesses to have their views taken into account when decisions are made about mining applications of significance.” To develop the open-cast coal mine, Australian-owned Bathurst Resources must n Gain resource consent for the mine and coal-processing plant. It has received this, but Forest & Bird and others are appealing against the decision. n Gain a concession from the Conservation Minister to build a coal-processing plant and roads. The Conservation Act covers the concession and would be publicly notified. n Gain an access arrangement from the Conservation Minister to destroy conservation land to get access to the coal underneath. The Crown Minerals Act covers the access arrangement. It is under this Act that the minister has refused to include public input. n Marina Skinner More information at www.forestandbird.org.nz

Critters up close Forest & Bird is putting the Denniston Plateau under the microscope with a BioBlitz from March 2-4. A co-ordinated search for plants and animals will be carried out in sample plots in the 18 different ecosystems on the plateau. Experts will be there to identify species not previously known to the area. We hope the BioBlitz will increase awareness of Denniston and provide further scientific information to support Forest & Bird’s proposal for a 5900-hectare reserve on the plateau. Fit volunteers are needed to join BioBlitz teams at Denniston, which is 18 kilometres north-east of Westport. Volunteers will work with experienced people, and no field work expertise is needed – though it is welcome. Camping and bunkroom accommodation is available at Gentle Annie, at the mouth of the Mökihinui River. Please contact organiser Rachel Hurford at r.hurford@forestandbird.org.nz to register or for more information.

A western weka on Denniston Plateau. Photo: Kevin Hackwell

Forest & Bird

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conservation

news

Native snails die in fridge F

orest & Bird was devastated to learn that 800 native giant land snails from the West Coast’s Stockton Plateau died when a Department of Conservation fridge malfunctioned and froze them last November. After their natural home was destroyed for a coal mine on Stockton Plateau, the Powelliphanta augusta giant land snails were moved, and hundreds are still being kept in a Hokitika fridge. “This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Nicola Vallance said. The snails were taken from a small area on top of Mt Augustus on the Stockton Plateau in 2006 to make way for Solid Energy’s open-cast coal mine. Some snails have been moved from the Department of Conservation fridges to the Denniston Plateau, which is now threatened by another open-cast coal mine planned by Australian-owned Bathurst Resources. Landcare Research says the snails moved from the fridges to new sites last year are breeding too slowly for the populations to survive. New homes for the Powelliphanta augusta snails are limited because the snails can’t adapt to different habitats or because other snail species are already there. “Keeping our wildlife in fridges is obviously not how New Zealanders would like to care for native animals found nowhere else in the world,” Nicola said. “It’s a sad fact that

this has been the best option for them because moving them back to the wild in other parts of the West Coast has not worked. This has been an unfortunate experiment in keeping threatened native animals.”

Powelliphanta augusta giant land snails were moved from the Stockton Plateau when it was mined. Photo: DOC

Lessons from China Jonathan Watts – the author of When a Billion Chinese Jump – is visiting New Zealand in March to speak about the environmental lessons from China’s rapid economic development. The Asia environment correspondent for The Guardian newspaper will speak in Auckland, Taupö, Wellington and Christchurch. Commercial cleaning company Paramount Services is bringing Watts to New Zealand, and proceeds from his lectures are going to Forest & Bird. More information at www.eventfinder.co.nz

Win a book Forest & Bird is giving away two copies of Seabird Genius: The story of L E Richdale, the royal albatross and the yellow-eyed penguin by Neville Peat (Otago University Press, $45). To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@forestandbird.org.nz Please put Seabird Genius in the subject line and include your name and address in the email. Or put your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to Seabird Genius draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close on March 12.

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The winners of the draws in the November 2011 Forest & Bird magazine are: NZ Bird Calls: Matt Harrison, Wellington; Kristine Beach, Havelock; and J Tarrant, Whanganui. Wild Coasts: Paul Dyas, Ashburton; Barney Tremeer, Auckland; Wendy Kissel, Christchurch; Brian Jones, Hastings; and Leo van der Hoek, Nelson. Weed Control: Ian Pogson, Takaka; Tracey Hall, Otaki; and L A Tocker, Palmerston North. Your prizes will be posted.

Honda goes back to school H

onda late last year launched a new environmental awareness programme in schools, and will roll it out further this year. Elm Park Primary School, in Pakuranga, was the first school to take part in Honda’s Blue Skies for Our Children initiative. Elm Park students were already caring for the school environment, after creating a native plant garden. Honda helped the project in 2010 with a $400 donation to buy 80 native trees as part of its TreeFund programme. “Children are our future, and so it’s important to encourage them to be environmentally friendly from an early age in the hope that our blue skies will always remain that way,” Honda Communications Manager Nicola Hoogenboom said. Through Honda’s TreeFund programme, 10 native trees are funded for every new car that Honda New Zealand sells, with another three donated by the local Honda dealer. Honda has donated almost half a million trees to New Zealand communities since 2004. Honda prides itself on being New Zealand’s most environmentally aware car company, and is a generous sponsor of Forest & Bird. For the past four years Forest &

Bird field officers have been driving fuel-efficient Honda Civic hybrid petrol-electric cars provided by Honda. The company’s generosity has allowed Forest & Bird to spend more of our members’ fees and donations on conservation work.

Elm Park School students, from left, Connor Hiley, Keziah Seiuli, Ava Baunton and Ivana Williams show Honda’s Nicola Hoogenboom one of the native plants provided by Honda.

New faces for Forest & Bird I

f you see a friendly face in a Forest & Bird jacket on your local street, please say hello to one of our fabulous recruiters. Jared Maraki, pictured left, and Michael Johnson have been signing up new members at events, on city streets and by knocking on doors, and we’re very glad to have them on the Forest & Bird team. Jared and Michael – and many other recruiters working around New Zealand – have had a very positive response from Kiwis. “People love what Forest & Bird is doing and they love the Kiwi Conservation Club for kids,” Jared says. Michael is passionate about Forest & Bird’s work. “Every time I sign someone up to Forest & Bird, I know I’m helping the environment.”

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Phone: (61 8) 9330 6066 Web: www.coateswildlifetours.com.au Email: coates@iinet.net.au GSA Coates Tours Licence no 9ta1135/36

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conservation

news

Fairy tern fightback F

orest & Bird has pledged it will fight to save feeding areas for critically endangered fairy terns in Northland’s Mangawhai Harbour from destruction. Last April, Northland Regional Council commissioners rejected the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society’s resource consent application to rip out all 86 hectares of mangroves in the harbour and dredge up to 1.7 kilometres of the upper harbour channel. The failed application was a major blow for the restoration society, which is determined to turn the muddy, shallow harbour into golden sandy beaches. But it was fantastic news for the resident fairy terns that nest on Mangawhai Spit, feed around the mangroves and rely on the small fish in this swampy ecosystem for food. The commissioners’ decision was a relief for groups like Forest & Bird and the Department of Conservation, which opposed the application. But the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society has not given up its crusade. In October, the Northland Regional Council extended its Mangrove Management Support Programme, giving the society the opportunity to apply for funding up to $30,000. According to local news reports, that sum would cover the cost of a new consent process. The society could appeal the original decision or re-apply with a down-sized proposal to remove some of the mangroves.

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Fewer than 40 New Zealand fairy terns remain. Photo: Karen Baird

At that time, restoration society chairman Trevor Downey told the Northern Advocate newspaper the society was moving forward but did not comment on future plans. “We are treading delicate waters at the moment with this,” he said. Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Karen Baird is blunt about the impact on fairy terns if mangrove removal goes ahead. “Mangawhai Harbour has half of the world’s breeding pairs of fairy terns. There’s a high probability they will become extinct if you take away the major food source of half the tiny total population. “A large part of their food consists of small fish that live in the mangroves. They do most of their feeding on these fish when they are concentrated in small channels around the mangroves, when the tides go out. It’s a critical part of their habitat.” Karen says fairy terns are very sensitive to disturbance. Dredging the harbour will threaten the safety of their habitats as it would encourage more boat traffic in the area. Forest & Bird is compiling evidence under the assumption the restoration society will once again seek consent to remove at least some of the mangroves. An application, if it goes ahead, is a real threat for the fairy terns as a commissioner at the original hearing worryingly said the removal of some mangroves “might very well prove to be appropriate” in the future. But Karen says partial eradication of these important feeding sites would have a devastating effect on the five resident fairy tern pairs. Forest & Bird staff and members undertake pest control around fairy tern colonies with DOC and local residents, in the hope of boosting numbers of fairy terns. Last summer, Forest & Bird studied their feeding habits on Mangawhai and Kaipara harbours. Karen says there’s plenty more work that needs to be done to ensure their survival. And that work is even more urgent given their low reproductive rate, with only about 20 per cent of adults breeding. The shorebirds are teetering perilously close to extinction. With just 40 left across four sites north of Auckland, it’s imperative Mangawhai Harbour is saved. It’s a clear choice, according to Karen. Keep the mangroves and the fairy terns have a chance of survival. The mangroves must stay. n Jolene Williams

Alliance aims for Antarctic haven F

orest & Bird has joined a new alliance of conservation organisations calling for the creation of the world’s largest network of marine reserves in the waters around Antarctica. Over the next three years, the Antarctic Ocean Alliance is lobbying for 19 marine reserves to be established in the Southern Ocean, including the Ross Sea south of New Zealand. The marine habitats of emperor and adelie penguins, weddell seals and orcas would be protected if the campaign succeeds. Alliance campaigners last year attended a meeting of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR), which manages the Southern Ocean. At the meeting, the 25 member nations agreed to a framework to create a network of marine protected areas this year, but have yet to commit to specific areas for protection. Fishing nation Norway is already talking about “fishing-friendly marine reserves”, and New Zealand’s own proposal for the Ross Sea makes protecting fishing, rather than fish, its priority. “The alliance will need to persuade fishing nations like New Zealand to show more conservation leadership so that we can protect Antarctica’s marine environment for future generations,” said Alliance campaign coordinator Steven Campbell. New Zealand commercial fishers pioneered Ross Sea fishing and we remain the main fishing nation in the wider

Win a fairy tern coin set Forest & Bird is giving away two limited edition sets of New Zealand Post coins celebrating the New Zealand fairy tern. Each set contains a pure silver $5 fairy tern coin and a set of proof-quality New Zealand currency coins, and is worth $185. For sale at some PostShop stores, www.nzcoins.co.nz and 0800 NZCOINS. To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@ forestandbird.org.nz Please put Fairy Tern Coin in the subject line and include your name and address in the email. Or put your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to Fairy Tern Coin draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close on March 12.

Adelie penguins on an Antarctic ice sheet. Photo: John Weller

Ross Sea region. Four vessels from Sanfords, Talley’s and Sealord spend about two months annually fishing for Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea region. The long-lived toothfish, which thrives in some of the deepest waters around Antarctica, is an important food source for penguins and seals but is increasingly being fished and supplied to top-end restaurants in Europe, the United States and Asia. The Antarctic Ocean Alliance includes Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), Mission Blue, Oceana, The Last Ocean, Oceans Five and other groups worldwide. See www.antarcticocean.org

Win a book Forest & Bird is giving away four copies of Organic Explorer New Zealand guide to ecoaccommodation, conservation tourism and organic wine and food to by Leonie Johnsen and Tony Ward (Organic Explorer, $34.95). To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@forestandbird.org.nz Please put Organic Explorer in the subject line and include your name and address in the email. Or put your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to Organic Explorer draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close on March 12.

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conservation

news

Kids make kererü count T

his month marks the beginning of the Kiwi Conservation Club’s project to get kids and adults involved in a nationwide survey of kererü. The science project aims to get children actively engaged in meaningful conservation activities. From February 19–27, KCC members and fellow nature lovers will be keeping their eyes peeled for kererü

(New Zealand wood pigeon). Bird watchers will record information of each sighting including time, location and the bird’s behaviour on an online database. Data will be collated and passed on to both local and national conservation groups with an interest in kererü distribution. It’s hoped the project will become an annual event and spread to schools around the country and other children-oriented organisations such as Scouts. Guidelines on data collection will help avoid double ups. Gaps are likely to emerge but the information will provide useful information for groups such as Wellington’s Kererü Discovery Project, and forest restoration programmes. KCC Officer and project organiser Jenny Lynch says: “It’s useful for telling us where kererü are going, what they’re doing and it gives indications of forest health and where there are good food sources.” Data will also feed back into the community, raising awareness and appreciation for New Zealand’s only endemic pigeon. “It lets people know kererü are in the area so they can grow kererü-friendly trees,” she says. Jenny says the project also gives kids the chance to contribute to genuine, science-based conservation projects. “It’s just a way of connecting them with wider research because they don’t get that opportunity very often.” In addition, this month’s KCC magazine, Wild Things, will be well-stocked with information, stories and activities about kererü. Results will be relayed back to participants so they can see where and how their data was used. Kererü are not endangered, but populations are on the decline in parts of New Zealand, mainly due to predation and competition for food with introduced mammals. The species was chosen for the survey because of its widespread distribution. Conductiing the project in February will give more accurate data as this is when juveniles are most active. n Jolene Williams Visit www.kererucount.org.nz to find out how to get involved.

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Kapiti rescue aid F

orest & Bird has given $12,500 to the Department of Conservation to help rid Kapiti Island of stoats. Three stoats were trapped on the previously pest-free island sanctuary last year, and it’s hoped that any remaining stoats are killed before their numbers expand and the island’s endangered birds are put at further risk. Kapiti is home to 90 per cent of the world’s little Kapiti Island’s endangered spotted kiwi, and has important populations of takahë, birds are easy targets for stoats. Photo: David Hallett tïeke (saddlebacks), kökako and käkäriki. They are all easy prey for stoats. DOC has spent more than $200,000 in the past year on hundreds of traps and tracking tunnels spread around the island. Stoat search dogs have also scoured the island for signs of the small mustelids. They did not find any stoats, and it is hoped numbers on the island are small but work will continue until the island is again pest-free. Forest & Bird’s donation included $3000 from Kapiti-Mana branch. BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust also gave $12,500. Forest & Bird General Manager Mike Britton said Kapiti Island was a special place for the Society and it was critical to protect the island’s rare birds. “Kapiti Island was the starting point for Forest & Bird,” he said. “The need to protect Kapiti Island as a true sanctuary spurred our founder, Captain Val Sanderson, to set up the Society in 1923. At another time of trouble for the island, it’s appropriate for Forest & Bird to step up again, and we feel it’s right to help DOC in this case.”

The Real Vanuatu

et off the beaten track and help contribute to the future of Vatthe Conservation Park in Vanuatu. Forest & Bird field officer Sue Maturin is leading a 13-day tour exploring three islands and helping local landowners control invasive vines in coastal forest. Stay in a remote village, relax on tropical beaches, snorkel over vibrant coral reefs and watch a live volcano. The tour departs in June/July and is limited to 12 people. Contact Sue Maturin, Forest & Bird, PO Box 6230, Dunedin, tel 03 477 9677, s.maturin@ forestandbird.org.nz

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| 13 10/3/2011 9:54:47 AM

soapbox

Nature knows no borders Mike Britton argues that Forest & Bird has to be involved on the international stage because global issues are crucial to the future of conservation in New Zealand.

ew Zealand’s unique natural world before the coming of humans was the result of its isolation from the rest of the world. The arrival of Mäori and later Europeans – along with the animals and plants they brought with them – changed New Zealand forever. Today New Zealand’s natural world faces a raft of new external threats, and hiding our heads in the sand will not make them disappear. Climate change and its potential impact on New Zealand’s biodiversity is the biggest danger. But there are others, including over-fishing and pollution threats to the world’s oceans, and the impact of development in Asia on shorebird feeding areas that could cause the eventual extinction of some migratory bird species.

New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours are in the frontline of climate change. Photo: Stuart Chape

The problems are global and the solutions will be global. Forest & Bird needs to be the voice for New Zealand nature internationally in the same way we are in the national arena and in our local communities. Forest & Bird has been New Zealand’s leading conservation organisation since 1923. We have had great success but our ability to continually defend nature in New Zealand depends on the health and wellbeing of our planet. Forest & Bird has been working on these issues in international organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). BirdLife International is an even more important international involvement for Forest & Bird. Beyond being the world’s leading authority on birds and their protection, the organisation has a wider environmental role because birds are a recognised indicator for biodiversity health. Made up of 117 nongovernment organisations from 116 countries, BirdLife is the world’s largest civil society partnership, made up of organisations representing 2.7 million members, a total budget of $502 million and 7155 staff. 14

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BirdLife represents and co-ordinates partner input on global issues, including the recent global climate change negotiations in Durban and the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Japan earlier in 2011. Funding sources include the European Union and major charitable foundations, which support key programmes including preventing extinctions, the Forests of Hope programme targeting tropical forests, the Flyways programme for migratory birds and the Global Seabird Programme. As the New Zealand partner of BirdLife, Forest & Bird can have influence in global policies and programmes that affect New Zealand nature directly and indirectly. BirdLife’s international influence can also be brought to bear on New Zealand issues, as happened last year when it called on our government to honour our country’s international undertakings to protect seabirds. As a large NGO in the region, Forest & Bird also has an obligation to help our Pacific island neighbours. They are at the frontline of climate change, with many low-lying islands threatened by rising sea levels. Introduced predators have caused a wave of extinctions and threaten many other native species – an ecological disaster familiar to us in New Zealand. They don’t have departments of conservation so it is our Pacific BirdLife partners, along with other NGOs, that do the conservation work. We can’t afford to leave global conservation and environmental issues to governments. Due to the current economic crisis, governments are starting to back away from their climate change commitments and other environmental goals in favour of short-term economic and political considerations. Forest & Bird needs to do more than attend a few meetings. We have to engage with our BirdlLife and IUCN partners on policy development and international negotiations. When we hear that the New Zealand position at the climate change conference in Durban helped to weaken the undertakings adopted, it shows that we have work to do at home as well. A strong international NGO sector is needed to keep the pressure on governments and it is important that we in New Zealand play our part. We will not be able to protect nature in New Zealand if the oceans are polluted and empty of fish, and above all if we cannot control man-made climate change. Mike Britton is Forest & Bird’s General Manager and represents the Pacific on the BirdLife International Global Council.

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1 All New Zealand dolphin species, including the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rarest, the Mauiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dolphin, are among non-target species to die as by-catch. 2 Seal caught in fishing net. Photo: DOC 3 Scampi fisheries catch on average five tonnes of by-catch for every tonne of scampi. John Dory, ling, javelin fish, gem fish and juvenile hoki are among this haul. 4 Kingfish. Photo: Malcolm Francis

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COVER STORY

The price of

FISHING Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more to your next fish meal than a squeeze of lemon. Forest & Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest Best Fish Guide ranks the fish we eat according to how sustainably it is caught. It aims to get New Zealand consumers sending a message to the fishing industry about improving the way they fish. By Jolene Williams.

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For most fisheries, the level that we’re fishing at is not at all sustainable. We’re going to have a disaster if we continue to fish this way and at this rate. Stocks will collapse and we’ll see a significant reduction of by-catch populations, such as endangered New Zealand sea lions. Forest & Bird Marine Conservation Advocate Katrina Subedar

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6 to have a disaster if we continue to fish this way and at this rate. Stocks will collapse and we’ll see a significant reduction of by-catch populations, such as endangered New Zealand sea lions.” Close to half a million tonnes of fish are taken from our waters every single year. Hoki make up the largest haul, despite reaching such low population levels in 2007 that the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) was less than 40 per cent of the 2000 limit. The hoki population has since increased slightly, and the TACC consequently raised. And now hoki is lauded as proof that quotas can successfully manage sustainability. But Katrina says sustainability is not just a numbers game. In the case of hoki, the stock levels may be up, but hoki fisheries continue to bottom-trawl for their catch, which destroys the marine environment in the process. Additionally, the rate of seabirds and fur seals landed as by-catch has not declined. That’s why Forest & Bird’s ecological assessment considers the whole picture, such as fishing methods, bycatch and the impact on other marine species. 5 70 tonnes of hoki caught on a Ukrainian trawler 6 New Zealand sea lions are ranked critically endangered. Photo: DOC 7 Best Fish Guide 2012-2013 pocket guide

Best fish guide

Best fish guide 2012–2013

2012–2013

New Zealand’s fisheries are not as healthy as some claim. If you choose ecologically sustainable seafood you will help improve New Zealand’s fishing practices and return our oceans to an abundance and health.

Our assessment combines the latest government and published information on the biology, status and management of fish stocks, habitat damage and ecological damage caused by fishing methods to seabirds, marine mammals, corals, sponges, turtles and other marine life.

For more information on each fish species, on alternative fish choices, and on the assessment processes used to produce the Best Fish Guide, go to: www.bestfishguide.org.nz

Please use this guide to make a good choice for our oceans.

Fish Choices — Ecological Rankings

Questions to ask

BEST CHOICE

Here are a few simple questions to ask your retailer to help you make the best seafood choice: • What species is it? If they can’t tell you what it is, don’t buy it. • How was it caught? Avoid fish caught using environmentally destructive methods such as bottom trawls, dredges and gill nets. • Where was it caught? Choose locally caught fish and avoid deepwater species, which are often highly vulnerable to overfishing.

Farmed seafood This Best Fish Guide only assesses New Zealand’s commercial fisheries. Forest & Bird is developing criteria and methodology for assessing New Zealand farmed seafood which will be available from May 2012. The main locally farmed species are mussels, oysters and salmon. Generally farmed shellfish have a lower ecological impact than farmed salmon. The main issues with salmon farming are that they are fed wild-caught fish, and the farm effects on the marine environment. For more on this check out www.bestfishguide.org.nz Forest & Bird is New Zealand’s leading independent and not-for-profit conservation organisation. Help us protect our natural treasures on land and in the sea by becoming a member at www.forestandbird.org.nz/joinus

Best fish guide 2012–2013

Chlorine free sustainable card.

y-catch, bottom trawling, over-fishing. They’re the dirty words people don’t often think about when weighing up dinner options at their local fish and chip shop. That could change if every New Zealander reads Forest & Bird’s 150-plus-page ecological assessment on the sustainability of 78 New Zealand commercial fisheries. If they did, they’d learn that an estimated 1060 New Zealand fur seals are caught and killed as by-catch every year. They’d discover hoki is one of the least sustainable commercially fished species we’ve got, despite being a poster-fish for the “success” of government-set fishing quotas. They’d realise, in short, that many of our fish stocks are fished well below a sustainable level. Ordinary Kiwis may care for the health of their oceans and marine life, but actively doing something about it is a harder nut to crack. So this month, Forest & Bird has launched our new Best Fish Guide. Inside this magazine you’ll find the wallet-sized guide to choosing seafood that’s ecologically sustainable, so you and other consumers will know the difference between good and bad seafood choices. It’s the fifth time we’ve launched a Best Fish Guide and this time we’ve also got a mobile application version that’s free to download from our website. It’s important to regularly update the guide according to the latest government and independent research. In just the past two years, some species have slipped from good to bad, and others have moved into our “green” good choice zone. We’ll also be adding New Zealand aquaculture species, such as farmed salmon and mussels, to the guide later this year. By informing consumers we’re hoping to put pressure on New Zealand’s fishing industry to end ecologically destructive practices and work towards building a fully sustainable industry. Forest & Bird is not against large-scale fishing for food, Forest & Bird Marine Conservation Advocate Katrina Subedar says. Instead, the Best Fish Guide aims to stimulate positive change in the industry through informing and empowering the public. “We don’t want to say no to fish. Fish has health benefits, and it tastes nice. We want to give consumers the right to ecologically sustainable fish,” she says. “Consumers have the power to make change. They can put pressure on the big supermarkets to stock more ecologically sustainable seafood. Fisheries will then have to supply more sustainable seafood. That means they’ll have more sustainable methods and it’ll also reduce the pressure on the heavily fished species of concern.” So just how concerned should we be? The latest research found 32–42 per cent of the 78 assessed fisheries had over-fished or contributed to a substantial decline in stocks. On top of that, 55–71 per cent of the fisheries caught too many other animals as by-catch. Katrina wasn’t surprised when she read the assessments, but the average Kiwi might react differently. “New Zealand is sold as clean and green,” she says. “And yet that’s so far from the truth for our fisheries. “This is a serious problem. For most fisheries, the level that we’re fishing at is not at all sustainable. We’re going

Anchovy Albacore Cockles Kahawai Blue cod Garfish Sprats Grey mullet Butterfish John dory Paddle crabs Tarakihi Leather jacket Silver warehou Queen scallops Yellow fin tuna White warehou Alfonsino Swordfish Ribaldo Ling Gemfish Blue warehou Elephantfish Scallops School shark Dark ghost shark Patagonian Toothfish Flatfish Scampi Rig Pale ghost shark Moonfish Jack mackerel Arrow Squid Blue shark Mako shark Oreos Porbeagle shark

Pilchards Kina Yellow-eyed mullet Rock lobster Skipjack tuna Packhorse lobster Trevally Kingfish Blue moki Paua Red Gurnard Blue mackerel Trumpeter Hoki Red Cod Southern blue whiting Antarctic toothfish Stargazer Groper Hake Frostfish Red snapper Spiny dogfish Oyster Eels Rubyfish Pacific bluefin tuna Bigeye Tuna Sea perch Striped marlin Lookdown dory Barracouta Bluenose Skates Black cardinal fish Rays Bream Southern bluefin tuna Snapper Orange roughy

WORST CHOICE www.bestfishguide.org.nz

Visit www.bestfishguide.org.nz and download the Best Fish Guide mobile app.

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Worryingly, activities of 54–69 per cent of those assessed caused habitat damage. Fishing methods such as bottom trawling and dredging are largely to blame. On average, every year about 85,000 square kilometres of our seas are trawled at middle and deep water fisheries – typically targeting ecologically unsustainable species hoki, snapper, squid, orange roughy and scampi. Bottom trawling is one of the most destructive fishing methods. It scrapes the ocean floor clean, taking all marine life and destroying all habitats in its path. “We have many vulnerable habitats on the sea floor, like corals,” Katrina says. “They grow very slowly. They can take up to 500 years just to get off the ground, and they can be destroyed in just a few seconds of being trawled.” Set nets, where a net is lowered to the ocean floor and left unattended to catch everything that swims inside, are also problematic. Set nets, like trawling, are unselective in what they take. The catch is sorted on the boat deck, and unwanted fish, birds and marine mammals are thrown overboard. By then, most are dead. Twenty years ago, New Zealand’s commercial fisheries led the world in sustainable fishing. But our standards have slipped. The industry’s weak environmental standards are highlighted by the fact that in 2010, less than a fifth of our fish stocks undertook a quantitative stock assessment. Essentially, they didn’t know how many fish they took, or how many were left. Sustainable stock levels? Prove it. Forest & Bird advocates for more science-based research so we can ensure TACC levels are accurate and effective. We want to see fisheries swap destructive fishing methods for more sustainable options where possible. We want the government to set and enforce robust regulations so we, as consumers, know the fish on our dinner plates didn’t come with a side of by-catch. 8

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Industry giants argue we’re not too bad compared to other nations. They’re backed up by big-name United States scientists who claim fishery management systems like New Zealand’s are good at producing sustainable fisheries. American fisheries scientist Ray Hilborn looks only at the relative scale of our industry when he says we probably have the lowest fishing pressure in the world. “All other things being equal, you’d have to say New Zealand probably has the most intact overall ecosystems because they’re subject to less pressure than most other places,” he told the Dominion Post last year. “All other things being equal,” he says. But New Zealand has more than 80 per cent of its biodiversity in its oceans, with more species still being discovered. And New Zealand is home to numerous threatened marine species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. Are all other things equal? Besides, the 200 or so dolphins killed on average each year from by-catch probably don’t care for international comparisons that say they’ve got it pretty good. The same goes for the estimated 131 sea lions, 370 albatrosses and 2200 petrels that likewise die in fishing nets each year. Dr Hilborn, who has been involved in assessing our fish stocks since the 1990s, singles out New Zealand as one of the areas that has “never been systemically over-fished”. His sentiments are echoed by the Seafood Industry Council, which says simply if it’s caught in New Zealand, it’s sustainable. The council’s website states: “If any fish stock was threatened or at unsustainable levels, the New Zealand government would reduce the TACC to zero.” True, in 2000 the government slashed the TACC for orange roughy to virtually nothing when stocks collapsed. Orange roughy stocks increased, but consider the fact that stocks now number between 3 and 20 per cent of the

unfished virgin population. The government certainly hasn’t stepped in with such assertions for the many other stocks in decline. Take a look at your Best Fish Guide. There are many more in the red section than the green. Over-fishing also upsets the natural balance of the food chain and can cause a decline in biodiversity. Most sharks for example, are landed solely for their fins and the rest is discarded overboard. That practice should be unacceptable, Katrina says. Not only is it wasteful, it’s risky given we don’t have reliable population estimates and, worse, because the removal of a predator species like sharks will see a sharp rise in prey populations directly underneath them in the food chain. This, in turn, will devastate the next prey species down the chain. Forest & Bird General Manager Mike Britton says moving towards sustainable fishing is essential to safeguarding the future of the industry, fishing communities and an intrinsic part of Kiwi life. “The ability for New Zealanders to go and catch fish and enjoy eating seafood is an important part of our way of life. Protecting that and the livelihood of communities engaged in the fishing industry needs us to use our resources in a sustainable manner,” he says. In economic terms, Mike says building more sustainable fishing will only strengthen the $1.4 billion industry. “World markets are more and more requiring the fish they import to be certified as sustainable. By moving to sustainable fishing methods and catch rates, the industry will position itself well for the future.” It’s a win-win-win situation. All we need now is for people to act. So next time you’re at your fish and chip shop, ask what fish they’re using and take a look at your Best Fish Guide. If it’s a more sustainable choice, tuck in and enjoy. If it’s on our red list, have a think. Ask yourself, what’s the real cost of that meal?

Squid with a sea lion garnish Squid, salt, pepper, delicious. If only it was that simple. One of New Zealand’s two squid fisheries operates in the sub-Antarctic Islands, which is also a favourite foraging spot for our critically endangered sea lions. This squid fishery mainly uses mid-water trawling, which kills hundred of seabirds a year and on average 131 sea lions a year. But this represents only recorded deaths from one squid fishery. There are others operating in the area unrestricted by the current fisheries management. And because the squid fishing season coincides with breeding season, many of the sea lions caught are pregnant or females with pups left onshore. If the females die, so do their young. The situation was even bleaker late last year when the government proposed to get rid of the kill quota, effectively permitting fisheries to kill as many sea lions as they like in this year’s season. The move was prompted by the use of SLEDs (Sea Lion Exclusion Devices), which in theory allow sea lions to escape trawl nets. However, there’s growing evidence that SLEDs are not working as effectively as reported. Some sea lions have been found to drown or get wounded in the nets before being released. The sea lion population is declining, and the number of pups born has fallen 49 per cent since 1998. Forest & Bird is continuing work to protect New Zealand sea lions this year.

Going virtual

10 8 A typical set net haul of rig fish, the most common fish served as fish and chips. 9 Snapper. Photo: Malcolm Francis 10 Antipodean albatross. Photo: David Hallett 11 A female New Zealand sea lion found dead in a mid-trawl net. Photo: Peter Langlands

This year the Best Fish Guide also comes as a mobile phone application. It’s easy and free to download from our website, and has additional features. If you’re keen on a recipe that uses a fish from the Best Fish Guide red zone, the app can suggest a more ecologically sustainable fish of a similar taste and texture. The app also has recipes by top New Zealand chefs that use Best Fish Guide-endorsed fish and links back to the Forest & Bird website where you can learn more about each species, how it’s fished and the major ecological concerns. More information at www.bestfishguide.org.nz Forest & Bird

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Springbok 1

Take a close look at the praying mantises in your garden. They may not be the Godzone insects you think they are. By Graeme Hill.

f you ever admired a praying mantis before 1978, it was guaranteed to be our native species (Orthodera novaezealandiae). Then one day, around the time of the Nambassa music festival and Bruce Beetham winning a seat for the Social Credit Party, the South African mantis (Miomantis caffra) established itself in New Zealand. Perhaps it was a lone egg-case on an immigrant’s deck chair or attached to Sid Going’s rugby boots. However it happened, the Springbok mantis has done very well here ever since, especially in the north and, alarmingly, to the detriment of our own native mantis. It seems our precious New Zealander is being pushed out. Any mantis is clearly a thing of wonder and beauty. What marvellous creatures they are. It is the only insect, to my knowledge, that seems to address you with its engaging turn of the head as if to say, “And ... you are?” These charms are shared by the Springbok and hence, like the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing, it has proliferated pretty much unmolested. If it was perchance a 5cm-long red cockroach or a biting fly, alarm bells would have been ringing long and loud since Nambassa. To most people a mantis is a mantis is a mantis, but it’s not. Knowing one from the other may be the best first measure to help our native version persist against this green and gold tide. The differences aren’t glaringly obvious so the observation of the New Zealand mantis’s decline has until recently been only anecdotal from those few who can, or care to, discern between the two species. Picking between the two is easy once you know, and you’ll never mistake one for the other again.

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Our mantis is always bright green. It has a wide, flat thorax (the long collar between the abdomen and the head). Most distinctively, the adult carries a purple dot on the inside of each of its grasping forelegs, or forearms if you like. If you see the purple spot, you’ve got yourself a native. It’s the clincher. In general, our mantis, at least to me, seems softer and slightly iridescent. It has a dewy, lush look to it. The Springbok has the opposite. The Springbok mantis can be a range of colours from brown to bright green. They can be exceedingly skinny, but are always distinctively skinny in that bit behind the head, giving them a classic hammerhead appearance. The eggladen female’s abdomen can be quite grotesquely inflated ahead of laying down her egg-case. The egg-case itself is another big difference between the two. The New Zealand mantis egg-case, from which 20 or so fully formed but tiny critters will emerge in spring, is a most tidy piece of insect architecture. It is oval, with an upper surface showing delicately wavy figures-of-eight, a pattern much like those fancy collars that Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh wore. They are usually brown. The Springbok egg-case is altogether a very different affair. It’s a puffy-white, rather untidy, oblong pavlova – a meringue with pointed ends and frequently found firmly glued into crevasses and corners of wood and concrete. If you feel like it, take a look in your crawlspace or under your house. You may be surprised by how many of these Doctor Who cyberman pods you’ll see, and it may give you some idea of what our lovely native is up against. So, exactly how is the Springbok mantis succeeding in

In general, our mantis, at least to me, seems softer and slightly iridescent. It has a dewy, lush look to it. The Springbok has the opposite. this ethnic cleansing? One factor is, of course, simple niche takeover. They both compete for very similar resources and it only takes a little pressure for numbers to accumulate and take effect. The Springbok breeds better. Thanks to a couple of people who’ve taken notice of the declining numbers and have cared enough to look into it seriously, we now have a few answers, and they are peculiar findings indeed. University of Auckland masters student Murray Fea and entomologist Dr Greg Holwell have found that the male New Zealand mantis cannot discern between the female South African and his natural mate, and there is evidence that they even prefer the South African female, the rotters! It’s all about smell. He will attempt to mate with the South African but in doing so either wastes his issue, Old Testament Onan-style, but it is more likely that his romantic forays will stop right there due to an infamous habit of the female Miomantis caffra – cannibalism. He gets eaten in flagrante delicto for his mistake. The New Zealand female does not cannibalise her suitor. These factors compounded upon each other are like throwing loaded dice. Over time – and quite a short time – the advantage has shifted and is shifting every season significantly to the Springbok. The range of the Springbok mantis seems to be limited by temperature gradients so those of you reading this in the real south may feel safe for now. Recently the South Africans have been reaching high densities in Nelson and, worryingly, have been recorded in Christchurch. What can we do to help our lovely fresh-green and purple-spotted mantis? Most people would understandably

recoil from killing such endearing insects, yet we have military-styled operations to systematically kill cute possums and stoats and ferrets and rats and cats. All those programmes are worthy and the science is in. It’s the best approach. I’ve been cleaning out the Springboks and especially their egg-cases and, after 10 years of no native sightings whatsoever, I’ve had visits from three native mantises in the past two years. I cannot connect cause and effect with any surety, but maybe a little citizen-based pest control can make a difference. Perhaps we’re not just shovelling water with a pitchfork. For the sake of our natives it’s always worth a go. Most importantly I think this is a salutary lesson that we must pay constant and better attention to species officially designated as “common”. That very designation can deny unique New Zealand animals and plants the rigorous study they deserve while we remain ignorant of whatever trouble they may be experiencing in either numbers or geographical range. Both matter. Ask a käkäpö. I see Springbok mantises nearly every day. On that rare occasion when I see one of our natives, my heart sings. I want to see more. I want New Zealand to win. Graeme Hill is a passionate advocate for conservation and hosts the Weekend Variety Wireless on Radio Live, 10am-2pm Saturdays and Sundays, which includes Environews every Saturday at 11.30am. 1 The true blue New Zealand praying mantis. Photos: Bryce McQuillan 2 The South African interloper.

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RENA DISASTER

NZâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big New ideas were tested in a bid to save as many birds as possible from a black death in the wake of the devastating Bay of Plenty oil spill. By David Brooks.

1 The container ship Rena hit Astrolabe Reef near Tauranga on October 5, 2011. Photo: Kim Westerskov

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2 New Zealand dotterel expert John Dowding with a dotterel. Photo: Mandy Herrick

spill S

oon after the news that about 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil had leaked from the container ship Rena, we started seeing shocking images of the bodies of seabirds and penguins washed ashore covered in thick tar-like oil. The Liberian-registered Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef early on October 5 and six days later, as a wide split developed in the hull, oil poured from one of the fuel tanks. The spill – described by Environment Minister Nick Smith as New Zealand’s worst ever maritime environmental disaster – could have been much worse. After the initial spill, it appeared likely the ship would quickly break apart, spewing the rest of the 1700 tonnes of fuel into the Bay of Plenty. Luckily, the Rena held together as most of the remaining fuel was removed. Even so, the impact of the spill on the Bay of Plenty was horrific. It is estimated about 20,000 birds were killed, a figure based on the roughly 2000 recovered bodies and overseas research suggesting these would represent about 10 per cent of the total deaths.

I was shocked by the numbers of birds – so many tiny diving petrels – breeding birds with tiny chicks who would have starved back at the colony. I was alarmed too by the numbers of Buller’s shearwaters – a bird that only breeds on the Poor Knights Islands in Northland. Forest & Bird Seabird Conservation Advocate Karen Baird

Nearly 340 oiled little blue penguins were treated at the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre, a complex of tents set up at the wastewater treatment station on Tauranga’s outskirts. Sixty endangered New Zealand dotterels were also taken to the centre as an insurance policy if their numbers were decimated by oiled beaches. Forest & Bird’s Tauranga-based Central North Island Field Officer, Al Fleming, worked at the wildlife response centre in the first days of the disaster. “The first thing we did was put out a call to all central North Island Forest & Bird members to assist in wildlife recovery and clean-up work. After the big spill I went down to the beach – the weather had closed in and you couldn’t see too far either way up or down the beach. There was a strong onshore wind and the smell of the oil was really strong,” he said. The disaster could not have happened at a worse time, with many bird species caught during their breeding season, Al said. Shorebirds such as New Zealand dotterels, variable oystercatchers and white-fronted terns were Forest & Bird

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RENA DISASTER

starting to nest on the bay’s sandy beaches. Penguins were also in the early stage of the breeding season, along with seabirds nesting on rocky offshore islands. Migratory birds such as godwits and red knots were returning from the northern hemisphere to Tauranga Harbour and other estuaries along the Bay of Plenty coast. When the dead birds started to come into the response centre’s morgue, it was clear the greatest toll had been among seabirds feeding in the bay. Diving petrels accounted for about half the casualties, fluttering shearwaters about 20 per cent and Buller’s shearwaters another 10 per cent. Forest & Bird Seabird Conservation Advocate Karen Baird spent time working in the makeshift tent morgue. “I was shocked by the numbers of birds – so many tiny diving petrels – breeding birds with tiny chicks who would have starved back at the colony. I was alarmed 6 too by the numbers of Buller’s shearwaters – a bird that only breeds on the Poor Knights Islands in Northland. “When you start doing this work, it is really shocking, they don’t look like birds, they are totally covered in oil. They are brought into the centre in bags and you might find half a dozen stuck together in a tar-like mess.” Te Puke member and Western Bay of Plenty district councillor Maureen 26

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Burgess was one of the first to volunteer at the response centre, starting on October 8. “In the first couple of days there were just six responders working with three vets. It was very hands on and we were learning everything.” The trickle of birds turned to a flood after the big spill, and Karen Baird took over running the kitchen, working alongside as many as 12 people. Tasks included mixing salmon smoothies for the penguins before they were switched to a more conventional diet provided by a three tonne shipment of anchovies. The New Zealand dotterels were fed a mixture including meal worms, ox heart and a special food supplement for insectivores. One day Karen left the kitchen to see a display of oilcovered bodies of birds that had been laid out for the media and the tragedy really hit home. “I took a few photos and then I just stood there and cried. When you see an albatross and other birds that you can’t recognise because they are covered in oil, it really sinks in what a disaster it was.” The oiled penguins and the dotterels were initially kept in tents. The penguins were put in above-ground swimming pools for a half hour each day to encourage their feathers to regain the waterproofing and insulation lost in the oiling and subsequent cleaning. By late October new penguin enclosures had been built incorporating shallow pools, and fish crates were converted to roosts where the birds could sleep. The 10 new enclosures, each capable of holding about 50 penguins, allowed the birds to swim whenever they liked, speeding up the rate their feathers regained their waterproofing and insulation. Response centre manager Brett Gartrell, director of Massey University’s Wildlife Health Centre, said the biggest

When you start doing this work, it is really shocking, they don’t look like birds, they are totally covered in oil. Karen Baird

number of penguins brought to the centre in one day was 60 but this tailed off by late October. Each bird was banded with information showing where they were found so they could be returned to the same place when they regained full health and there was no risk of another serious spill. A hard decision had to be made not to take in any penguin eggs or chicks. The centre was technically capable of rearing eggs and chicks, but the chicks would have become imprinted on humans rather than their parents, meaning they would have been unlikely to survive in the wild, Brett said. A similar decision was made to take in only adult New Zealand dotterels. “Keeping the adult birds is the main priority because so many dotterel chicks and young birds die in the wild anyway, and the adults are vital to ensure future breeding.” The Bay of Plenty is the second most important breeding site for the species in New Zealand, with a population of at least 200 out of a total national population estimated at 1700. Enclosures were also built for the dotterels, made up of two banks of 30 separate compartments for each individual to ensure the highly territorial birds did not fight. The dotterels were much less at ease than the penguins, but remained healthy in what was a groundbreaking operation. “This is the first time we have had adult dotterels in captivity, we have had other similar birds but it’s a first for these ones,” Brett said. The release of the first batch of 17 dotterels in late November was a landmark for the centre, as was the return to the wild of 49 little blue penguins earlier on November 22 at Mt Maunganui. Apart from part of Mt Maunganui’s beach, which reopened early after intensive clean-up efforts, beaches

between Tauranga and Maketü were closed for more than a month until mid-November. Forest & Bird Tauranga committee member Richard James volunteered for the clean-up crews as soon as the call went out. “On the beach it’s reasonably easy work but around the rocks it was far more painstaking. Amongst the rocks we used rags and scrapers, and early on we were able to pick up handfuls of oil amongst the seaweed.” Locals realised oil could have a devastating impact on estuary life and pushed hard for booms to be placed across the estuaries at Maketü and nearby Little Waihï to try to block or at least contain the spread of oil. Conservationist and author Julian Fitter, the chairman of the Maketü Öngätoro Wetlands Society, said there was widespread unhappiness with early protection plans. “Initially, there was a plan to only put a boom in the upper harbour to protect the salt marsh at Maketü, but I pushed the politicians to make Maritime New Zealand appreciate the need to put in an absorbent boom and a deflector boom in the harbour entrance to try to stop oil getting into the area. We basically had booms there because I turned on the political pressure,” he said. 3 Albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels are among the dead birds collected. Photo: Kim Westerskov 4 An oiled little blue penguin is cleaned up. Photo: Kim Westerskov 5, 6 Penguins at their temporary home in the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre. Photo: David Brooks 7 Karen Baird, left, and a volunteer at the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre with some of the dead birds they identified. Photo: Kim Westerskov 8 Te Puke Forest & Bird member Maureen Burgess prepares mealworms for New Zealand dotterels. Photo: David Brooks

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RENA DISASTER Elaine Tapsell from the Whakaue Marae in Maketü organised volunteer clean-ups in the area after local people became disenchanted with the official effort. The spill meant kai moana (seafood), could no longer be gathered, a major disruption for the people of Maketü and iwi from surrounding areas. “It’s a low socio-economic area, the food from the sea is part of the weekly diet for people here and helps stretch the budget. There’s pipi, mussels, kina, crayfish and finfish from the estuary and from the area around the rocks on the point. We are worried the impact could last months.” There is reason for optimism that the marine environment will recover within a few months of the spill, according to Dr Chris Battershill, the University of Waikato’s Chair in Coastal Science. “The speed at which recovery will happen is unknown, but I hope it will be reasonably quick; some species will recover more quickly than others.” After the grounding, Chris quickly assembled a team to study the normal background level of contaminants in the marine environments before any major spill. After the leak, testing of tuatua shellfish at Päpämoa, the closest mainland beach to the Rena, showed a rise in the levels of hydrocarbons, but not to levels believed to be harmful to humans. By early December these hydrocarbon levels were declining.

One positive aspect of the disaster is the valuable insight into how New Zealand species react to a spill of heavy fuel oil. “The country will be better off in terms of being able to make predictions of what would happen in the case a future oil spill. This will build capacity to deal with the situation in the future and a better understanding of the effects of contamination in the environment,” Chris said. We can be grateful for the work done to avert an even worse spill and to help the area’s affected wildlife, but the Rena disaster demonstrated the destruction that can be unleashed by even a relatively small oil spill.

Where seabirds breed in the Bay of Plenty

Cuvier Island Pycroft’s petrel Fluttering shearwater Grey-faced petrel Little blue penguin

Mercury Islands

Ohena Sub-group (Whitianga)

Pycroft’s petrel Little shearwater Flesh-footed shearwater Fluttering shearwater Grey-faced petrel Common diving petrel Little blue penguin

Common diving petrel White-faced storm petrel Flesh-footed shearwater Grey-faced petrel Little blue penguin

Alderman (Ruamaahua) Islands Grey-faced petrel Common diving petrel White-faced storm petrel Flesh-footed shearwater Fluttering shearwater Little blue penguin

Seabirds breeding outside the region forage along the continental shelf edge – eg wandering albatross

White Island Australasian gannet

Tuhua (Mayor Island) Marine Reserve

Karewa Island Common diving petrel Flesh-footed shearwater Grey-faced petrel Little blue penguin

Motiti Island Little blue penguin Pied shag Little shag

Motunau (Plate) Island

Moutohora (Whale Island)

Common diving petrel Fluttering shearwater Grey-faced petrel

Grey-faced petrel Little blue penguin

Mount Maunganui/Rabbit Island Map information: Chris Gaskin. Photos: Kim Westerskov, Hadoram Shirihai

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Grey-faced petrel Little blue penguin

Hard lessons from spill I

n the immediate days after the Rena grounding, unease grew over the apparent slow initial response to remove the ship’s heavy fuel oil and attempts to contain leaks. Forest & Bird has been among those calling for an independent inquiry into the oil spill response, as well as a moratorium on deep-sea drilling for oil and gas until recommendations of an independent inquiry into the Rena disaster are implemented. Forest & Bird Central North Island Field Officer Al Fleming said it was important that our organisation be involved in debriefing sessions planned by Maritime New Zealand, which co-ordinated the response. “It is important we improve the response in future and focus on our capacity as a country to respond to these types of disasters,” said Al, who was based at the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre in the days immediately after the grounding. “Communications were not as good as they could have been in the early stages. There was obviously a big concern about the initial response and the slowness in doing anything to try to get the oil off the ship. There may or may not be good reasons for that slowness, but we have to look carefully at those issues.” Other Forest & Bird members involved in the response said there was a big improvement in co-ordination as time passed, but they echoed the concerns about the apparent early lack of action. “If there was a similar incident in Wellington or Auckland, I think the response would be a lot faster. I was not impressed with all the delays,” said Te Puke member and Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Maureen Burgess, who ran the kitchen feeding rescued birds at the wildlife response centre. Tauranga committee member Richard James helped with volunteer beach clean-ups and said many volunteers were

frustrated at the slowness of getting clean-ups underway. Te Puke member Julian Fitter said Maritime New Zealand failed to consult and use the local knowledge of community organisations in the first days after major oil spill on October 11. “There were some fairly angry community meetings because they had not included the community, and if you don’t include them, they will be antagonistic to what you are trying to do.” Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell said the disaster was a stark warning about the potential catastrophe that could result from deep-sea oil drilling in our waters. “In light of this disaster, the government needs to urgently rethink its plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. “Authorities were unable to prevent New Zealand’s worst ever maritime environmental disaster unfolding from a grounding of a ship close to New Zealand’s busiest port,” he said. “Clearly we would not have the resources to cope with a major oil spill involving an oil tanker running aground or as a result of an oil drilling accident offshore.”

11 9 Te Puke Forest & Bird member Julian Fitter with the boom protecting the Maketü estuary from oil. Photo: David Brooks 10 White-suited volunteers fan out along Päpämoa Beach. Photo: Mandy Herrick 11 The clean-up at Mt Maunganui. Photo: David Brooks

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RENA DISASTER

Forest & Bird steps up for shorebirds

orest & Bird was developing the Bay of Plenty Shorebird Protection Programme before the Rena ran on to Astrolabe Reef but the disaster underlined the need to secure a future for endangered New Zealand dotterels and other shorebirds in the region. For the past 18 years Forest & Bird has been working with partners including the Department of Conservation, Ports of Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to protect shorebirds. This work focused on Matakana Island, Maketü Spit and the wider Eastern Bay of Plenty region. The beaches, shorelines and estuaries of the Bay of Plenty are important breeding and roosting sites for a range of native shorebirds, including New Zealand dotterels, oystercatchers and white-fronted terns. The region is one of the main breeding sites for dotterels, with an estimated population of about 200. These birds are under threat from human activities such as driving vehicles on the beaches, and from predators such as stoats, rats, hedgehogs, and cats. Recent funding cuts by DOC have halted pest control work at key locations including Matakana Island. Forest & Bird’s programme will ensure work can resume and that gains made over nearly two decades will not be lost. “The programme is vital in order to ensure shorebird populations

are maintained in the Bay of Plenty,” Tauranga-based Central North Island Field Officer Al Fleming said. The programme will concentrate on protecting the shorebirds during the 12 breeding season and will include employing a coordinator and three pest control contractors during the key months from September to February, he said. Forest & Bird volunteers will also do planting and other work to protect coastal environments. The aims include raising the number of shorebird chicks that successfully fledge and reducing the number of pests and improving the environment at 12 key Bay of Plenty sites. Education will aim to change people’s behaviour on the beaches, reducing risks to nesting birds. An appeal has already raised thousands of dollars for the programme but we have not reached our target. You can help improve survival chances for Bay of Plenty shorebirds by donating here http://tinyurl.com/6d3uhtt

13 12 Forest & Bird field officer Al Fleming at Mt Maunganui. Photo: David Brooks

14 Variable oystercatcher. Photo: Craig McKenzie

13 The first 49 little blue penguins were released on November 22 at Mt Maunganui. Photo: Kim Westerskov

15 White-fronted terns. Photo: Craig McKenzie

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Jungle Green

Classic Blue Funky Purple

Birdman of the John Groom is doing his best to build up numbers of endangered New Zealand dotterels near his Bay of Plenty home. By David Brooks.

uccess came after 15 minutes of searching the beach next to the mouth of the Tarawera River. We must have already passed several times the three speckled brown eggs lying on the sand in the middle of a small clump of sand convolvulus. The clue was the pair of adult New Zealand dotterels scampering across the sand in wide circles nearby, calling in high-pitched alarm and feigning broken wings in an attempt to draw attention away from the nest. John Groom, clad as always in shorts, T-shirt and a wide-brimmed hat to keep the bright sun at bay, placed a stick near the nest. With fellow Eastern Bay of Plenty Forest & Bird member Sue Greenwood he headed back to his battered Subaru four-wheel drive for the short ride back to his Matatä home. After a quick lunch, the man known locally as “the dotterel man” gathered up his tool kit, spades, poles, a sign and cotton tape and returned to the river mouth with Sue, who for the last few years has been helping John check dotterel nests and predator traps. They dug into the soft sand, placing posts in a 10-metrediameter ring around the eggs. Despite admitting to being “82-plus”, John worked fast, stretching the cotton tape around the posts and attaching a sign asking people to give the nesting birds a wide berth.

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Seeing the nests provides a vivid illustration of how vulnerable New Zealand dotterels are and why only about 1700 remain nationwide, including about 200 in the Bay of Plenty. Up to three well-camouflaged eggs are laid in a scrape of sand above the high tide mark, with or without a few twigs or a piece of driftwood to provide minimal shelter. John never misses a chance to talk to other people on the beaches, telling them about any nearby dotterels, and asking them to steer clear of any nests. He explains to them and to school and other local groups why dotterels are endangered, and the dangers posed by predators, dogs and vehicles on the beaches. “There’s two parts to my job - pest control and people control,” he laughs. “My philosophy is the beach is for everyone, dogs included. It is just a matter of sharing it, and my attitude is not to antagonise anyone. When you talk to people, 90 per cent are no trouble at all; it’s the other 10 per cent we have to get to. “Once I saw some people with quad bikes, who rode so close to a nest that their tyres pushed sand over it. I asked these people if they would run a kiwi nest over. They said of course they would never do that, but I explained they had run over a dotterel nest and these birds are even rarer than kiwis.”

BAY OF PLENTY TAURANGA • MATATÄ

Bay For more than a decade, John has been patrolling more than a 10-kilometre stretch of coastline in the eastern Bay of Plenty, trapping predators, fencing off nests and educating people about the special birds in their midst. He keeps a dotterel diary, carefully recording all the details of birds he finds and their nesting successes and failures. The results speak for themselves, Sue says. After he started trapping pests, the number of chicks successfully fledged rose to four; the season before last the number jumped to 10, and then to a record 11. “John has built up the ratio of eggs that hatch and fledge and his success rate is 10 times that of some other similar projects in the region,” she says. But the onslaught of pests and the carelessness of people on beaches with their vehicles and dogs mean there are many disappointments, too. Two days after discovering the nest at Tarawera River mouth, John returns to find the nest empty. He suspects the eggs were removed by people rather than pests because of the absence of broken egg shells. He describes this spot as something of a “hopeless case” because of the high numbers of cats, dogs, rats, hedgehogs and the destructive impact of people at the popular fishing spot. “I’ve seen up to 35 sets of four-wheel-drive tyre marks between the high-water mark and the dunes at Tarawera, right in the area where the dotterels nest,” he says. John’s wife Bertha was his regular helper for some years but these days she doesn’t often go out on patrols, which can last as long as five hours. Bertha was responsible for

sparking John’s interest in dotterels, after reporting seeing a “funny little bird” on the beach, not long after they moved to Matatä from Kawerau when John was about to retire as a fitter at Tasman Pulp and Paper. They soon realised dotterels were in trouble and confirmation came after they found a nest one year just before Christmas. “I was that chuffed about finding the nest and thought the chicks might be about to hatch. We couldn’t go back on Christmas Day, but returned on Boxing Day and the only thing left was broken shells. That was terribly disappointing – it was probably the work of a hedgehog.” Soon he started keeping his dotterel diary and it made depressing reading in the early years. In the following season he recorded 19 chicks but only one or two lived long enough to fly from the nest. The following year there were 35 eggs but only one chick fledged. “lt was a disaster.” With Sue’s help, John successfully applied for a $1000 grant from the regional council to do pest control work around the dotterel nests. Now, with continued support from the council, he has about 15 traps and bait stations, which he places near any nests he finds.

1 A New Zealand dotterel on its sandy nest. Photo: Jordan Kappely 2 John Groom on dotterel duty. Photo: David Brooks 3 A camouflaged – yet vulnerable – nest of dotterel eggs. Photo: David Brooks

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He starts work in July to August, finding birds and sometimes doing pest control work ahead of nesting. “I like to check the traps twice a week, or once a week minimum. It is no fun to clear a hedgehog from a trap if it has been there for three or four days at the height of summer.” By the end of January his work is done for the season as most of the nesting birds head to Öhiwa, east of Whakatäne, where up to 86 dotterels have been known to flock after breeding. During the nesting season, the fiercely territorial pairs are spread out at favourable sites along the coast, jealously guarding their territories. South African-born John has been drawn to birds all his life, though he readily admits he was a “vandal” as a boy, when he shot birds for their skins. In his teenage years, he began collecting bird eggs, accumulating up to 40 different species. At boarding school he raised a dove chick, keeping it in his desk and feeding it chewed-up scraps of his own food. “Later when I was 20 and living in single men’s quarters out in the country I met some Africans with a giant eagle owl chick they were planning to eat. There wasn’t much meat on it, so they accepted my offer to buy it for enough money to allow them to buy a big fat chook instead. “I kept it in my quarters and in the morning it would be up on the end of the bed, clacking its beak and looking at me with huge owl eyes that said: ‘Feed me, feed me.’ “ The chick prospered on two freshly killed rats – bought for sixpence each - in the morning and another couple after John came home from work in the evening. The bird’s voracious appetite is not surprising when you consider the species grows to about 65cm high, with a wingspan of up to 1.4 metres. “Because I was a surrogate parent, I had to teach it to fly and hunt. I would take it outside and tie a rat – and later a rabbit – to a piece of string and drag it over the ground so the owl could learn how to hunt.” Eventually, when he thought the bird was ready to fend for itself, he left it outside one night. For months afterwards, he would hear it at night landing on the roof of the quarters, its long talons scraping across the tin roof, accompanied by loud screeching calls declaring its territory. Today John takes a similarly paternal interest in the New Zealand dotterels of the Bay of Plenty. He has been recognised for his work locally and nationally, including being presented with Forest & Bird’s Old Blue award last year. But he has no intention of resting on his laurels and plans to be making a difference for years to come.

NZ dotterels: The facts n n n

New Zealand dotterels (Charadrius obscures) are found only in New Zealand. The northern sub-species numbers about 1700. The southern sub-species numbers about 250. The northern sub-species is usually found on sandy beaches, sandspits and feeding around tidal estuaries in the upper North Island. They can be found from Käwhia northwards on the west coast, and along the east coast of Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty and as far south as the Mähia Peninsula. The southern sub-species breeds in mountains on Stewart Island. From mid-winter, breeding pairs move into nesting territories, which they aggressively defend against other pairs. From September, up to three well-camouflaged brown speckled eggs are laid in a scrape of sand above the high tide mark and surviving chicks can usually fly by the age of six or seven weeks. In late summer, New Zealand dotterels leave breeding sites and flock together at estuaries. Here, they can form pairs if they have lost a partner or are about to breed for the first time. Eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predators such as stoats, rats, cats and hedgehogs, and the well-disguised nests can easily be trodden on or driven over by people.

4 John Groom aims to educate beachgoers about the threats to birds. Photo: David Brooks 5 A New Zealand dotterel chick. Photo: Jordan Kappely

There’s two parts to my job – pest control and people control. My philosophy is the beach is for everyone, dogs included. It is just a matter of sharing it, and my attitude is not to antagonise anyone. 4 34

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our people

A life dedicated to nature Forest & Bird Conservation Ambassador Gerry McSweeney has put his money where his mouth is to show the economic value of New Zealand’s natural environment. By Jolene Williams.

estled deep in the Southern Alps and encompassing a 3000-hectare nature reserve and high country merino sheep station, Wilderness Lodge Arthur’s Pass is a naturelover’s paradise. It’s also home to long-serving Forest & Bird crusader and former president Gerry McSweeney and his wife Anne Saunders, who have been running the high-end tourist lodge, reserve and farm since it opened in 1996. It’s not easy work, says Dr McSweeney, and certainly no great moneyspinner. But it’s a prime example of how industry – farming and tourism – can enhance, rather than sacrifice, nature. It’s the couple’s second lodge. The first is at Lake Moeraki on the West Coast, established in 1989 to help protect the lush rainforests and share the natural treasure with visitors. Dr McSweeney holds a PhD in ecology and range management and is recognised as one of the forefathers of New Zealand’s modern conservation movement. His new role as Forest & Bird Conservation Ambassador is the latest on his long list of conservation campaigns, committees and awards. In the 1970s and 80s he was part of the movement that lobbied the government to end its contracts for logging native trees throughout New Zealand. Soon after he helped negotiate accords with commercial forestry owners to protect native forests from logging. As Forest & Bird conservation director, Dr McSweeney spearheaded the movement in the late 1980s to have 2.6 million hectares of ecologically rich land in Fiordland and beyond bestowed with World Heritage Status. Dr McSweeney was also involved setting up the Department of Conservation during his tenure at Forest & Bird. He’s an original member of the Nature Heritage Fund, which the government established in 1990 to protect nature on private land. Twenty-two years on, the heritage fund has protected 340,000 hectares of natural land. The more recent eco-lodges in the South Island enable Dr McSweeney to put into practice his philosophies and learnings from his 37-year career in conservation. Establishing a tourist getaway in the heart of the wilderness may seem at odds with hard-line conservation. “There’s a bit of irony, from being at Forest & Bird to being a tourist operator and farmer,” Dr McSweeney says. “But it was a natural progression. I’ve spent my life taking people out [into the wilderness] and opening their eyes to what’s out there.” The eco-lodges have helped the public see the economic value in protecting our natural environment. That’s always been his strategy when fighting for nature. “My philosophy has always been trying to take [detractors] with you rather than against you. You have to have plausible

Gerry McSweeney at work on the coastal walk near his eco-lodge at Lake Moeraki in South Westland. Photo: Stephanie Nishio

alternatives. That’s what we’re doing here. “We’ve demonstrated it creates jobs, contributes significantly to local and national economies and provides powerful rationales for the protection of nature.” He looks at communities like nearby Haast – a community with its roots in pioneering industry, but today recognising the value in nature tourism. “That’s a measure of success, that the community sees this substantial long-term future is a better option than chipping 500-year-old trees.” Dr McSweeney hasn’t stopped battling conservation issues just because he’s occupied with the businesses. Near the Lake Moeraki lodge, Dr McSweeney and his wife led the four-year campaign to have wildlife refuges established at two Fiordland crested penguin colonies. They’ve been active too, in helping DOC police the ban against dogs, because “the refuge is only as good as its enforcement”. Top of the list, however, is publicly advocating effective and extensive pest control to halt the ongoing decline in biodiversity. “Aerial-applied 1080 is the best available tool we have. [We need] regular and extensive aerial 1080 application [to kill] rats, possums, stoats over big areas and get birds breeding again. It’s far more effective and onetenth of the cost of people walking around with traps.” He says pest trapping won’t achieve substantial outcomes as it is very expensive, limited to small areas and many of the pests’ hotspots are rugged and remote. “We’ve got to realise this is urgent, otherwise we’ll lose. There are huge forests that have lost birds because we’ve done nothing. We need to get much more serious about pest control to save biodiversity.” Forest & Bird Conservation Ambassadors Sir Alan Mark and Craig Potton were profiled in Forest & Bird editions last year. Forest & Bird

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our people

Family ties to Forest & Bird pioneer W

hen Captain Val Sanderson returned from World War I and saw the dramatic degradation of Kapiti Island’s native plants and animals, he led a campaign to save the island. After the conservation battle was won, in 1923 the captain established an organisation to protect native birds, and from that the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand was born. A recent visit to Kapiti Island by Captain Sanderson’s daughter, Nancy Jordan, brought back memories of a family holiday in 1940 when Nancy was aged three. The family – Captain Sanderson, mother Nellie, Nancy and older sister Ruth – were due to spend a week on the island

1 1 Captain Val Sanderson’s daughter, Nancy Jordan, right, with Amo Clark on Kapiti Island. They hold a photo of the Webber homestead. The small stone pillar marks the corner of he house, which burned down many years ago. 2 Forest & Bird founder Captain Val Sanderson.

with the Webber family, who lived at Waiorua Bay on the island’s northern end. Utauta Webber returned to the mainland to fetch supplies. Bad weather struck soon after, leaving the Sandersons stranded with few supplies for three weeks. Nancy says they lived off the land, and there was no chance of starving. Her father killed a sheep and fished, and the family made use of the vegetable patch. More than 70 years later, Auckland-based Nancy can still recall the wildlife on the island. “I remember a bridge done in English-type stones with primroses. Käkäriki would be eating rosehips. There were weka, and we had to be careful not to leave things around or they’d steal them.” She saw mature pöhutukawa trees during her recent trip, which, according to Utauta’s granddaughter, Amo Clark, were planted by the captain. Nancy says the trip was emotional, but she “very much enjoyed going back” and remembering the family holiday. The captain died in 1945 when Nancy was eight, but it’s only natural his passion for nature has left a life-long impression. “My father went to the Forest & Bird office three days a week and the other days he was pretty busy working outside and he talked to us, probably more than most fathers do,” Nancy says. “When I was young we went to Paekäkäriki primary school and I used to get threepence for any new child I signed up [to the Society] ... As a small child I could name every native tree because we only had native trees in our garden.” Even now, she’s “a keen plant person”. Captain Sanderson’s name will always be tied to the island sanctuary and saluted as the forefather of Forest & Bird. Nancy says he would be proud of the Forest & Bird today. “He’d be thrilled and delighted with the way the Society has been going and attracted so much support,” she says. n Jolene Williams

Our volunteers’ greatest fan H

eidi Quinn has taken over as Forest & Bird’s Wellington-based National Volunteer Coordinator while Kerri Lukis is on maternity leave. Heidi has extensive experience working with conservation volunteers after six years with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. Heidi is supporting Forest & Bird branches and plans to roll out a new volunteer management database to capture the extraordinary range of branch work around New Zealand. She is also looking for new conservation projects for branches and members to get involved with. Look out for Heidi when she hits the road in March to visit every Forest & Bird branch.

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Bush lover’s work rewarded I

t’s a long-held love for the bush that spurs 71-year-old Teresa Hurst to help local conservation projects. And in November, the modest Forest & Bird member had years of volunteer work recognised at the combined Hawke’s Bay councils’ and Department of Conservation’s Environment Action Awards. Teresa was among the six winners on the night and took home the DOC Catherine Tiffen Volunteer Award. Teresa has been a keen member of the Hastings and Havelock North Forest & Bird branch since 2000, and has spent countless hours planting trees, weeding, clearing tracks, laying pest traps and monitoring wildlife. She’s a familiar face at the Cape Kidnappers wildlife sanctuary, mainland island Boundary Stream, Ahuriri Estuary and at local schools, where she helps students set up gardens. However, it was her contribution at the Forest & Birdowned reserve Blowhard Bush that was highlighted at the awards ceremony. Teresa has led numerous work parties in Blowhard Bush, and also imparted her historical and conservation knowledge to school groups as a volunteer guide. Teresa was “a little bit overwhelmed” with the win. But as DOC community officer Barbara Curtis says she was a

really fitting candidate. “She’s an awesome worker, tireless and committed to a whole raft of projects.” Teresa’s love of the land began in the 1950s when, “as a single lady” she worked on a Central Hawke’s Bay farm. “I worked on the land and used to start at 4am and finish at 6pm. I was just one of the lads.” Over the years Teresa and her husband worked and raised their children on farms. That love for nature has continued to grow. “My best reward is being able to get in the bush, see the birds and hear the dawn chorus. I just go to the bush to recharge my batteries,” she says. n Jolene Williams Hastings and Havelock North Forest & Bird branch member Teresa Hurst and her Environment Action Award.

Forest & Bird voice on Waituna F

orest & Bird Otago/Southland Field Officer Sue Maturin late last year joined a group that aims to restore the health of Waituna Lagoon. The Waituna Catchment Group includes local bodies, the Department of Conservation, farming and dairy industry representatives, iwi, environmental and community groups. The catchment group was formed last March to work with Environment Southland to halt the decline in the lagoon’s water quality. Sue had earlier asked Environment Southland for Forest & Bird to be represented on the group but had been turned down until her recent submission on Waituna persuaded them she could play a valuable role. Waituna Lagoon, which was chosen as New Zealand’s first wetland of international significance in 1976, is in danger of “flipping” into a state dominated by algal blooms and slime. Too much nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment is entering the lagoon because of a dairy boom and other developments in the catchment. The lagoon was last year flushed by opening a channel to the sea. Nitrogen and phosphorous levels plummeted, but nitrogen concentrations remain critical and phosphorous is again rising to near critical levels. The ruppia (seagrass) beds are doing well in the deeper parts of the lagoon, but in shallow waters slime algae is increasing. The lagoon is once again close to the trigger level for mechanical opening to protect farm land from flooding, but an input of salty water would disturb the ruppia recovery.

Environment Southland has applied to the government’s Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean-up Fund for $5.5 million, a third of anticipated clean-up costs, and is also seeking a similar amount from industries in the catchment. The council introduced an interim rule late last year requiring new dairy farms to obtain resource consents. Some farmers are changing harmful practices that have aggravated the pollution but others are still not complying with dairy discharge permits.

2 1 Forest & Bird Otago/Southland Field Officer Sue Maturin.

2 Waituna Lagoon. Photo: Katrina Robertson/ Environment Southland

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our people

Kiwi chicks help kiwi chicks S

chool friends Claire MacLennan and Hannah Irwin were aged just eight years when they made it their mission to fundraise the $1200 needed to raise a kiwi chick for a year. In 2010 the Central Auckland Kiwi Conservation Club members began raising money for the kiwi rearing programme Operation Nest Egg. They sold cupcakes, held quizzes and competitions at their school and found sponsorship to cycle 75km of the Otago Rail Trail. Late last year the pair presented the $1200 cheque to Operation Nest Egg delegates who made a special visit to Ponsonby Primary School to meet the young kiwi crusaders. BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust executive director Michelle Impey says it was “truly heartening” that the girls used their initiative to get actively involved in the project. “Claire and Hannah are the reason we are working so hard to save the kiwi – so they’ll still be able to enjoy them in the wild when they’re adults. But the fact that they’re jumping in and helping to ensure that for themselves as well is awesome.” The donation is enough to cover the first year of life for an Operation Nest Egg chick, including monitoring, the transmitter and monthly checks. Claire and Hannah were inspired to fundraise after seeing the programme in action at Rotorua’s Rainbow Springs wildlife park. In addition to raising money, Claire and Hannah set up an information stand, handed out brochures and gave a presentation at their school to teach others about Operation Nest Egg and the threats to the survival of our national bird. Claire and Hannah were both “proud and happy” their efforts have made a real difference. Though neither had embarked on a fundraising project before, they learnt a lot about kiwi and the problems they face. “We also learnt that every little bit of helping can make a difference.” BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust is a partnership between BNZ, the Department of Conservation and Forest & Bird. 1 KCC members Claire MacLennan, left, and Hannah Irwin doing their bit to help save kiwi. 2 A brown kiwi chick. Photo: DOC

ROBERT C BRUCE TRUST 2012 GRANTS The Trust provides grants for research work and projects relating to forests and afforestation on public land. Further information and application forms are available from the Trustee: Guardian Trust P O Box 628 Palmerston North 4440 38

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PHONE: 06 356 9208

EMAIL: web.palmerstonnorth@nzgt.co.nz

Closing date for applications is 31 March 2012

A growing hobby C

ory Meister prefers kauri to computer games and silver ferns to cellphones. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of native trees and impressive practical horticulture skills. The 17 year old also holds the title of Young Plant Conservationist of the Year for the countless hours he volunteers at nurseries, community gardens and restoration projects around Wellington. Cory has been volunteering at the Forest & Birdowned plant nursery in Highbury, Wellington, for the past eight months. There he spends his weekends potting up, weeding and watering plants. That’s only the latest in his long list of conservation efforts. Cory’s been a regular volunteer with ecological restoration group Southern Environmental Association since he was aged nine. There’s also the five years volunteering with the Paekawakawa Bush Reserve environment group, and three years working in the Sisters of Compassion’s community gardens. On top of that, he works at two other Wellington nurseries. Now that school’s finished, Cory will be trying to turn his part-time hobby into full-time work at local nurseries in the hope of securing a horticulture apprenticeship with the Wellington City Council or studying horticulture at polytechnic. His ultimate dream is to own his own nursery for native plants. At last year’s Home and Garden Show in Wellington, Cory was at the Forest & Bird stand, where he advised

Cory Meister lends a hand and his expertise at Berhampore Nursery in Wellington.

Wellingtonians on planting native trees in backyards. That knowledge he says comes mostly from talking to other volunteers while out in the field, though he does have an extensive collection of books to keep him up to speed on the technical information. When quizzed about his passion for native trees, he says, “I just love the outdoors, I just love trees.” Fellow Paekawakawa Bush Reserve volunteer Annette Moffat nominated Cory for the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network award on the advice of Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown. Annette says: “He just impressed me as a very steady, young volunteer, with a deep and enthusiastic interest in the trees and plants. It’s that unfailing interest. Even in fundraising, Cory’s always there cooking the sausages.” n Jolene Williams

At Flooring Xtra, our local roots mean more. Each of our stores has developed a business from the ground up, founded on honest to goodness local values, assisting people within each local region with their flooring to create better home or business environments. Now, together as we grow beyond 50 stores nationally, we have a combined will to help better New Zealand’s greater environment. It’s why we have developed a partnership with New Zealand’s largest national conservation charitable organisation, Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand. The environmental programme, which we’ve called ‘Restoring New Zealand’s Forest Floor’, commits regular funding from every local Flooring Xtra store to Forest & Bird. Because, like you, we’re locals who want to see local environments looking beautiful for generations to come.

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proud to be a

member

Nature bridges generations New Forest & Bird member Winnie Ho wrote to say how happy she was to see her daughter, Leilani Fam, aged nine, feature in the Rangatahi section of the last Forest & Bird magazine.

Leilani was very excited to see her photo appearing in a national magazine and took it to school to show her teacher and her friends. As they happened to be doing a unit of inquiry on environmental protection and endangered species, the teacher used the five questions in the interview – about the future for New Zealand’s environment – for classroom discussions. About the same time, a representative from Forest & Bird came to our door to recruit new members for Forest & Bird. As Leilani is really interested in animals and nature, we have decided to sign up as members. Leilani is now looking forward to participating in some of the activities organised by the Kiwi Conservation Club for kids. It all started with the Forest & Bird magazine interview Michelle Te Ohaere had with her. I look forward to reading some interesting articles in your magazine in future.

We welcome Winnie and Leilani to Forest & Bird, and thank you both for your support. Leilani shows great promise as an outstanding voice for nature. Leilani was interviewed in the November issue of Forest & Bird magazine by Wellington university student Michelle Te Ohaere, who has been a valuable communications volunteer at Forest & Bird since last year.

If you have a story to tell about why you joined Forest & Bird or why you’re proud to be part of Forest & Bird, please let us know. Send your letter (up to 200 words) to Marina Skinner, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 or to m.skinner@forestandbird.org.nz

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Aranui School children and their teacher look for beasties under a log at Castlecliff Beach.

Whanganui members share KCC lessons C hildren at Castlecliff and Aranui schools in Whanganui have been enjoying Wild Things magazines from the Kiwi Conservation Club thanks to Forest & Bird members Graham and Lyn Pearson. During the past two years all the students from Aranui and two senior classes from Castlecliff have become regular Coast Care helpers, planting, watering and mulching the plants on the Castlecliff rear dunes. During Sea Week last year the children carried out a beach clean-up and took part in beach activities organised by the Department of Conservation, Whanganui Museum staff and Graham – who co-ordinates the Castlecliff Coast Care project. Graham organised two visiting students from Earlham College in the United States to take the children on a bugs and beasties walk through the dunes. The children rolled over large logs – previously placed in the dunes by international students from Wanganui High School – and found lots of spiders, beetles, slugs, snails and cockroaches. Graham and Lyn noticed the enjoyment and the educational opportunities this gave the children, and they decided to support their local schools by providing materials that would encourage further study and classroom research. Observing some of the children doing their own bugs and beasties investigations during the next school holidays encouraged Graham and Lyn to extend their support with further Wild Things magazines this year. A huge thank you to Graham and Lyn for helping to grow a new generation of people who enjoy nature and for tapping into Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club resources. More information at www.kcc.org.nz

rangatahi our future

Young kiwi minders A college restoration group is doing important conservation work and providing life-changing opportunities for students. By Michelle Te Ohaere.

group of students from Hurunui College in North Canterbury is helping to boost numbers of great spotted kiwi in nearby Lewis Pass. The college’s Nina Valley Restoration Group has been working hard to help restore part of the local environment to its natural state. The group of more than 25 students has helped with condition checks on released kiwi, monitoring kiwi activity, trap setting to catch stoats and rats and recording whio, or blue duck, observations. Several students have been on field trips with Department of Conservation staff to other valleys to help collect kiwi eggs and monitor chicks. The experience helped one student, Andrew Jolliffe , join the DOC Trainee Ranger Programme. The students, led by teacher Tim Kelly, reached a milestone when last year they received five BNZ Operation Nest Egg kiwi juveniles to release into Nina Valley, which is an hour inland from Hurunui College, in Lake Sumner Forest Park. It is presumed that kiwi numbers are declining in the valley of mixed beech forest. Operation Nest Egg helps to build up kiwi numbers and has been particularly successful in small sites with vulnerable kiwi populations. The eggs and chicks are removed from the wild and hatched and raised in captivity until the kiwi are large enough to fend off predators. The local DOC office and the Nina Valley Restoration group collected the eggs from the Hawdon Valley in Arthur’s Pass and reared them at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch before they went to a creche at Riccarton Bush. All five kiwi released in Nina Valley early last year are doing well and for the first eight months stayed within 1 km of their release site. Towards the end of the

2 year they began to move up the hillside, which has made tracking and monitoring a lot harder. Four more birds were released in December. Jackson Kemp, 13, says looking after young kiwi “is such a great experience and lots of good fun; not many people get to see kiwi in real life”. It was also a great experience for a few students to go in a helicopter to release the first kiwi. “They’re an endangered bird and there’s not many of them. They’re New Zealand’s national icon so we need to keep them alive,” he says. Many students have been trained to track the birds and monitor their activity through the diagnostic transmitters they carry. Anna Clark, 15, says members are also trained to capture the birds for check-ups. Students measure bill length, weight and assess the bird’s body condition. Funding from the Kids Restore NZ and the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust has allowed the group to buy tracking equipment and transmitters. Ella Crean, 15, says she feels “privileged to be a part of such an awesome, one-of-a-kind project. Words can’t describe how amazing it is to watch the kiwi grow up. We even get to name them so it’s like a little family”. An Operation Nest Egg bird has a 65 per cent chance of surviving to adulthood compared with just 5 per cent for wild-hatched and raised chicks. The BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust is a partnership between BNZ, the Department of Conservation and Forest & Bird. 1 Hurunui College Nina Valley Restoration Group students and teacher Tim Kelly on a trip to set traps. 2 The students are helping to build up numbers of great spotted kiwi in Lewis Pass. Photo: Rod Morris

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Frittering away our

whitebait

For Stella McQueen it’s obvious why numbers of our native fish are falling. She’d like to change that. By Jolene Williams.

hat started as a casual discussion with a friend about the local decline of whitebait numbers accidentally turned into a public lecture series. Forest & Bird Manawatu member Stella McQueen’s public talks entitled “What’s in a whitebait fritter?” have been so successful that she’s started turning down requests for more. Any keen whitebaiter will tell you about the dwindling catch sizes over the past few years. And looking around Manawatu’s fresh waterways, it’s easy to see why. Stella’s 45-minute presentation describes the five fish species that make up the whitebait catch and the life cycles of each. From there she explains why numbers are on the decline and what can be done locally to reverse the trend. Stella says falling populations are due to many factors, but loss of river-edge plants – initially through forest clearance and more recently from stock grazing and trampling – tops the list. She talks through the lifecycle of one whitebait species, ïnanga, to demonstrate why streamside vegetation is so 42

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important to survival. “Inanga spawn in autumn and lay their eggs in riparian grasses flooded by very high tide. The eggs are left high and dry until they are flooded again a few weeks later, which stimulates the eggs to hatch and then carries the tiny fry out to sea.” However, the eggs can dry out and die if the surrounding grasses are not tall or dense enough to keep up the humidity. Loss of riparian vegetation has already caused a bottleneck in ïnanga populations. Less vegetation on the banks also means fewer insects to eat and consequently more competition for food. It increases erosion, causing sediment clouds in the water and making feeding more difficult. Sediment in the water can also obstruct whitebait from migrating upstream or can fill gaps between stones where whitebait typically make their homes. Stella says perched culverts and dams are particularly problematic for ïnanga. “We have many fish that need to migrate between sea and freshwater, but these barriers stop fish accessing habitats. Some of the native fish can

climb up waterfalls [and other obstacles]. But ïnanga are very poor at jumping and perched culverts stop them in their tracks.” About half of New Zealand’s 40 native freshwater fish species, like ïnanga, are diadromous, meaning they need to migrate between freshwater and the sea to complete their lifecycle. Denying diadromous fish access to the appropriate waterway may stop adult populations being replaced. Add to that fish predation and competition for food from introduced species, water pollution and river engineering that alters water flow, and it’s no wonder four of the five whitebait species are listed as threatened. Just as the causes for population decline are many and varied, so too are the solutions. But Stella is working on a project that will concentrate on habitat restoration in the hope of boosting local whitebait populations. Manawatu locals have already helped identify spawning sites, and from here Stella will work with Horizons Regional Council, the Department of Conservation and landowners to implement measures such as fencing off streams to help with a healthy riparian vegetation cover. She’ll also be roping in local help for plantings, monitoring sites and sharing knowledge. Stella is a self-confessed “native fish geek” and more than qualified to lead the project. She’s a freshwater ecology Masters student at Massey University and recently penned a guide to native fish, The New Zealand Native Freshwater Aquarium. Email Stella at nznativefish@gmail.com to buy a copy of her book. 1 Stella McQueen says this ‘ratty’ farm drainage ditch in the Manawatu could be a good habitat for ïnanga and is a ‘poster child for restoration’. Photo: Andrew Broome 2 The ïnanga is one of the native fish species that whitebaiters catch. Photo: Stella McQueen

Amazing facts about…

LONGFIN EELS By Michelle Harnett

nder the cover of darkness, one of New Zealand’s top predators emerges. Lack of light is not a problem; it uses its sense of smell to locate its prey. It slips through rivers, streams and lakes unseen, hunting for native galixiid fish, trout, freshwater crayfish (köura) and ducklings. Long and slender, with a large mouth filled with rows of small, white, sharp teeth, the longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii, or tuna) is one of the most common freshwater fish in the country’s waterways. Endemic to New Zealand, the longfin eel, so-named because its dorsal (top) fin is longer than its bottom fin, is probably the biggest eel in the world. Slow growing and sometimes living for 80 years, some females can reach 2 metres long and weigh up to 40kg. On reaching this (breeding) size, the eels migrate to the sea. The details of the lifecycle are not clear. They swim for up to five or six months to tropical Pacific waters, possibly near Tonga, where they spawn and die. The eggs hatch into leaf-shaped larvae that float back to New Zealand on ocean currents. Arriving in astounding numbers in spring, the larvae transform into slender, transparent “glass” eels. The glass eels soon turn into grey-brown elvers (young eels) and begin migrating upstream. Waterfalls don’t stop them; elvers can climb 40-metre obstacles using a combination of surface tension and friction. Some dams have special eel passes to help them conquer the massive concrete walls. Once at their final destination, the elvers begin the serious business of growing to breeding size. Longfins are not rare, but very large adults, which are most likely to be fertile females, have become scarce. Commercial fishing since the 1960s has had a significant impact on eel numbers and average size. Habitat loss and pollution have also had their effects. If you go eeling, return big eels to the water. Watch out – they are slippery customers, quite capable of wriggling overland for long distances. And then there are those teeth... See Longfin, a short documentary about the eels, at http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/6235/Longfin It is directed and produced by Lindsey Davidson and Melissa Salpietra under the auspices of what is now the University of Otago’s Centre for Science Communication. Forest & Bird

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Pacific’s extinction crisis Birds are the most widespread and visible indicators of the state of our environment and we ignore at our peril what they are telling us. Long-time Pacific conservationist Don Stewart explains why birds are so important to biodiversity and to the region’s future.

ince ancient times, birds have been regarded as the link between heaven and earth because of their connection to the sky. They are one of the few creatures that can lift themselves aloft to survey their environment from above. They have successfully colonised every habitat on the globe, from underwater to mountain peaks, from the tropics to the Antarctic. Apart from the largely hidden insect world, there are no other creatures on this planet that can match their ubiquity or adaptability. They are unique and they are everywhere. They are represented more widely than any other species in our art, our literature and our music regardless of our origins, race, creed or culture. In the Pacific, for instance, consider the customary importance of the ceremonial ornamentation of highlanders in Papua New Guinea and the traditional head-dresses of the Cook Islands and Tahiti – both derived from the bright plumages of birds. Birds once had their more prosaic uses, too. During the industrial 19th century, coal miners in Europe would take canaries with them when they descended to the pits. The reason for this was elementary: these tiny, elegant creatures

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were much more sensitive to changes in the environment than the miners themselves. Canaries could sense the presence of combustible gases before those gases had a chance to cause an explosion. If your canary dropped off its perch, you knew to get out of the mine fast until – if ever – it was safe for you to go back. Today, the analogy of those canaries to birds in the Pacific region, and everywhere else for that matter, is as obvious as it should be startling. The Pacific’s endemic bird species are more than just bright and beautiful creatures, ornamental, ceremonial, inspirational, ingrained in the cultures of all of us, representing prophesy, birth, love, peace, religion, togetherness and many more of our positive and admirable attributes and virtues. Above all, birds, like those canaries down the mines of yesteryear, are the most visible and ubiquitous indicators of the state of our natural environments, both terrestrial and marine. They are the canaries of our age and, like those old-time miners, we ignore at our peril what they are telling us. Here are some disquieting figures. During the 17th century, fewer than 100 years after it was first recorded, the

NATURE OF TOMORROW The data are dismaying in the Pacific region, which holds the dubious distinction of recording the greatest number of bird extinctions of any part of the world. last remaining survivor of the largest species of pigeon ever to share our planet vanished from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius because its habitat was destroyed by humans and by the animals they brought. Since that time, 133 more bird species have followed the unfortunate and innocent dodo, whose very name is now a metaphor for extinction, to its fate. They are lost forever. Of the surviving 9865 species of birds found on our planet, 1227, or 12.4 per cent, are classified as globally threatened. And 362 of these are classified as endangered. An additional 192 are critically endangered, which means they are but one step away from extinction. The data are dismaying in the Pacific region, which holds the dubious distinction of recording the greatest number of bird extinctions of any part of the world. A total of 65 bird extinctions are known to have occurred in the Pacific region since 1500 – that’s an incredible 50 per cent of the 133 global extinctions. Sixty-seven of the endemic birds in this region are classified as endangered – 19 per cent of the world’s total – and 44 of these are critically endangered. The reasons for this dreadful situation are well-known. Pacific birds face what the dodo encountered. All endemic species on our islands evolved in isolation and in the absence of predators. What is now devastating them are the twin, human-induced threats of invasive alien species and habitat loss. Rats, in particular, but other pests as well, (like the mongoose, which is responsible for the disappearance of all ground-nesting terrestrial birds on Fiji’s Viti Levu), are destroying entire, defenceless species of birds before our very eyes. At the same, we continue to help these predators in their destructive efforts by cutting down the last of our terrestrial birds’ forest habitats in the cause of unsustainable logging and equally unsustainable agricultural practices.

We are also devastating marine bird species by the use of intensive and destructive fishing techniques. We are actively and willingly destroying the places where our birds have lived peacefully since time immemorial and they now have nowhere else to go. Why do we continue to allow this to happen? We know what is happening and we know what must be done. All the evidence is there. The need now is to do something, to implement conservation actions on the ground across the region before it’s too late for the very survival of the 44 birds in this region that are on the brink of extinction. To do that, BirdLife International, through its participating NGO partners in the region, including Forest & Bird, is working on a three-pronged survival strategy. First, we are researching and publishing data on Important Bird Areas, or IBAs, in the Pacific. These are sites of global significance not just to birds but to biodiversity conservation more broadly because birds are the bestknown, and most widely studied and distributed species on our planet and tell us much about the state of our environment. So far more than 400 such sites have been identified and work is continuing to find more, particularly related to seabirds, about which little is known in the region. Community-based efforts are now under way in many of these IBAs to actively conserve these vital habitats and the birds whose survival depend on them. Second, we are dealing with the threat posed by invasive 1 Fiji’s Viti Levu southern highlands. The mongoose is responsible for the disappearance of all ground-nesting terrestrial birds on the island. Photo: Vivien Chartendrault 2 The Tahiti monarch is on the brink of extinction, with fewer than 40 known birds. Photo: BirdLife Pacific 3 The Tuamotu kingfisher is now found just on the island of Niau in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Photo: BirdLife Pacific

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Rats have now reached pestilential proportions and pose serious public health problems as well as directly threatening the survival of many of our endemic birds. alien species, especially rats, which were introduced to our islands by people in ships. Originally entirely foreign to our shores, rats have now reached pestilential proportions and pose serious public health problems as well as directly threatening the survival of many of our endemic birds. In the past five years, BirdLife and its NGO partners have successfully carried out rat eradication projects on many islands important for breeding seabirds in a vast area spreading from French Polynesia in the east, Fiji and New Caledonia in the west and Palau in the north using techniques pioneered in New Zealand. Third, BirdLife International has launched its Preventing Extinctions Programme, which aims to take immediate conservation actions to save the world’s 192 critically endangered bird species before, just like the dodo, they disappear forever. In the Pacific, working with Forest & Bird, which administers the BirdLife International Community Conservation Fund, we have raised resources to help take emergency actions to save the Fiji petrel, Tahiti monarch, Polynesian ground dove, Fatu Hiva monarch, Tuamotu kingfisher, crow honeyeater, Pohnpei starling, white-chested white-eye and Makira moorhen, all of which are trembling on the brink of extinction. Other species that require urgent conservation action include the kagu, Marquesan kingfisher, Faichuk white-eye, Rarotonga monarch and Micronesian megapode, all of which are also in danger of vanishing altogether, and in the very near future, if we don’t act now. Even with these three initiatives, there is a lot more to be done. For instance, we have yet to scratch the surface for our neighbours in Western Melanesia – Papua New

Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. IBA and other data do not exist, yet we know, for example, from satellite imagery, the extent of deforestation on 5 islands like New Britain, which indicates that many more bird species are threatened with extinction than previously feared. An eighth of lowland forest on this island –a stronghold for several birds found nowhere else on Earth – disappeared between 1989 and 2000, largely driven by a rapid and uncontrolled expansion in global demand for palm oil. A similar situation exists on other Melanesian islands and it is to be hoped that funding for necessary and urgent surveys will be forthcoming so conservation actions can be planned and implemented before it is too late for the birds of Melanesia. Our fast-moving, web-based culture is reducing the once-widespread and remarkable symbolism of birds to tweets on Twitter. So why not repay the birds by using Twitter and the web to help ensure the very survival of our threatened endemic bird species – and our wider biodiversity – by supporting urgent conservation actions? Actions to combat invasive alien species, unsustainable and destructive logging, forestry, agricultural and urban development, and fishing policies and practices need to be supported by you, the reader, and by everyone else, and by governments and NGOs. If you don’t do this, and do it now, our region will lose forever those 44 critically endangered species well before this century is over. I have a dream, and it should, I hope, be yours, too. That is for my grandchildren and their children to be able to regard with wonder and awe the remarkable and unique species of wonderful birds with which this region has been blessed. I also have a nightmare, and I hope it is yours, too; that my grandchildren and their children growing up ask, accusingly, why didn’t this present generation do something about the extinction crisis in the Pacific when it had the chance? Dodos or canaries? Dreams or nightmares? The choice is ours. The birds are telling us something we should be listening to. It is time to act. Don Stewart is the Suvabased Pacific Regional Director of BirdLife International. 6 4 Installing a nest box to trap mynas in the Tokelau Islands. Photo: Bill Nagle 5 Rats have been eradicated from many small Pacific islands that are important for breeding seabirds. Photo: Tony Jewell

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6 Don Stewart

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Leave a gift in your will

that will last forever A gift to Forest & Bird will protect our unique native animals and plants, not just for today or tomorrow but for generations to come. For a copy of our bequests brochure or to discuss leaving a gift in your will, please contact our Supporter Relations Manager at 0800 200 064, or by emailing legacy@forestandbird.org.nz. Thank you.

www.forestandbird.org.nz/bequests

going places

Dennistonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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Debs Martin finds mini forests and soaring kea as she explores the wild West Coast plateau threatened with an open-cast coal mine.

true treasures A

t the top of Mt Rochfort, as I crouched to examine the chewing of a ground weta in the crevice of sandstone pavements, snowflakes began to fall and swirl up from the nearby bluffs. It was November on the Denniston Plateau and, though I shouldn’t have been entirely surprised by the snow, its sudden appearance after a burst of sunshine felt surreal. Weather extremes are usual in a West Coast alpine environment. I have spent days on the Denniston Plateau when all four seasons are dramatically expressed. That November day was no exception, with a slaying wind from the south, brilliant sunshine baking the gullies, and mists rising and falling as clouds drifted in spectacular patterns across the striking landforms. Almost desolate and bleak to the eye, the Denniston Plateau is one of New Zealand’s geological wonders. It was formed about 40 million years ago, and its uplifted sandstone pavements lie on ancient coal deposits. A coal measures ecosystem whose complexity is not found elsewhere has evolved with the high rainfall and weather extremes. Eighteen different plant communities hide in rocky gullies or lie exposed to the elements. Prostrate rätä, dracophyllum and mänuka are on the highest parts. The impoverished soils also provide habitat for a rich array of invertebrate life that supports the unusual mega-fauna of the plateau – creatures

like our giant land snail, Powelliphanta patrickensis, the West Coast green gecko and the mega-giant great spotted kiwi. This isn’t the wilderness of dripping rainforests, though small versions of these can be found in the gorges of the Waimangaroa and Whareatea rivers. It is the wilderness of stunted forests, sandstone pavements and dramatic views. Some of it is found on your hands and knees – peripatus (velvet worm), north Westland snow tussock and, if you’re lucky, a ground weta, leaf vein slug or even an endemic flatworm. Many of these creatures are found nowhere else. The sealed road to the Denniston Plateau curves up from the township of Waimangaroa. As you reach the top of the zigzag, the historic mining town of Denniston lies before you, a bustling place of 842 people in 1911. The Department of Conservation has recently done much work to protect the historic features of the early coal mining industry, including a tasteful restoration of the “eighth wonder of the world” – the steep Denniston Incline, where rail carried coal from the plateau to waiting trucks below. This is often the end point for visitors but the real richness of the Denniston Plateau is further afield. 1 Denniston’s harsh climate and low soil fertility create stunted forests. Photo: Craig Potton 2 Mt Williams on the edge of the Denniston Plateau. Photo: Craig Potton 3 Kea make a home on the plateau. Photo: David Hallett

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A descriptive map on the wall of the Friends of the Hill’s museum advises on routes to the many places. Of course, you can simply walk off road and have a dig around. If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance, follow the road to the top of Mt Rochfort, created in the 1960s for a transmitter station. You pass through some of the most spectacular scenery and views of the area. Plunging away from the sides of Mt Rochfort, the escarpment of the sandstone pavements perches high above typical West Coast forest, and the views of the precipitous outcrops are breathtaking. It’s sometimes freezing but the best examples of rock formations and alpine vegetation are here. A more sedate drive, for a two-wheel-drive car, is to Coalbrookdale – a smaller abandoned mining town just past Burnett’s Face, where relics of hotels past are covered with mosses. In a sheltered gully, you can go in two directions. The easy Coalbrookdale mining track takes you through some of the plateau’s interesting vegetation sequences and botanical gems. For the adventurous, I strongly recommend crossing the small bridge and following Myra’s Track on your left to the summit of Mt William. A reasonably rugged climb of about an hour and a half will reward you with some great examples of the “goblin” pygmy pine, rätä and dracophyllum forest. Tarns and sculptured rocks at the summit provide a backdrop for 360-degree views of the Stockton and Denniston plateaus, the sloping Mt William range, the upper Waimangaroa Valley, the oceans of the West Coast and the bush-clad forests of the Buller River catchment. It is not uncommon to be visited by our high fliers, the kea and käkä. My last recommendation is to take a four-wheel drive with a bit of ground clearance past Burnett’s Face and up

the Upper Waimangaroa Valley towards the Burning Mine. At any stage along this route you can walk off track and explore the richness of the river gorge, expansive sloping sandstone pavements, rätä forests and outcrops of flax. An easy hour or two can be spent discovering treasures – both flora and fauna. And on a hot day, the waters of the Waimangaroa River make for a pleasing dip. Several years ago I used to make the journey by foot into the Upper Waimangaroa area to visit the proposed site of the Cypress Mine – an extension of Solid Energy’s Stockton Mine. The loss of this extensive wetland in the upper catchment, the sandstone pavements surrounding it and the habitat it provided was a real blow for conservation. The Denniston Plateau is public conservation land, and is now also threatened with extensive open-cast coal mines. Visit and see the real hidden wealth of the Denniston Plateau.

WAIMANGAROA

WESTPORT

DENNISTON PLATEAU

Getting there Where:

Drive north from Westport on SH67. After 15km turn right off the main road into the township of Waimangaroa and follow the clearly signposted sealed route up to the Denniston Plateau. Westport to Denniston is 22km and takes about 45 minutes. See http:// tinyurl.com/crz8qlw

Accommodation: There is nowhere to stay on the plateau. Westport and the northern West Coast have a variety of accommodation for all budgets, including motels in Westport and seaside camping along the coast. Best time to visit: The plateau can be enjoyed all year round but summer is the ideal time to see alpine flowering. Check the forecast to ensure good weather on the tops. Weather extremes are spectacular but sudden storms can be dangerous, and it is easy to become lost in low cloud. Mountain neinei, or tree dracophyllums, and silvery astelias on Mt Williams. Photo: Craig Potton

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Discover your own backyard

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Breeding big bugs 1 52

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BACKYARD conservation

Mandy Herrick discovers how you can help scientists learn more about New Zealand’s dinosaur-age wëtä by breeding these critters in your garden.

itted with spikes, tusks and plated armour, the wëtä looks battle ready, however, its fight to enter the affections of New Zealanders has been long. Professional wëtä keeper and breeder Paul Barrett is delighted that people have finally woken up to their charms. “These are the little creatures that run our planets. I love that quote: ‘Bugs are not going to inherit the earth – they own it now. So we might as well make peace with the landlord.’ “There is so much more to insects than meets the eye. They’re a lot smarter than we originally thought.” For 25 years Paul has run wëtä captive breeding programmes, first at Wellington Zoo, then Auckland Zoo and now at Auckland’s Butterfly Creek. Here he is sole caretaker of a wëtä nursery and breeding centre with 30 tree wëtä and 50 Little Barrier giant wëtä, or wëtäpunga. In the past three years, Paul has raised more than 200 giant wëtä babies, 25 of which were released on Auckland’s Moturoa Island in 2010. It’s not only experts like Paul who can help increase numbers of wëtä. Paul is keen to encourage people to breed tree wëtä in their backyards to discover more about the breeding habits of these massive insects. “It is only in the past 50 years or so we’ve been researching the private lives of wëtä. Endemic insects typically are not high on the list when it comes to research funds so the value of citizen science is quite important.” Our five main varieties of wëtä all have their own challenges, he says, however, the most difficult have been our most threatened – the vulnerable Little Barrier giant wëtä and the Mercury Island tusked wëtä. Entomologists and zoo-keepers have spent years studying wëtä mating strategies but there are still gaping holes in our knowledge. We do know they have a variety of breeding behaviours and mating tactics. Unlike our tree wëtä, whose mating ritual is a fast, furious affair, the giant wëtä’s lovemaking is much like its movements – slow. Mating can last for eight hours. In contrast, the tree wëtä completes the act in a mere two minutes. Large males use a combination of physical guarding, posturing and fighting to ensure rival males do not gain access to their “harem”. However, this does not stop smaller males from sneak mating when females go on their nightly excursions for food. Anyone with a garden can encourage tree wëtä to breed. The first step in is to place in your garden a large, covered tank filled with soil, leaf litter and fresh stems of leafy plants. The next step is to find male and female wëtä to start the breeding population. After 6-10 months, the female wëtä will have laid their eggs so keep a close eye on the tank for baby wëtä. Recent hatchlings will be bright green so they will be easy to spot. They often hide under the lid of the enclosure so be careful when lifting this off. Female wëtä typically lay 50-120 eggs. Once hatched, the babies look for high-protein food, so they can end up

eating their brothers and sisters. To stop them, put them in separate containers. For a better, high-protein diet, feed them a few fish flakes or a dead moth but be sure this is given along with a range of plant food. Release them into a forested area when they’re as young as one week old. 2

1 Paul Barrett with a giant wëtä. Photos: Crispin Anderlini/www.crispinianderlini.com 2 Wëtä need fresh leaves.

TOP TIPS

➊ Commit

Tree wëtä may live up to three years. Once the female wëtä has laid her eggs it’ll be a 6-10 -month wait before the eggs hatch. They’ll live as young wëtä for 12-18 months then as adults for 4-12 months. Highly sexed wëtä will live for a shorter period! Once male wëtä have used up all their sperm, they die soon after. ➋ Make sure your wëtä are happy Make sure the conditions are just right – if wëtä are hiding a great deal, chances are it’s too dry. If it’s too wet, they might get fungal infections. Be extra vigilant and keep an eye on your wëtä. Lethargy, weight loss and a film of fungi over their skin are all signs that they’ve developed a fungal infection. ➌ Don’t bother them If you wish to observe your wëtä, it’s best to use a red torch or one covered in red cellophane. They rise at the first hour of darkness so, if you’re the patient type, train your light on them at this hour. If you’re watching them when they wake, they’re less likely to be bothered by your presence. They are more likely to go and hide if you disturb them while they are already active. ➍ Read up about wëtä You may discover a previously undiscovered behaviour about wëtä so, before you start breeding them, read about their habits and behaviour. To get started, try New Zealand wëtä by George Gibbs or Keeping Wëtäs in Captivity by Paul Barrett. Forest & Bird

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DIY

A home fit for a tree wëtä 1 2

conservation

Collect a disused glass or plastic tank, or aquarium. A 60cm x 30cm x 30cm tank can accommodate one male and 4-5 females. A tank that’s a metre long can accommodate 2-3 males and 10 females. Cover the tank with steel mesh so your wëtä cannot roam free but still have good ventilation. Add friable soil – dirt that runs freely through your fingers. This is important because the eggs are unlikely to hatch if the soil is too soggy. It must be 50-80mm deep. Make sure there is a rise in the middle for good drainage. Placing sand underneath may help drainage.

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Insert interlocking branches for climbing. Leave some branches hanging so your wëtä are allowed some “me” time. Arrange leaf litter on the soil. Without leaf litter, wëtä can get infections on their feet. It also helps with a balanced diet as they chew on dead leaves. Pöhutukawa leaves last a long time.

3 Leaf litter is important.

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4 Fill a container with leafy sprigs. 5 Homes made from bamboo. 6 A cosy home.

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Set up a feeding station. Use a small container with a lid, and fill it with water. Pierce the lid to create a hole large enough for sprigs of leafy foliage. Make sure the sprigs are packed in tightly to stop wëtä getting into the container and drowning. Mähoe, kohekohe, Pseudopanax spp, Coprosma spp and rangiora all make good wëtä food. Put into the enclosure tree wëtä hotels made from bamboo shoots or hollowed-out dead flax flower stems that are 25-35cm long. Saw bamboo into short pieces, cutting above each joint. Tie each length to a tree trunk or post, with the covered end (the roof) at the top and the hole end at the bottom (the entrance). The entrance hole should be 12-20mm in diameter for adult tree wëtä. Find your wëtä! If you’d like to breed wëtä, you’ll need a male and several females. The best place to search for wëtä is in your garden. Do not look for wëtä in a reserve or park because these wëtä are protected. You can tell whether a wëtä is male or female by looking at its behind – a wëtä with a large spike protruding from its bottom is a female. This is the egg positioner, or ovipositor. Males do not have this. Now you’re set up. You need to change the water and plants every few days to ensure your wëtä are well fed. Spray the foliage to keep it hydrated. You need to spray the soil periodically to keep it moist.

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Saving the wood and the trees

The New Zealand Forest Accord has maintained the peace between forestry owners and environmentalists for 20 years. By Jolene Williams.

ne windy Wellington afternoon in October last year, conservationists and commercial forestry owners met at Te Papa. There were no placards, no animosity and no angry words, and instead jokey smiles and hearty welcomes like those between reunited friends. The occasion was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the New Zealand Forest Accord – the landmark “peace treaty” between the forestry industry and environmentalists. The accord, signed in 1991, was an agreement between two sides more used to butting heads than working toward mutual goals. In the accord, the commercial forestry industry promised not to clear native forests for plantations and also to protect those indigenous forests that remained. In turn, environmentalists and recreationalists formally recognised plantation forests as a valuable renewable source of energy and fibre. The agreement has been hailed by both sides as a success. It was a world first, and one that has since garnered overseas interest as a successful model for creating a sustainable plantation forestry industry.

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Timber production had been a mainstay of industry in New Zealand since European settlement. During the 1970s and 1980s, however, public protests erupted against the clearing of native forests to establish exotic forestry plantations. Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell, who was working on the issue in 1991, said environmentally progressive legislation and the formation of the Department of Conservation in the 1980s concluded the battle to protect publicly owned native forests. “But there was still a fair bit of clearing native forest for conversion to plantations happening in private forests. So the conservation movement refocused attention on the private forestry operations. It was a fairly torrid time ... That’s when discussions led to the accord.” The late Kevin Smith, former Forest & Bird conservation director and staunch conservationist, was a central figure in those discussions. Two of his adult children, Karl and Danica, were at the celebrations on his behalf. Karl said his father gave his “whole life” to oppose logging. “He

gave everything to protect the forests.” Karl pointed out it was not an easy position to hold because “no one liked greenies back then”. On 14 August 1991, after months of negotiation, 14 representatives from key interest groups signed the New Zealand Forest Accord. The accord protected indigenous forests, while acknowledging plantation forests were an important renewable energy source. The accord set out guidelines for establishing plantation forests (see factbox) and promised partners would meet occasionally to monitor its implementation. The agreement came at just the right time. In the 1990s the government began selling the cutting rights to its plantation forests. The accord in effect halted the conversion of native forests to plantations. The accord has been hailed a triumph from both sides. John Beggs, who signed the accord as a Beech Action Committee representative, said: “It’s fantastic to see that it works because it was a bit out left for what we think of the mainstream for the industry. It seems to have worked a treat.” In addition to preserving native forests, it’s cemented a working and co-operative relationship between two historically opposed sides, for the benefit of both. New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association former president Peter Berg said the accord opened lines of communication, which enabled the resolution of disputes. And those communication channels continue to remain open and convivial today. “We know each other well now. We don’t even hesitate to call each other. We’re great mates these days,” he said. The agreement provides a win-win situation. Our native forests, which evolved some 80 million years ago, have many plants found only in New Zealand and are the preferred home to many of our unique animals. Recent figures estimated forestry exports were worth $3.5 billion a year and accounted for nearly 10 per cent of the country’s total exports. The accord is not without limitations. In the 2002 book Voluntary Environmental Agents: Process, practice and future use, Diane Menzies said about 15 per cent of the country’s production estates are in the hands of nonsignatory companies.

Signatories of the New Zealand Forest Accord n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association New Zealand Timber Industry Federation New Zealand Farm Forestry Association New Zealand Wood Panels Manufacturing Association Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Environment and Conservation Organisations of Aotearoa New Zealand Federated Mountain Clubs Friends of the Earth Beech Action Committee Pacific Institute of Resource Management World Wildlife Fund (New Zealand) Japan Tropical Forest Action Network Tropical Forest Action Group Maruia Society

New Zealand Forest Accord n n n n n

Define areas where it is inappropriate to establish plantation forestry Recognise the heritage values of the natural indigenous forests Maintain and protect the remaining natural indigenous forests Recognise commercial plantation forests are an essential renewable energy and fibre source The parties support the sustainable harvesting of natural native forests for producing added-value wood products in New Zealand Parties will meet occasionally to monitor the implementation and address issues that may arise

Nevertheless, Menzies is overwhelmingly positive in her analysis of the accord’s impact. It has solved disputes between signatories. It has encouraged rapport and goodwill, while providing a forum to discuss an array of issues – not just those explicitly mentioned in the accord. Forest & Bird’s Kevin Hackwell said the accord facilitated wider networks beyond the forest owners and environmentalists. “We did draw in the people they were supplying, too. That was the good thing about it.” Peter Berg added that community interests were also considered. “People have to understand the community’s broader aspirations and try and build those into their own principles. The accord has proved there is a very positive way of doing that,” he said. The 20th anniversary was commemorated by planting two native kaikawaka trees at Te Papa’s Bush City vegetation area. Kevin, Peter and Karl rolled up their sleeves and shared the honour of planting the trees. 1 Beech forests on private land near Nelson were being logged for wood chips before the 1991 New Zealand Forest Accord. Photo: Craig Potton 2 Forest & Bird’s Kevin Hackwell, and Karl Smith, son of the late Kevin Smith, plant a kaikawaka tree at Te Papa to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the New Zealand Forest Accord.

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3 Former president of the New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association Peter Berg marks the accord anniversary at Te Papa. Photo: Jolene Williams

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in the field

Selfless

seed raiser

Ann Graeme salutes a bird that gorges itself on fruit in the interests of keeping our forests healthy.

rom the deck, the slender trunks of nïkau palms framed the view. Beneath their leafy crowns hung great bunches of berries, red, orange and green. Suspended too was a kererü, swaying like an acrobat as it chose which ripe, red fruit to eat. It ate and ate and ate. Then it flew into the köwhai above me and perched on a branch. An hour later it was still there, and yet another hour later... What indolent birds, you might think, looking at that corpulent body with its snowy white breast. Kererü may look laid back and languid but they have good cause. Beneath that placid exterior, in the bird’s stomach its digestive juices are working overtime to extract the maximum food value from the scant flesh of all those nïkau fruit. Such digestion takes time and the kererü must sit quietly and let it happen. Sometimes when the fruit is very ripe it actually ferments during the long digestive process. Then the kererü may rock on its perch and even fall to the ground in a drunken stupor! But kererü are much more than the clowns of the forest. On the branch above, the bird gave a demonstration. Suddenly nïkau seeds rained down on to the deck with a 58

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rattle like buckshot. It was the inevitable aftermath of that feast of fruit. This is the unique contribution that kererü make to the forest. Kererü do not digest the seeds of the fruit they eat but disperse them with their droppings. Seed germination is enhanced, both by the journey through the bird’s stomach and by falling into a puddle of nourishing poo. The kererü is the supreme seed courier. Other birds eat and disperse seeds but none can match the service of the kererü in quantity, variety and range. Kererü can swallow larger seeds than any other New Zealand bird. Only they can swallow the huge fruits of tawa, taraire and karaka, and these trees depend entirely on kererü for their dispersal. And because they congregate to feed and then often fly long distances to roost, digest and poo, they carry the seeds far and wide and so also disperse the smaller seeds of nïkau, rimu, miro, mataï and pigeon wood. But kererü have fallen on hard times. Before people came, flocks numbering hundreds used to swoop over the forest. Even when Mäori arrived and hunted them for their plump, succulent flesh, kererü numbers remained high. Then came settlers with guns. Kererü made a laughably easy target. Their numbers fell so rapidly that hunting was restricted as early as1864 and they became totally

protected in 1921. Even this did not stop the decline because new foes arrived and began to multiply – the stoats, weasels, feral cats, possums and rats. At times, kererü feed or drink on the ground, where they are easy to catch. They are even easier to catch when they are asleep in the trees and worst of all is the predation on their nests, on both their single egg and their chick. Kererü are long-lived birds and, like so many endemic species, adapted in “old” New Zealand to the relative absence of predators by having small families – only one egg at a time. This strategy and their lack of savvy in the face of predation mean that few kererü succeed in raising chicks. They do well where predators are kept in check but in our vast, pest-ridden forests kererü numbers are falling an estimated 20 per cent each decade. The fall may be temporarily disguised because adult kererü are long-lived, travel widely and are readily visible. But when the present generation of adults falls off its perch, there may be few juveniles to replace them. There is a sad precedence for the plight of our kererü. It is the fabled dodo, once the largest pigeon in the world. It ate fruit too and it ambled – for it couldn’t fly – around the pest and people-free forests of Mauritius. It too was a friend of the forest, dispersing the large seeds of the forest trees including those of the long-lived and endemic dodo or tambalacoque tree. Dutch settlers arrived in Mauritius in 1598 with guns and pests – as usual. Less than a century later the dodo was extinct. By the 20th century the dodo trees had become very rare. The seed in their large fruit is surrounded by a hard wall like a peach stone and perhaps its passage through the digestive tract of a dodo helped it to germinate. Without the dodo, ran the hypothesis, the old trees were doomed. This is a great story but it’s not entirely true. Tortoises could also have spread the seeds, and pigs, weeds and deforestation all contributed to the decline of the dodo trees. But there was some truth in the efficacy of the dodo’s guts, and today the foresters feed dodo tree fruits to turkeys to encourage the seeds to sprout. We don’t want our kererü to follow in the footsteps of the dodo. If it were to disappear it would be a tragedy for us and a tragedy for the community of our native forests.

Help kererü n

Plant trees in your garden to give kererü food in different seasons. See www.kererüdiscovery.org.nz n Control the pests on your property – and your cat n Kererü, like shining cuckoos, are often killed when they collide with windows, either thinking they can fly through to a window beyond or being fooled by the reflection of the trees outside. Make barriers in these visual ambushes with curtains, ornaments, mobiles and stickers. There are special stickers that reflect ultraviolet sunlight, which is invisible to humans but glows like a stoplight for birds. They are available from www.windowalert.com/ and they seem to work.

National Kererü Survey To raise awareness about our native pigeon and to collect data about its abundance, Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club for kids is carrying out a national survey. Lots of observations – from adults as well as children – are needed to create a useful database. Please help by reporting any kererü you see during the survey, which runs from February 19-27. Reporting is easy. Just go to www.kererucount.org.nz

1 A kererü feasts on cabbage tree berries. Photo: Rod Morris 2 Only kererü can eat the large berries of the taraire tree. Photo: DOC 3 The thump of wings heralds the arrival of the kererü. Photo: Craig McKenzie

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community

conservation

Penguins get warm welcome P

laces for Penguins co-ordinator Jenny Lynch has been keeping a close eye on the 130 artificial penguin nests dotted around Wellington’s south coast this summer. Since October, Places for Penguins volunteers have been regularly checking the hand-made wooden boxes, recording which nests are occupied, the number of eggs and when they hatch. By now, many of those chicks have matured enough to leave the nests and venture into Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour. It’s hoped through Places for Penguins initiatives, such as pest control and the artificial nests, the local penguin population will climb rather than continuing to decline. The local little blue population around the Miramar Peninsula has taken a hit in recent years, and the Places for Penguins project aims to create safe and healthy environments to encourage breeding and increase reproductive success. The artificial nests are wooden boxes with a small entrance to keep out larger predators and stray dogs. They’re hidden in the surrounding grasses and under shrubs to further minimise disturbance. Jenny says the little blues have shown a preference for artificial nests rather than building their own. But she’s still discovering which sites, and what conditions, are most popular. The penguins are most vulnerable during these first few months ashore when they make easy prey for unleashed domestic dogs and pests such as stoats.

Previously, they’ve shown a predilection for nesting under houses across the coastal road. So the project has undertaken habitat restoration along the shoreline to encourage penguins to remain on the seaward side of the road. Jenny says the penguins’ undercover behaviour can work against them because people forget they’re there. Unleashed dogs remain a threat, and so information signs have gone up to remind people to keep dogs on a leash. Forest & Bird’s Wellington branch launched Places for Penguins in 2007, and today support comes from the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City Council and Wellington Zoo. It also draws on local schools for planting and weeding working bees. Jenny is all too aware of the project’s importance for the little blues. She says last year was particularly harsh for the penguins around the country as warmer water temperatures stretched food resources and some died from starvation. “[In Wellington] we also had a few storms, which wasn’t good in terms of individual survival. It can make them quite weak, they don’t get enough food or they get knocked around a bit.” Fifteen chicks hatched last year, but Jenny is hoping for an even better season as Places for Penguins continues to build better, safer, predator-free homes. n Jolene Williams More information: www.forestandbird.org.nz

1 Forest & Bird’s Places for Penguins project is helping to boost numbers of little blue penguins in Wellington. Photo: David Hallet 2 A little blue penguin incubates its eggs inside a Forest & Bird artificial nesting box at Tarakena Bay. Photo: Jolene Williams

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From left, Nelson Rangi, Adrienne Staples, Paul Cutfield, Clive Paton, Geoff Wilkinson, Al Morrison, Ruud Kleinpaste, Chris Lester and Ray Clarey at the launch of Aorangi Restoration Trust. Photo: Joe Hansen/DOC

Winemaker unites nature lovers A

bout 40 minutes south-east of Martinborough, and a 25-minute uphill climb in a four-wheel drive, you reach a privately owned hut on a remote ridge bordering Aorangi Forest Park. It’s not a place frequently visited. But from the top of the saddle are expansive views of rugged bushcovered hills. When Forest & Bird visited in November, the streams were running clear and fast, a bird of prey was spotted soaring in the distance and an iridescent green püriri moth – the biggest of all New Zealand moth species – was on show laying eggs. According to Forest & Bird Lower North Island Field Officer Aalbert Rebergen, the isolated and neglected area is full of “little treasures” and holds huge restoration potential. Pest control is already being undertaken on the fringes of the park by private landowners and Greater Wellington Regional Council, but according to Aalbert they’re struggling, and wider community support is needed if the health of the whole forest and its surrounding area is to be restored. It’s lucky then that one local landowner – Martinborough winemaker Clive Paton – has made it his mission to restore the forest to reverse the decline of local indigenous species and restore its natural heritage state. He’s gathered a group of passionate individuals across various organisations and formed the Aorangi Restoration Trust to enhance the forest’s biodiversity, eradicate pests and turn it into a haven for native birds such as kiwi, whio and weka, which once lived in the area. Aalbert is flying the flag for Forest & Bird on the nineperson trust and sits alongside Clive and representatives

from the Department of Conservation, Ngäti Kahungunu iwi, Aorangi Hunters and other nearby landowners. The trust holds a wealth of conservation knowledge, experience and passion, but Clive says they’ll need community support if they’re to see real, positive changes. “Money is hard to come by. We need people to do it for the love of it. We have to get people passionate about the bush, otherwise it won’t work,” he says. Volunteers will be needed and Aalbert sees it as an opportunity for Forest & Bird supporters from Wellington and Wairarapa to “get their hands dirty” on smaller site projects. Pest control tops the trust’s immediate to-do list. DOC biodiversity ranger Joe Hansen has lived in the area for 25 years and says wild cats, stoats, weasels, hedgehogs and rats are the main culprits. “There’s plenty around. In some places they’re prolific. They eat a lot of the insects and fruit that the birds eat.” The trust’s restoration plans would see the forest’s health “improve dramatically”, he says. At the trust’s official launch in November, more than 30 people made the journey to the ridge, including wellknown ecologist and “Bugman” Ruud Kleinpaste, South Wairarapa mayor Adrienne Staples and DOC directorgeneral Al Morrison. Clive says predator control is the most important thing. “There’s forest restoration that needs to be done to provide food for the birds in the future. The long term could be anything. It’s cohabitating with co-users of the park. We’d love to see it spill over into the hinterland and connecting with locals to try to bring them in,” he says. n Jolene Williams Forest & Bird

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North Shore shines light on past F

orest & Bird’s North Shore branch can lay claim to having a more colourful past than most, with a “tumultuous” split from the Auckland branch in the 1960s and a helicopter call-out during a field trip in the 1970s. That’s just the start of what committee member Alan Emmerson and fellow members discovered while compiling a history of the branch. The branch is publishing its history later this year and it will be available to Forest & Bird members for a small cost. The idea for the project was conceived some two years ago after former branch chairman and long-standing committee member Jim Lewis made a $500 donation to the branch on his 80th birthday. Jim, an Old Blue award winner, has had a long and active history with Forest & Bird, which was why Alan gave up many hours to trawl through newspaper clippings and conduct interviews. “We all hold Jim in such high regard that we want to do a good job. The history will be a gift to Jim,” he says. The committee also helped with interviews, and former Executive member and branch chairperson Claire Stevens directed the project and turned the interview transcripts into a single story. Alan says the research process was “time-consuming, but rewarding” as he uncovered all sorts of gems, entrenched in memories and deserving to be shared. The timing has proved just right as many of the original members are entering old age and memories are starting to fade. The value in recording the branch’s history was made especially clear when Alan interviewed 95-year-old Ralph

Muriel Fanselow and Chris Ball planting at Tuff Crater in 1999.

Silvester. “I visited him in Warkworth and spent two hours with him and found him to be remarkable. He spoke about much of it as if it was yesterday.” Mr Silvester passed away two weeks after the interview. Alan says one of the biggest challenges was ironing out inconsistencies, which unsurprisingly arose when comparing multiple accounts of the same story. Claire saw the project as an opportunity to document some of the branch’s projects and campaigns, and tap into members’ private recollections. She hopes the book will show people the value of preserving history and encourage them to share their memories. “I would like to see this history become a living document so that it can be added to on a regular basis, to ensure that the good work of hundreds of people is not lost,” she says. n Jolene Williams

Swamp fever R

olling a 25,000-litre water tank up hills was all in a day’s work for Forest & Bird’s Nelson-Tasman members last Labour Weekend. The Forest & Birders joined forces with Brook Sanctuary members and Friends of Mangaräkau for a productive weekend at Mangaräkau Swamp in northwest Golden Bay, near Whanganui Inlet. The empty water tank was moved to provide water for visitors and in case of fire. The volunteers stayed at the Swamp Field Centre, which overlooks the swamp and lakes, with great forested limestone cliffs as a backdrop. “It was my first experience of having people line up insisting on doing the dishes due to the spectacular views from the sink,” weekend organiser Ian Price said. The team planted about 300 trees, weeded, restocked firewood and monitored the birds in the area. Fernbirds, brown creepers, bitterns and falcons were among the many bird calls heard.

1 Volunteers push a 25,000-litre water tank towards its destination at Mangaräkau Swamp.

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2 Mangaräkau Swamp in north-west Golden Bay is an outstanding 400-hectare wetland partly owned by the Native Forests Restoration Trust.

ALL TUATARA YOUNG ARE BORN MALE IF THE INCUBATION TEMPERATURE FOR THEIR EGGS IS 21˚ OR HIGHER. New evidence shows the effect climate change could have on one of the world’s most ancient and extraordinary species. If we don’t act now, our living dinosaur could become an extinct one.

Help give nature a voice. Help Forest & Bird. Join at forestandbird.org.nz/joinus

1 Falls Dam from Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago 2 Albatross from Seabird Genius 3 The Stewart Island tokoeka by Rod Morris from Kiwi: A Natural History

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Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago By Grahame Sydney Penguin Group (NZ), $95 Reviewed by David Brooks Grahame Sydney has become one of our best-known painters for his stunning landscapes of his much loved Central Otago. A decade ago Sydney permanently shifted to Central Otago and has since been responding to its moods with a camera as well as a palette and brushes. He has said of his painting that he is about “the long stare not the quick glimpse”, a quality shared by the photos he has selected for this magnificent book. “I began to notice subtle beauties, colours and patterns I’d never seen; I became alert to the slow-motion picture show of the sky, the unpredictable surreality of passing cloudscapes more astounding than anything I could imagine or paint in my wildest, bravest moments,” he says in the book’s introduction. Sydney has lent his support to Forest & Bird’s Save the Mackenzie Country campaign, which is responding to the same threats facing his beloved region. He fears irrigation in Central Otago will change its “natural arid, bleak ochres and browns to lurid, lush artificially fertilised green”. His intention is to record the landscapes before many disappear for good. But Sydney’s photographs are so much more than an objective record of a part of New Zealand that defies the usual images of bush-clad hills, lush pastures and wave-battered coastlines. We are always conscious of the man behind the camera as well as the tussock, weather-worn rocks and hills, the vast sky and the relics of a passing parade of people. This beautiful book shows us Central Otago through Grahame Sydney’s eyes and through his heart too.

Native by Design: Landscape design with New Zealand plants

native plants in landscape and garden design. There are some familiar and some not-so-familiar names in the landscape field but each contributor provides a different perspective on the subject. The book is profusely illustrated with superb photography but it is in the reading that the most rewards are to be had. They include the contributors’ personal approaches to designing with natives and, with examples of their own work, useful information on aspects such as the principles they employed, plant selection, any problems encountered and, where appropriate, useful hints for the reader. The projects discussed range in size from large-scale landscapes to small gardens and cover the whole spectrum from restoration of native ecosystems using eco-sourced plants in natural associations and successions, to the use of natives purely for aesthetic effect. Natives are also used in less conventional ways, such as Robert Watson’s clever version of a traditional English double herbaceous border in which native plants are substituted for the usual herbaceous perennials. The plant material used in the various projects ranges from the ubiquitous flax species and their cultivars to some rare and threatened plants. There is potential to use a still greater variety of plants, which would provide wildlife habitat and refuges for the increasing number of threatened plant species. This worthwhile publication will appeal to anyone interested in using our native plants in landscape and garden design. It is hoped that it will inspire more people to use natives in greater variety and in both ecologically sustainable and imaginative ways. All royalties from the sale of the book will go to native plant projects around the country. It is highly recommended.

Seabird Genius: The story of L E Richdale, the royal albatross and the yellow-eyed penguin By Neville Peat

By Ian Spellerberg and Michele Frey, photography by John Maillard

Otago University Press, $45 Reviewed by Chris Gaskin

Canterbury University Press, $45 Reviewed by Nick Beveridge

Think Dunedin, and once you’re past kilts, a covered stadium, students and some beautiful buildings, two iconic seabirds figure strongly in civic promotion – the royal albatross and yellow-eyed penguin.

In this well-presented book, 20 landscape architects and designers offer their insights on the use of New Zealand

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These wild creatures, vital to Dunedin’s tourism industry and fiercely protected, inhabit Taiaroa Head and the wilder ocean beaches of the Otago Peninsula. But in 1930s southern New Zealand it was a different story. The embryonic albatross colony was the target of frequent vandalism. For Lance Richdale, an “amateur” seabird researcher arriving to resume his colony vigil and finding an egg smashed in its nest by stone-throwing youths, the incubating parent standing beside the nest “quivering violently” (she too had been stoned), the distressing scene galvanised his efforts to gain greater protection for these magnificent birds. The penguin colonies, which Richdale also studied from 1936, were also vandalised, with eggs dislodged or stolen from nests, and the adults killed. Richdale campaigned strongly for greater protection of our avian treasures. Through the 1930s and 40s Richdale broke new ground with “observational research of unprecedented quality and detail”. He experimented with banding once he recognised his bird subjects would only reveal their secrets if he could keep track of individuals. His concurrent studies of five small petrel species on Whero Island are, as Chris Robertson points out in his excellent forward, “a magnificent achievement, when most researchers struggle to deal with but one subject at a time”. Author Neville Peat has got close to his subject and is familiar with the settings in which much of Richdale’s story plays out – country Otago, the Otago Peninsula, Stewart Island and tiny Whero Island, and the Snares. This gem of a book is thoroughly researched and, above all, generously illustrated. There are plenty of images of birds since Richdale was a fine photographer. The pages from his notebooks provide a fascinating glimpse into the private world of this remarkable man.

Ikawai: Freshwater fishes in Ma- ori culture and economy By R M McDowall Canterbury University Press, $130 Reviewed by Nicola Vallance Robert McDowall’s latest (and last) book is a fitting legacy for a man who was an expert and tireless advocate for New Zealand’s native freshwater fish. This book is a veritable tome on our freshwater fish and how they relate to Mäori. However, it also serves as an interesting historical reference to Mäori culture and early settlers who relied on freshwater fish for many reasons. There’s a disturbing account of the Acclimatisation Society’s “eel extermination” programme, after eels were thought to be preying on trout, much to the alarm of local iwi who considered tuna a valuable taonga and source of food and currency. At almost 800 pages, it’s not a quick read, but any apprehension you might feel about the size is easily displaced by a sense of wonder and enthusiasm at the material the author has gathered. McDowell, who sadly died before the book could be published, wanted to draw together both Mäori and Päkehä cultures to create an understanding of Mäori values of freshwater resources. Drawing on impressive research and his fantastic knowledge of freshwater fish species and ecology, he has managed to create a synthesis of Mäori understanding of freshwater fish, a historical perspective on the values and use of freshwater fish, and a sense of where we’re going with our relationship to freshwater fish species and our national identity. This includes some challenging truths about the state of our lowland lakes and rivers, which reflect the deep concerns the author held and which continue to be a major environmental issue today. Ikawai has many beautiful photos of our little-known native freshwater fish, as well as some fascinating images of the people and techniques involved in freshwater fisheries early in our history.

Kiwi: A natural history By Isabel Castro, Photography by Rod Morris New Holland, $29.99 Reviewed by Marina Skinner We call ourselves Kiwis yet we take for granted our national icon and don’t appreciate its unique place among the world’s birdlife. How many of us – apart from Forest & Bird members – know there are five kiwi species? Did they fly to New Zealand or were they here before the first cracks in Gondwana appeared? What exactly do they eat? Isabel Castro answers these and many other questions in simple, straightforward language designed for “family” reading. She succeeds in conveying fascinating information for kids 10 years and up without patronising adult readers. The reasons for the decline in kiwi numbers are covered, and work to reverse the decline, including pest control, Operation Nest Egg and Forest & Bird’s efforts. Most New Zealanders have never seen a kiwi in the wild so Rod Morris’s beautiful photos are an education in themselves. He shows all kiwi species in their natural habitats and individuals up close so we can see their tiny, useless wings and their hairy-looking feathers. Kiwi: A natural history has a place for all Kiwi families interested in better understanding why natural New Zealand is so special.

Organic Explorer New Zealand By Leonie Johnsen and Tony Ward Organic Explorer, $34.95 Reviewed by Marina Skinner This guidebook’s name understates the bounty of useful information within its covers. It’s not just a travel guide to organic eateries and suppliers, as I guessed from the title, though these are all detailed. It also lets the reader in on some of New Zealand’s most interesting places to stay (from budget to upmarket) and our best nature destinations. Among the entries on where to eat, shop, stay and experience are some interesting feature stories on a huge range of topics. Some are slightly advertorial but others are genuinely helpful, such as tramping for beginners, how to watch a night sky, what’s so wonderful about kauri and how to avoid spreading kauri dieback disease. Author Tony Ward says at the outset that this is a little different to other guidebooks. “… unlike them we don’t gloss over the sombre environmental realities of this beautiful country,” he says. What other guidebook has contributors including Green MP Kevin Hague and freshwater ecologist Mike Joy? Ward ends his book with an extended essay about environmental activism in New Zealand, which has everything a newcomer to the issues needs to know. Organic Explorer has one more thing going for it – there’s plenty about Forest & Bird and our conservation messages. Good on you, Tony Ward.

Winged Sentinels: Birds and climate change By Janice Wormworth and Cagan H Sekercioglu Cambridge University Press, $49.95 For a Forest & Bird discount, go to www.cambridge.org and enter the discount code WINGED11 Reviewed by Aalbert Rebergen In Kaikoura, around 1990, red-billed gull researchers made the first observation of the almost complete failure of the roughly 20,000 birds to raise chicks. Climate change was to blame because the krill-rich cold currents from the Southern

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Ocean became blanketed by warm water from the north. Surface-feeding seabirds such as red-billed gulls could not reach the food and could not feed their chicks. Many gulls ended up feeding on paddocks and the local dump rather than on inshore ocean water just to stay alive. Our endemic wrybill nests on the large South Island braided rivers. If the rivers flood during the breeding season, wrybills could lose their eggs and chicks and be unable to produce the next generation of birds. It has been suggested that in recent years flooding occurs more often during spring as a result of climate change. You won’t find these New Zealand cases in this international publication, but the authors give numerous examples of the impact of climate change, including challenges and unknowns, on birds around the world. The book raises some interesting questions that we can extrapolate to New Zealand birds. Take another endemic gull, the black-billed gull. Numbers in the South Island have gone down rapidly and significantly, and we usually look at predators or feeding issues during the breeding season. We haven’t even started to look at the conservation issues of black-billed gulls during the non-breeding season and what, if any, impact these issues have on the survival and breeding success of the gulls. Winged Sentinels is recommended for anyone with a serious interest in global bird conservation.

Collins Field Guides: Birds of New Zealand, Hawaii, Central and West Pacific By Ber van Perlo Collins, $69.99 Reviewed by Aalbert Rebergen This is a much-anticipated book for New Zealand and global bird watchers. The guide illustrates and describes 750 bird species on 95 colour plates. The format is clear, compact and easy to use. Opposite each colour plate is a page of text and a map. The introductory chapters do a good job of setting the scene, and I especially like the lists and illustrations of all endemic birds for each territory. Hawaii has 33 endemic bird species, Fiji has 28 and New Zealand has 65. This long list even excludes our breeding endemics (birds that nest only in New Zealand but are found outside New Zealand during the non-breeding season). Van Perlo lists 12 such breeding endemics for New Zealand: three penguins and nine shearwater/petrel/albatross species. I believe he has omitted some birds, including the longtailed cuckoo (long-tailed koel), shining cuckoo, banded dotterel and white-fronted tern, which are all New Zealand breeding endemics as far as I know. Our fairy tern may also be a (full) endemic species. The bird illustrations are small in size but the artist has captured the birds very well, and the author appears to have used the latest available bird distribution information for our region. He may have explained the reasons why he has chosen the geographical area covered in this guide, but I would have welcomed the inclusion of New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, as I can’t recall a similar bird guide for those territories. This is a great new addition to the world’s bird identification guides and I will take it on all future Pacific trips.

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A special offer for Forest & Bird readers Wild Encounters Our popular Going Places articles and other nature-themed travel stories from Forest & Bird magazine have been collected together in a handy book edition, Wild Encounters, published by Penguin. From the rocky shore to dense rainforests, from braided riverbeds to alpine meadows, Wild Encounters is a handy guide to the best place to experience New Zealand’s wildlife and wild places. Wild Encounters retails for $40, but Forest & Bird readers can purchase this book for just $35, including post and packaging, with $10 from each copy ordered going towards Forest & Bird’s important conservation work. That means you will receive this beautifully illustrated guide and get to help nature in New Zealand. Please send a cheque for $35 to: Wild Encounters Forest & Bird PO Box 631 Wellington

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Parting shot J

oy Anderton, of the Kapiti Coast near Wellington, photographed these welcome swallow youngsters making a loud case for the dragonfly in their parent’s beak. Joy and her partner bonded with the swallow family after a nest in the eaves of their house fell on to their deck. “One morning I discovered the entire nest smashed, upside down on the deck with two adult swallows darting frantically about the scene of the accident,” Joy says. “Five little pink naked bodies lay under the broken nest. Working quickly to gather up what I could of the nest, I placed the babies carefully in a small cardboard box and retreated to see if they would survive and whether the adults would be brave enough to feed their now ground-dwelling youngsters.” Happily three of the chicks fledged, and took their first nervous flight to the deck railing. “I took this photo through the closed deck door, managing to capture an adult, dragonfly in beak, in the act of delivering room service to two of the open mouths.” Joy took the family portrait with a Canon Powershot SX20IS. 68

| Forest & Bird

If you have a stunning photo that showcases New Zealand’s special native plants or animals, it could be the next Parting Shot. Each published Parting Shot photo will receive a GorillaPod and ballhead worth $209 from Camera & Camera. The GorillaPod SLR Zoom is a portable, packable heavy-duty tripod that keeps your camera equipment steady, no matter where you might be. It has flexible, wrappable legs that attach to your camera then wrap around virtually any surface.

Please send a low-res digital file and brief details about your photo to Marina Skinner at m.skinner@ forestandbird.org.nz Winners will be asked for higher-resolution files.

branch directory

Upper North Island Central Auckland Branch: Chairperson, Anne Fenn; Secretary, Isabel Still, Tel: (09) 528-3986. CentralAuckland.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Far North Branch: Chairperson, Vacant; Secretary, Michael Winch, Tel: (09) 401-7401. FarNorth.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Franklin Branch: Chairperson, Keith Gardner; Secretary, Vacant, Tel: (09) 238-9928. Franklin.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Hauraki Islands Branch: Chairperson, Brian Griffiths; Secretary, Vacant, Tel: (09) 372-7662. HaurakiIslands.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Hibiscus Coast Branch: Chairperson, Pauline Smith; Secretary, Katie Lucas, Tel: (09) 427-5186. HibiscusCoast.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Kaipara Branch: Chairperson, Bill McNatty; Secretary, Vacant; Tel: (09) 411-8314. Kaipara.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Mercury Bay Branch: Chairperson, Eve McCarthy; Secretary, Gus MacasseyPickard, Tel: (07) 866-2463. MercuryBay.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Mid North Branch: Chairperson, Warwick Massey; Secretary, Raewyn Morrison, Tel: (09) 422-9123. MidNorth.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz North Shore Branch: Chairperson, Richard Hursthouse; Secretary, Jocelyn Sanders, Tel: (09) 479-2107. NorthShore.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Northern Branch: Chairperson, Vacant; Secretary, Beverly Woods, Tel: 022 092 0721. Northern.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz South Auckland Branch: Chairperson, John Oates; Secretary, Lee O’Leary, Tel: (09) 948-3867. SouthAuckland.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Thames-Hauraki Branch: Chairperson, Peter Wood; Secretary, Hazel Genner, Tel: (07) 868-9057. ThamesHauraki.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Upper Coromandel Branch: Chairperson, Tina Morgan; Secretary, Vacant, Tel. (07) 866-6720. UpperCoromandel.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Waitakere Branch: Chairperson, Robert Woolf; Secretary, Jan Edmonds, Tel: (09) 833-6241. Waitakere.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Central North Island Eastern Bay of Plenty Branch: Chairperson, Mark Fort; Secretary, Lesley Swindells, Tel: (07) 307-0846. EasternBayofPlenty.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Gisborne Branch: Chairperson, Grant Vincent; Secretary, Wendy McLean, Tel: (06) 868-8236. Gisborne.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Rotorua Branch: Chairperson, Chair rotates among committee members; Secretaries, Margaret Dick, Tel: (07) 357-2024 or Delight Gartlein Tel: (07) 357-2575. Rotorua.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Hastings-Havelock North Branch: Chairperson, Ian Noble; Secretary, Jennifer Hartley, Tel: (06) 870-3477. HastingsHavelockNorth.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Horowhenua Branch: Chairperson, Debbie Waldin; Secretary, Belinda McLean, Tel: (06) 364-5573. Horowhenua.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Kapiti-Mana Branch: Chairperson, John McLachan; Secretary, Judy Driscoll, Tel: (04) 904-2049. KapitiMana.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Lower Hutt Branch: Chairperson, Russell Bell; Secretary, Vacant, Tel: (04) 380-6130. LowerHutt.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Manawatu Branch: Chairperson, Barbara Arnold; Secretary, Nina Mercer, Tel: (06) 355-0496. Manawatu.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Napier Branch: Chairperson, Neil Eagles; Secretary, Barbara McPherson, Tel: (06) 845-0425. Napier.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz North Taranaki Branch: Chairperson, Carolyn Brough; Secretary, Shirley Schofield, Tel: (06) 758-3680. NorthTaranaki.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Rangitikei Branch: Chairperson, Diana Stewart; Secretary, Dot Mattocks, Tel: (06) 327-8790. Rangitikei.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz South Taranaki Branch: Chairperson, Dave Digby; Secretary, Carol Digby, Tel: (06) 765 7482. SouthTaranaki.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Upper Hutt Branch: Chairperson, Barry Wards; Secretary, Fred Fowler, Tel: (04) 569-7187. UpperHutt.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Wairarapa Branch: Chairperson, Geoff Doring; Secretary, Peta Campbell, Tel: (06) 377 4882. Wairarapa.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Wanganui Branch: Chairperson, Esther Williams; Secretary, Ray Hutchison, Tel: (06) 345-2651. Wanganui.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Wellington Branch: Chairperson, Peter Hunt; Secretary, David Ellison, Tel: (04) 233-1010. Wellington.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

South Island Ashburton Branch: Chairperson, Edith Smith; Secretary, Val Clemens, Tel: (03) 308-5620. Ashburton.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Central Otago-Lakes Branch: Chairperson, Mark Ayre; Secretary, Denise Bruns, Tel: (03) 443-5462. CentralOtagoLakes.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Dunedin Branch: Chairperson, Janet Ledingham; Secretary, Mark Hanger, Tel: (03) 489-3233. Dunedin.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Golden Bay Branch: Chairperson, Jenny Treloar; Secretary, Jo-Anne Vaughan, Tel: (03) 525-6031. GoldenBay.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Kaikoura Branch: Chairperson, Ailsa Howard; Secretary, Barry Dunnett, Tel: (03) 319-5086. Kaikoura.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

South Waikato Branch: Chairperson, Anne Groos; Secretary, Jack Groos, Tel: (07) 886-7456. SouthWaikato.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Marlborough Branch: Chairperson, Andrew John; Secretary, Lynda Neame, Tel: (03) 578-2013. Marlborough.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Taupo Branch: Chairperson, Vacant; Secretary, Vacant, PO Box 1105, Taupo 3351.

Nelson-Tasman Branch: Chairperson, Craig Potton; Secretary, Gillian Pollock, Tel: (03) 526-6009. NelsonTasman.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Tauranga Branch: Chairperson, David Dowrick; Secretary, Pam Foster, Tel (07) 571-0974. Tauranga.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

North Canterbury Branch: Chairperson, Lesley Shand, Secretaries, Denise Ford, Tel: (03) 981-3805 and Eleanor Bissell, Tel: (03) 337-1209. NorthCanterbury.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Te Puke Branch: Chairperson Cathy Reid; Secretary, Bev Nairn, Tel: (07) 533-4247. TePuke.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Waihi Section: Chairperson, Ian Bradshaw; Secretary, Krishna Buckman, Tel: (07) 863-8455. Waihi.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Waikato Branch: Chairperson, Philip Hart; Secretary, Jim Macdiarmid, Tel: (07) 849-3438. Waikato.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Lower North Island Central Hawkes Bay Branch: Chairperson, Dan Elderkamp; Secretary, Barrie & Judith Bayliss, Tel: (06) 858-8765. CentralHawkesBay.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz

lodge accommodation

Arethusa Cottage An ideal place from which to explore the Far North. Near Pukenui in wetland reserve. 6 bunks, fully equipped kitchen, separate bathroom outside. For information and bookings, contact Vic Hensley, 8 Lamb Rd. Pukenui, R.D.4 Kaitaia. Tel: (09) 409 8870. Email vichenz@igrin.co.nz

Tai Haruru Lodge, Piha, West Auckland A seaside haven set in a large sheltered garden on the rugged West Coast, 38km on sealed roads from central Auckland. Close to store, bush reserves and tracks in the beautiful Waitakere Ranges. Sleeps up to 6 in 1 dble brm, 1 brm and lounge, Lounge has wood burner, dining area and kitchen. Self-contained unit has 4 single beds. Bring food, linen and fuel for fire and BBQ. Off peak rates apply. Booking: Jean and Peter King, 10 La Trobe Track, Karekare, Waitakere City. Tel: (09) 812 8064. Email: hop0018@slingshot.co.nz

Waiheke Island Cottage Located next to our 49ha Wildlife Reserve, 10 mins walk to Onetangi Beach, general stores etc. Sleeps up to 8 in two bedrooms. Lounge, well-equipped kitchen, separate toilet, bathroom, shower, laundry. Pillows, blankets provided. No pets. Ferries 35 minutes from Auckland. Enquiries with stamped addressed envelope to: Robin Griffiths, 125 The Strand, Onetangi, Waiheke Island. Tel: (09) 372-7662.

South Canterbury Branch: Chairperson, Vacant; Secretary, Margaret McPherson, Tel: (03) 686-1494. SouthCanterbury.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz South Otago Branch: Chairperson, Roy Johnstone; Secretary, Jane Young, Tel: (03) 415-8532. SouthOtago.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz Southland Branch: Chairperson, Craig Carson; Secretary, Jenny Campbell, Tel: (03) 248-6398. Southland.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz West Coast Branch: Chairperson, Kathy Gilbert; Secretary, Jane Marshall, WestCoast.Branch@forestandbird.org.nz For branch postal addresses, please see www.forestandbird.org.nz

William Hartree Memorial Lodge, Hawke’s Bay Situated 48km from Napier, 8km past Patoka on the Puketitiri Rd (sealed). The lodge is set amid a 14ha scenic reserve and close to many walks, eg: Kaweka Range, Balls Clearing, hot springs and museum. The lodge accommodates up to 10 people. It has a fully equipped kitchen including stove, refrigerator and microwave plus tile fire, hot showers. Supply your own pillows, linen, sleeping bags etc. For information and bookings please send a stamped addressed envelope to Mike and Linda Hay, 172 Guppy Road, Taradale, Napier 4112. Tel: (06) 8444651. Email: hayhouse@clear.net.nz.

Ruapehu lodge, Tongariro National Park The newly built lodge is 600 metres from Whakapapa Village. It sleeps 32 people – three bunkrooms sleep 4 each, one sleeps 6 and two upstairs sleeping areas sleep 14. Supply your own bedding and food. Bookings and inquiries to Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington. Tel: (04) 385-7374. Email: office@forestandbird.org.nz

Matiu/Somes Island, Wellington Harbour Joint venture accommodation by Lower Hutt Forest and Bird with DOC. A modern family home with kitchen, 3 bedrooms, large lounge and dining room, just 20 mins sailing by ferry

from the centre of Wellington or 10 mins from Days Bay. Ideal place to relax in beautiful surroundings, with accommodation for 8. Bring your own food and bedding and a torch. Smoking is banned everywhere on the island, including the house. Forest & Bird members get a 25% discount. For more information, visit www. doc.govt.nz and for bookings, contact the DOC Wellington Visitors Centre at wellingtonvc@doc. govt.nz, ph (04) 384-7770 or mail to PO Box 10420, The Terrace, Wellington 6143.

Mangarakau Swamp Field Centre, North West Nelson Borders Kahurangi National Park and Te Tai Tapu Marine Reserve. New, 10 bed lodge with two bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen. Sleeping bags, towels and food required. Contact Jo-Anne Vaughan – Golden Bay Branch Secretary for details: javn@xtra.co.nz or phone (03) 5256031.

Tautuku Forest Cabins, Otago State Highway 92, Southeast Otago. Situated on Forest and Bird’s 550ha Lenz Reserve 32km south of Owaka. A bush setting, and many lovely beaches nearby provide a wonderful base for exploring the Catlins. The cottage, the cabin and an A-frame sleep 10, 4 and 2 respectively. No animals. For information and rates please send a stamped addressed envelope to the caretaker: Diana Noonan, Mirren St, Papatowai, Owaka, RD2. Tel: (03) 415-8024, fax (03) 415-8244. Email: diana-keith@yrless.co.nz

With each of our stores stocking over 7500 products from 150 different suppliers, we are able to offer the best performers in each category. We present cutting edge technology from leading international manufacturers such as Arcâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;teryx, Berghaus, Black Diamond, Exped, Osprey, Outdoor Research and The North Face. Every item has undergone a selection process during which the product has proven itself to be a top contender in its category.

Exped SynMat UL 7 Exped Ultralight fabrics are extremely lightweight yet robust. The abrasion resistance is high, but puncture resistance is lower than with Exped's standard fabric. High frequency welded seams for durability FlatValve Technology easy inflation and deflation valves Synthetic filling is internally laminated to both top and bottom of the mat to prevent any loss of loft Spacer baffles welded between the synthetic filled chambers prevent cold spots and provide a stable sleeping surface Fabric grommets to attach a pillow or the included multifunction stuffsack (which feature double cords on the inside to allow attachment to the grommets) Repair kit with adhesive and fabric patches included

Length 163cm (Small), 183cm (Medium) Width 50cm Thickness 7cm Rolled Size 23cm x 9cm (Small), 24cm x 9.5cm (Medium) Fill 60 g/mÂ˛ Texpedloft Microfibre Average Weight mat/packsack and mat combined: 440g/454g (Small), 470g/485g (Medium) Relative Warmth (R Value) 3.5 (0.62m2.kelvins/watt) Warranty for all Exped UL products is 2 years From $139 RRP (Small)

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