Forest & Bird Magazine 356 May 2015 by Forest & Bird

ISSUE 356 â&#x20AC;¢ MAY 2015 www.forestandbird.org.nz

UNDER THREAT SAVING OUR RIVERS

PLUS

A 50-year passion

Welcome home weka

Discovering giant snails

Forest & Bird

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ISSUE 356

• May 2015

www.forestandbird.org.nz

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Contents 2 Editorial

Our partners

4 Letters

Forest & Bird-exclusive Kermadec Island voyage, Kākāpō Recovery Programme update

5 50 years ago

In the field

6 From the Chief Executive

8 Conservation news

Save the RMA, Seabed mining, Nelson nature, Whitehead release, 1080 demo day, Battle for Our Birds, Return of the weka.

Cover story

Sea birds

Saving our rivers and lakes, Learning about the landscape, The risk of intensive dairying, Ruataniwha Dam decision

Hutton’s shearwater: A 50-year passion Forest & Bird would like to thank Honda New Zealand for their ongoing support

Predator-free New Zealand

A climate for change

Going places

Community conservation

Our people

Kiwi Conservation Club

Our lodges

Biodiversity threats

Moutohorā Island

Worrying about wasps COVER SHOT Rakaia River in Timaru by Rob Suisted – www.naturespic.com

Fairy prion relocation

Forest & Bird AGM

Paremata Flats restoration, Pāteke release

David Bowden, Amelia Geary, John Groom

EDITOR

Caroline Wood c.wood@forestandbird.org.nz MAGAZINE ENQUIRIES AND LETTERS

Annual gathering

E editor@forestandbird.org.nz ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER

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

Ruapehu Lodge

51 Book reviews

Garden bird survey

Karen Condon T 0275 420 338 E mack.cons@xtra.co.nz

Projects

Discovering giant snails at Lake Papaitonga

Galapagos of the Antarctic – Wild Islands, South of New Zealand; Zealandia – Our continent revealed; New Zealand Native Ground Cover Plants; Tramping – A New Zealand History

Membership & Circulation T 0800 200 064 E membership@forestandbird.org.nz

Amazing facts

PRINTING:

Printlink FOR ALL ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES:

Who takes top spot?

Fabulous fungi

Parting shot

Kea feathers by Jean Fleming

editorial

Nature makes us smile

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. (Founded 1923)

Have you noticed that being out in nature makes people smile? A few weeks ago a friend emailed me photographs of three generations of his family walking the Tongariro Crossing: smiles all round. Walking by a marine reserve a few months ago strangers were cheerily greeting each other and exchanging friendly smiles. Many studies have found that being in nature reduces stress and anxiety and can create stronger social ties among groups and wellbeing in individuals. One recent university report concluded that spending two to three days out in nature increased creativity and imagination. In Japan shinrin-yoku (‘forest bathing’ or leisurely walk in the forest) is a well understood way to reduce stress. In New Zealand perhaps we could rename it ‘bush bathing’? Perhaps it’s the good vibes people get from being around nature that also contributes to the passion and activism that erupts when a treasured wilderness, landform or species is threatened. A recent example was the community protest to save Kauri trees being threatened with felling in an Auckland suburb. Clearly the prospect of losing something of value brings out the fighting spirit in many of us. Not everyone has the time or inclination to get involved in activism. It’s particularly hard for people with families, full-time jobs or other commitments to find the time (and energy) to fight for nature. That’s why Forest & Bird and other community conservation organisations are of such great value – we can channel the resources of thousands of members into battles that no one person can win. We can’t take this right to protest for granted. Recent government proposals to further limit the right of citizens to participate in resource consent processes are a threat to how nature is protected in our communities. The proposals would limit the notification of consent applications and limit the basis for submissions, tipping the balance even further in favour of applicants. Forest & Bird is not opposed to changes to the Resource Management Act that reduce bureaucracy or simplify processes, but we are opposed to socalled ‘reforms’ that limit participation and give developers and councils near immunity from having their plans challenged. People love nature and want a say in how it’s protected in their communities. Removing or limiting people’s right to participate in decisions about the future of their communities need to be resisted.

Registered Office at Level 1, 90 Ghuznee Street, Wellington.

Ka kite anō

Andrew Cutler Forest & Bird President

Forest & Bird AGM The 2015 Annual General Meeting and Council meeting will be on 27-28 June at the Comfort Hotel, 213 Cuba St, Wellington. For more information see p28 and check out the full programme at www.forestandbird.org.nz/agm2015

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PATRON

His Excellency Lieutenant General the Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Hōne McGregor PRESIDENT

Andrew Cutler TREASURER

Graham Bellamy BOARD MEMBERS

Brent Barrett, Lindsey Britton, Tony Dunlop, Kate Graeme, Mark Hanger, Ines Stager, Jon Wenham CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS

Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS:

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

Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No CC26943.

Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird.

Forest & Bird is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper made from FSC® certified wood fibre and pulp sourced from responsibly managed forests. Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine. ISSN 0015-7384. Copyright. All rights reserved.

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letters Forest & Bird welcomes your feedback on conservation topics. Please send letters up to 200 words, with your 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 next edition will win a copy of Tramping – A New Zealand History by Shaun Barnett and Chris Maclean (Potton Publishing $69.99). Please send letters to Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140, or e-mail editor@forestandbird.org.nz by 1 July.

Fracking fracas New York State banned fracking in January on the strength of more than 400 science-based studies. Since then Tasmania has renewed their fracking ban for another five years to protect a ‘reputation for producing fresh, premium and safe produce’. These are just the latest of a long line of regions and countries that have banned the extreme and unconventional mining technique called hydraulic fracturing (or fracking). It is also accepted that many of the hazardous consequences of fracking come from activities associated with it, rather than the fracturing event itself. These include polluted ground water, air soil, increased seismic activity and adverse health effects. Tom O’Donnell [February letters ‘In defence of fracking’] is not up to date with New Zealand facts regarding fracking because there are at least two sites in Taranaki -one fracked and the other a fracking-waste dump where groundwater is officially recorded as contaminated. I can provide links to this information, as denial in New Zealand regarding the known dangers of hydraulic fracturing is very strong.

real elephants in the room are de-grow, decentralise and democratise. Basic physics governs that we cannot keep growing within a finite system, even though economists, industries and governments want us to believe otherwise. Our addiction to growth, driven by apathy, greed and ignorance, is what’s brought us to the current crises. The March 2015 New Internationalist explained the problem of renewable energy well: “There is little point installing a solar-powered radio in a diesel-fuelled SUV.” It is technically feasible for everyone to have enough energy for a good quality of life, using only existing renewable technology. But it will only be possible if the wealthy minority stops over-consuming and allows others to come up to a fair and sustainable level. For the under-privileged majority, renewable energy enables a new, decentralised, democratic energy system that meets the needs of the many rather than providing profits to the few. Nuclear power and geo-engineering will not. Read more at http:// newint.org/ Catherine Cheung, Taranaki

Jean Kahui, Waikanae With reference to Tom O’Donnell’s ‘In defence of fracking’ letter, fracking should not be seen as a single activity, it is one of several steps in the process to recover oil and gas. Many contaminations occurred even before the fracking process began. UK experts are warning of the process and the unknown long-term reactions of the toxic chemicals used. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s Report on Oil and Gas Drilling, 2014, stated: “The overall lack of systematic monitoring programmes that require ... testing for the lifetime of the well (and beyond)... is disappointing.” Currently documented pollutions here and overseas deliver enough evidence about the high risk of drilling for oil and gas with and without fracking. Walter Breustedt, Havelock North

The real elephants in the room I agree with Allan Brown (February letters ‘Elephants in the room’) that renewable energy and sound environmental stewardship are not the ultimate solution for global warming. But I strongly disagree that nuclear power is the only viable solution as a replacement for fossil fuel. The

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Cats, rats and fantails In reference to David Mudge’s superb photo of a rat attacking a nesting fantail [February 2015 issue], this was one of thousands taken with automatic cameras to record the survival of more than 400 fantail nests over five years. His conclusion? “Fantail breeding success is significantly greater near houses where there are cats – especially when rat numbers are high.” I have noticed this in our garden. Yes, our cat catches fantails – three in the past nine years but in the same time it caught 33 rats and 56 mice. That is in addition to the rodents I trap, and those poisoned at a permanent bait station 80m away. Our previous cat’s kills were similar: five fantails in 17 years, plus 63 rats and 221 mice. Both cats, of course, have been allowed out at night. Keeping cats in at night may make sense overseas, where native small mammals are at risk, or at places in New Zealand where bats or kiwi outnumber rodents. But unexpected results can follow the removal of a top predator. Dr John Flux, Lower Hutt

Pitpat error I have finally finished reading the February 2015 Forest & Bird magazine from cover to cover. I really enjoyed reading it but just wanted to point out a factual error I noticed in one of the articles. In the Going Places article ‘Chasing Grey Ghosts’ about a trip into the Cobb Valley near Nelson, it says: “And Tim, our expedition botanist, found a threatened Pittosporum patulum (‘pitpat’) endemic to the region.” Unfortunately this is not correct, as P. patulum is not endemic to the Nelson region, but is distributed more widely from Nelson down to the Lake Hawea-Lake Ohau area. See the NZPCN website for a distribution map http:// www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=88 P. patulum is a nationally endangered species but I suspect few people will have heard of it. Unfortunately New Zealand’s threatened native plants don’t tend to receive the same amount of attention or recognition as our threatened fauna, so it would be great if the Forest & Bird magazine could help raise the profile and knowledge of our special flora even more.

WIN A BOOK Forest & Bird is giving away three copies of Galapagos of the Antarctic – Wild Islands South of New Zealand by Rodney Russ & Aleks Terauds (Heritage Expeditions $72). To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@ forestandbird.org.nz Please put Galapagos 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 Galapagos draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close on July 3.

Melissa Hutchison, Christchurch We certainly do intend to continue to raise the profile and knowledge of our threatened native plants in the magazine. Our apologies for the error, thank you for bringing it to my attention – Editor.

A genuine grey ghost Having read your article ‘Chasing Grey Ghosts’, I must try to describe an experience I had with the South Island grey ghost, yes a genuine sighting many years ago – 11 January 1972 at 9.30am in the morning to be precise. My cousin JW Harding and I had been on a tramp to Boulder Lake in Kahurangi National Park. We became aware of a particularly melodious tūī. Looking up, from my angle, I could only see long legs and a dark grey bird, I couldn’t see its head. “That’s no tūī, I said.” From Jim’s angle he could see the orange wattles. I had used up all my photographic film so we just listened spellbound to its magnificent song. No wonder it has the alternative name of ‘organ’, add flute

50 years ago

The winners of Professor Penguin: Discovery and Adventure with Penguins by Lloyd Spencer Davis are: Ian McLean (Auckland), Erica Newport (Nelson) and Michael Stace (Kapiti Coast). Your books will be posted. to that as well! It was sheer magic. I notified DOC when we returned to Nelson, they sent a team, but they found nothing. So the record became an ‘unconfirmed sighting’. But for my cousin and I, we have no doubt whatsoever. Ian Townsend, Levin Ian is the winner of Buller’s Birds of New Zealand by Geoff Norman

Erosion in New Zealand Considered the World’s Worst Professor Robert Dils, a leading United States conservation expert, is reported to have said at Rotorua that by world standards New Zealand erosion was probably the most rapid and extensive that could be found on a large scale anywhere. Our steep hillsides are unusually susceptible to erosion. The causes of the disastrous state of many of them today are fairly well known, and not the least of those causes is the hordes of noxious animals let loose by those who could not envisage the terrible consequences of their actions. Doubtless they acted in ignorance, but today the results of having these animals browsing in the bush and on our mountain slopes is apparent to anyone with eyes to see and the honesty to admit. Extracted from Forest & Bird Magazine, May 1965

Forest & Bird

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From the Chief Executive HŌNE MCGREGOR

Making a stand for nature I was in Canterbury recently to see some of the great work Forest & Bird branches are doing to protect our native heritage. With this issue of the magazine highlighting freshwater, it was also an opportunity to see a landscape where water is at the heart of many critical conservation debates. If you want to see beautiful high country lakes, go to Canterbury. If you want to see how large scale irrigation decimates the last remnants of native flora and fauna, and threatens river health by extracting too much water, Canterbury is a good place to go. It’s also the preferred destination if you want to see how dairy conversions on a huge scale threaten the quality of ground water and rivers. It makes me proud to be part of Forest & Bird when I see the work our branches and staff are doing there to make sure nature’s voice is still heard above the din of development. With members of our Ashburton branch, I saw the beautiful high country Ashburton Lakes where our volunteers are helping with revegetation work. They are also leading efforts at Harris Scientific Reserve to revegetate an area surrounded by one of the last stands of dryland kānuka in Canterbury. Kānuka once covered large areas of the Canterbury Plains. Today less than one percent of the plains is covered in native vegetation. The kānuka was full of birdlife – it really was an oasis in a desert. I get a shock every time I see how few native animals and plants are visible on the plains. Now even the familiar tawny colours of the dryland landscape are disappearing as irrigation turns everything a vivid green, a colour I’m used to seeing elsewhere in New Zealand but not on the plains. One of the big problems with the massive pivot

irrigators is they require the total clearance of everything on the land except pasture. The hedges, the shelter belts, the little patches of scrub and bush that used to give nature a toehold are all disappearing. To the south in the Mackenzie Basin, where South Canterbury meets North Otago, Forest & Bird has been working hard with other organisations to ensure the onslaught of irrigation and dairy conversions doesn’t destroy one of our iconic and most loved landscapes. We’re working with locals and other organisations to save 100,000 hectares of the tussock lands bordered by lakes and the snowcovered peaks of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. Our branches and staff are making a stand for nature as the pressure grows for diverting more and more water from rivers for irrigation. If flows fall below certain levels, water quality drops and life in and around the rivers suffers. These issues don’t apply to Canterbury alone. Unfettered dairy conversions are a national issue and the introduction of large scale irrigation schemes is being promoted elsewhere too. In Hawke’s Bay, local branches and our staff are working together to oppose the planned Ruataniwha water storage lake because of the pollution intensive agriculture would do to the Tukituki catchment. Forest & Bird believes agricultural development should work with nature, rather than against it. We will continue to be nature’s champion for the sake of our native species and for New Zealanders who want clean rivers and lakes for swimming, boating, fishing and for simply enjoying being in nature. *Saving New Zealand’s freshwater: See P14

Hōne at Lake Heron/Oturoto with Ashburton Branch member Allan Sinclair. 6

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conservation

news

Save the RMA Reforms to the Resource Management Act (RMA) are set to go through parliament later this year and Forest & Bird wants to make sure you’re informed. Claire Browning, our advocate for the RMA has written a ‘call to action’ blog about what’s been happening, you can read more about it at blog.forestandbird.org.nz.

Proposed reforms What will Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith do with his long-awaited review of the RMA? Here’s where Forest & Bird stands on the issue: n Environmental outcomes must not be any further compromised. n Changes seeking to speed up resource management decision-making must not result in lower quality decision-making. n Changes to the Act’s Part 2 (which lists matters of national importance) must not proceed. We’re seriously concerned with a number of changes proposed. n Private property rights do not need to be strengthened: there should be no change in the Act. Proposals to give more explicit recognition to private property rights are of concern. n We all rely on good processes that allow evidence to be tested and people and communities to be heard. n There should be no change to Environment Court appeals and powers. n More guidance for local and regional authorities (eg through National Policy Statements) is welcome. n Ministerial or political influence on decision-making and decision-makers is not consistent with good outcomes.

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Stony coral.

Chatham Rise mining latest A decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to refuse an application to mine phosphate from the seabed on the Chatham Rise has led to industry pressure for legislative controls to be loosened. Chatham Rock Phosphate has said it expects to resubmit a mining application after seeking clarification from the EPA on some matters following its February decision. It also wants changes to the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act (EEZ Act). Another mining company, Trans-Tasman Resources, has also indicated it may reapply after its application to mine iron sands off the South Taranaki Coast was declined last year. Mining lobby group Straterra argued in March for a raft of amendments to the EEZ Act and EPA processes to make it easier for seabed mining proposals to get the green light. Environment Minister Nick Smith has said the government will be “progressing amendments to make the legislation more practical and workable”. Chatham Rise is a large underwater plateau that stretches east of the South Island to the Chatham Islands. Along 400 kilometres of the plateau’s crest, conditions are ideal for the growth of phosphate. The EPA found the Chatham Rock proposal would have damaged the seabed environment, which includes areas of protected stony corals. Forest & Bird also argued it could threaten feeding grounds on the Chatham Rise for five threatened seabird species in the nationally critical category. These include the Chatham Island taiko, of which there are only about 20 breeding pairs. The EPA accepted arguments by Forest & Bird’s General Counsel Legal Peter Anderson and other submitters that the application should be refused because of the significant environmental damage the mining would cause and the company’s inability to mitigate that damage. Forest & Bird will continue to press the government to maintain its stated aim of only permitting sustainable development in the EEZ – and for the EPA to continue taking a precautionary approach.

Kevin Hackwell, Forest & Bird’s Campaigns and Advocacy Manager, said: “This latest decision sends a clear message to the marine mining industry that they need to obtain better information about the effects of their activities, particularly where they involve brand new ideas that have never been tried anywhere before.”

Nelson nature Forest & Bird welcomes Nelson City Council’s decision to include Nelson Nature in its Long Term Plan and make the commitment to invest in biodiversity in the region. The council reviewed its actions on biodiversity and concluded it was not fulfilling its obligations to protect biodiversity under the requirements of the Resource Management Act. It approached the Nelson Biodiversity Forum (Forest & Bird is a founding member) and agreed a 10-point plan that aims to protect and enhance biodiversity across the boundaries of the city council. Our Nelson branch is pleased the plan is well informed with the latest ecological knowledge, is forward thinking and builds on the work undertaken by community groups like Forest & Bird, as well as council and private initiatives. If you want to know more detail about Nelson Nature please see: http://nelson.govt.nz/environment/ biodiversity-2/nelson-nature/

Photo: David Brooks

Whitehead release at Ark in the Park As Forest & Bird magazine went to print, plans were being drawn up for the release of a large number of whitehead at Ark in the Park in late May. Another 100 birds will be coming from Tiritiri Matangi Island as part of the Ark in the Park’s ongoing whitehead/pōpokotea recovery programme. The whitehead will be released at the Waitakere Reservoir in the centre of the sanctuary. Ark in the Park is a partnership between Forest & Bird and Auckland Council, supported by Te Kawerau a Maki. Its aim is to create an open sanctuary in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and return many of the species that once were found in this area.

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conservation

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1080 demonstration day Forest & Bird believes 1080 is a safe and effective way to control predators. Forest & Bird recently co-hosted an aerial 1080 demonstration day. The aim was to show how modern technology and half a century of experience have made 1080 safer and more effective than ever in saving our native wildlife from extinction. This was not always Forest & Bird’s position, as Kevin Hackwell told the assembled guests at the demonstration day at Battle Hill, north of Wellington, in March. In the 1970s Forest & Bird was ambivalent about the use of 1080 and at one stage called for a moratorium on its use. At that time 1080 was being applied at the rate of up to 40 kilograms a hectare – this has now fallen to between 1.5 and three kilograms a hectare. The carrot baits being used in the 1970s often fragmented into small pieces and attracted some native birds, which were poisoned. Today the green cereal baits in use generally do not appeal to birds. Kevin Hackwell, Group Manager Campaigns and Advocacy, said Forest & Bird now strongly supports the use of 1080 with the eventual goal of creating a predator-free New Zealand. Eliminating introduced predators is the best bet for saving our native wildlife and forests, he told the demo day audience, which included MPs, government and council representatives, academics, local branch members and media. He said: “It will be great when we don’t have to kill introduced predators because they are no longer here.”

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The demonstration, which involved an aerial drop by helicopter of cereal baits, was co-hosted by Ospri. Ospri is a government agency that runs the TBfree programme to eliminate bovine tuberculosis through control of pest animals, mainly possums. About 10 to 20 percent of TBfree’s pest control work involves the aerial application of 1080. During the demo, baits were dropped at a rate of 1.5 kg a hectare – equivalent to four baits in the area of a tennis court. Flags were inserted in the ground next to the baits to show how few were needed for effective pest control. GPS and highly specialised distribution equipment ensured baits were dropped with precision in the targeted area. In 1964, Forest & Bird made history by successfully eradicating Norway rats from Maria Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The size of islands where introduced predators have been eliminated has increased tenfold each decade since 1960. Kevin Hackwell says this makes eliminating introduced predators from Stewart Island by 2020 a realistic goal. n David Brooks 1 Helicopter takes off with 1080 ready to demonstrate aerial

drop. Photo: David Brooks

2 Kevin Hackwell marks bait with a blue flag to show how few

are needed for effective pest control. Photo: David Brooks

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The Battle for Our

Birds N

Rock wren. Photo: David Hallett

ative birds have benefited from the Department of Conservation’s recent 1080 pest control programme, as the latest field monitoring results indicate. The nationally endangered rock wren is one of several native species to benefit from the large-scale drop across significant areas of South Island beech forest last summer. Rock wren nesting success in the Kahurangi aerial 1080 area was 85 percent compared to 30 percent in nearby areas without pest control, said Department of Conservation deputy director Mike Slater. “Early results show the nesting success of rock wren, mōhua, robin and riflemen was significantly higher in areas treated with aerial 1080 than those without,” he said. Surveys showed there were 66 rock wrens in the area after the 1080 drop, compared with 49 before. Over the last eight months DOC has treated more than 600,000 hectares of priority conservation areas using aerial 1080 operations to control rats, possums and stoats as part of its coordinated Battle for Our Birds programme prompted by a once-in-15-year beech seeding event. Tracking rates indicate rats and stoats were knocked down to undetectable or very low levels at most sites, giving much needed protection to vulnerable native birds and bats. “Rat levels crashed in most areas and tracking indicates we’ve also knocked back the stoat plague that often follows these beech mast events. Whio/blue duck and bats also look to have benefited, although we don’t yet have the final results from these monitoring programmes,” Mr Slater said. Some native birds had also been lost to 1080 through the pest control operations, including four out of 48 kea tracked at sites in South Westland, Kahurangi National Park, Arthur’s Pass National Park and at Lake Rotoiti. “It’s unfortunate to lose any kea but without protection most kea chicks are killed by stoats, so the overall benefits of these operations outweigh individual losses,” he added. DOC is planning to carry out aerial 1080 pest control over about 250,000 hectares this year – about 50,000 hectares more than normal. It is not expecting another beech mast but the Battle for our Birds campaign continues.

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conservation

news

Return of the weka Local children headed into the bush to help release 12 weka at Aongatete. It was the culmination of six years’ hard work, as Kimberley Collins reports. Twelve North Island weka have been successfully released in Aongatete after a carefully coordinated removal operation. Forest & Bird volunteers and Department of Conservation staff captured the cheeky flightless birds over three days in Opotiki, Eastern Bay of Plenty. They were banded and brought in cardboard boxes to Tauranga for an overnight stop before being driven north to Aongatete, in the Kaimai Mamuka Forest Park. From there, a group of Matahui School students carried their precious boxes of cargo to a specially built holding aviary. “Weka have an amazing homing ability so it is necessary to keep them on site for a time to ‘fix’ them on their new home,” explains project volunteer Ann Graeme. The project is the culmination of six years of pest control by about 100 volunteers from Bring Back the Birds Aongatete, an umbrella group of Forest & Bird, the Aongatete Forest Restoration Trust and Katikati Rotary. “Six times a year, the car park will fill up and everyone will take their bucket of bait into the forest. Volunteers manage to cover enormous distances,” says Ann Graeme. One of these volunteers is Barbara McGillivray, pictured below, who is part of a group that monitors stoat lines around the edges of this protected forest area.

Project coordinator Kate Graeme

Jack Hutchinson carries a weka to its new home

“We call ourselves the stoat busters. We walk a ring around the perimeter of the pest control area to check and reset stoat traps. It’s a huge area to cover but thanks to a great team we tackle the job in manageable bits.” Weka were once found all over the North Island. By the 1980s the remaining Gisborne population was almost extinct. Just 200 birds survived in the ranges. Following DOC pest control, the tiny population spread east to Opotiki, where they now thrive. It was these wekas that were released at Aongatete Forest Park. The iconic flightless birds have a charismatic and outgoing nature and are ideal ambassadors for the Aongatete project, says Ann Graeme. “We chose weka because they’re the sort of bird you can see when you go into a forest, they are so friendly. This is an area much visited by people, so it’s lovely to have something they might actually interact with,” she added. Forest & Bird board member Kate Graeme was the Weka translocation project coordinator, working with DOC and iwi to secure permission to move the birds.

Bringing back the birds Nine years of pest control has done great things for the birdlife in Aongatete. Robins, tomtits, fantails and, recently, riflemen have grown in numbers and can often be seen flitting through the understory. “We were delighted to find that rifleman had returned to the area. With pest numbers down, a small surviving pocket of these tiny birds were able to bounce back and their numbers are now increasing,” explains Ann Graeme.

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SAVING OUR FRESHWATER

Our freshwater ecosystems are under threat. Jo Priestley visits the Canterbury frontline and talks to members involved in fighting to protect rivers and lakes in their region.

riving from Christchurch to Ashburton I was struck by the sheer number of cows and irrigators all solidly packed into paddocks. The long bridges and sprawling rivers reminded me of being told as a youngster to hold my breath as we crossed the longest of them. As I turned inland from Ashburton towards Mt Somers, I again held my breath as I observed bone dry riverbeds and creeks, one after the other. Over the next few days I learned about the extent of troubles facing our rivers and lakes – irrigation, intensive farming, nutrient run-off, pollution, water extraction and dams. It left me wondering what powers ordinary people have to stop development affecting our rivers. Could individuals influence government policy and save beautiful rivers like this – and the plants and birds they support? During my three-day visit Forest & Bird members Ines Stäger, Peter Howden, John Waugh and Fraser Ross guided me around the region, spoke about their love of the environment and their concerns for its future. From them I learned about the role of glaciers in forming alpine lakes and shaping the land. I learned to look beyond the ‘picture perfect’ views and gain an understanding and appreciation of what I was actually seeing. I heard about the tenuous relationship between our freshwater systems, biodiversity, irrigation and farming. Talking to farmers I also gained an understanding of the importance of irrigation to the viability of dairy farms, and

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their genuine desire to find a workable solution to irrigation and freshwater sustainability. Ines Stäger, who sits on Forest & Bird’s Board and is a member of the Ashburton branch committee, said: “While Jo’s trip focused on the Canterbury region and its problems, it’s important to understand other parts of New Zealand are also grappling with freshwater issues and the effect intensive farming is having. It’s polluting our waterways. Freshwater quality is a major issue for all Kiwis, not just Cantabrians.” One highlight of my visit was seeing the Rangitata, one of the globally rare and ecologically significant braided river systems in New Zealand. A braided river flows in multiple mobile channels across a gravel floodplain carrying a high sediment load. The channels repeatedly branch and rejoin creating an intertwining pattern of low islands and shallow bars. Their wide shingle beds, numerous snaking water channels and highly variable flows provide habitat for several of New Zealand’s endangered braided river specialists including the wrybill, black stilts, South Island pied oystercatchers and the black-fronted tern. Braided rivers in Canterbury account for about 60 percent of the braided river habitat of New Zealand and parts of three of them are protected through the Resource Management Act (RMA) and water conservation orders (WCOs) safeguarding their outstanding

COVER STORY

1 recreational or ecological values. Human impacts include deforestation, dams, water extraction, gravel extraction and farming on river terraces (see p18). The planting of willows and other weeds has changed the dynamics of the waterways. Wetlands linked to braided rivers are also under threat from intensive dairying. Cattle and deer can also severely deplete wetland vegetation and turn these sensitive areas into a messy bog.

Pressure on existing legal protections WCOs were introduced in 1981 following a public outcry against plans in the 1970s to develop hydroelectric dams on almost every large river in New Zealand. WCOs are designed to protect our wild rivers and lakes against development pressures and declining water quality. Generally WCOs only cover the main body of water and tributaries that flow into it. That means the rest of the catchment, including rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, wetlands, aquifiers and geothermal water can be left vulnerable. Protecting whole catchments as opposed to individual rivers is high on Forest & Bird’s wish list but Ines Stäger says the Society is currently focused on fighting to keep in place the existing level of legal protections. She said: “It’s a constant battle to stay on top of what’s going on and proposed legislation changes and how they may affect the environment. As a Society and as member groups we do what we can to protect the legislation we have in place, and halt the loss of more biodiversity.” Parts of some Canterbury rivers are even more vulnerable due to the introduction of the Environment Canterbury Act (ECan) 2010, which made it easier for developers

to challenge water conservation orders and have them reviewed. They can apply to change the conditions of resource consent for water extraction – and there is no right of appeal to the Environment Court. The braided Rakaia river in northern Canterbury was one of the first in New Zealand to be protected by a WCO. But it is constantly under threat from water extraction for hydroelectricity and farming, says Jen Miller, Forest & Bird’s Southern Regional Manager. She said: “The loss of democracy and the loss of our right to appeal to the Environment Court are concerning. It’s better to have a slower but good decision than a quick but bad decision. Now there is no right of appeal – there is nothing.” After spending three days seeing firsthand the issues facing Canterbury and the work Forest & Bird volunteers and staff are doing to protect our rivers, lakes and wetlands, it’s clear ordinary people can and do make a huge difference. It is also clear there is still much more to do. 1 The Rakaia’s braided river

channels pass over the Canterbury plains, with a patchwork mosiac of irrigated farmland and crops either side. Photo: Rob Suisted

2 Forest & Bird Board member

Ines Stäger.

Find out about the highlights of Jo’s trip, see overleaf Forest & Bird

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COVER STORY

LEARNING ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE

Jo Priestley describes some highlights from her recent visit to Forest & Bird projects in the Ashburton Lakes and wider Canterbury region.

n area of diverse wetlands and dazzling silver streams, Ō Tū Wharekai seemed a good place to begin our journey from the mountains to the sea. The upper Rangitata River and Ashburton Lakes area/Ō Tū Wharekai has been called one of the best examples of an inter-montane system remaining in New Zealand. High country tussock draws the eye inward to the stunning Southern Alps, softened and rounded in places by glaciers 10,000 years ago at the end of the last glacial period. But the untouched beauty of the alpine riverscape is starting to show hints of human intervention with artificially bright green river terracing breaking up the russet brown tussock. During the day we took in Lake Emma and Lake

Roundabout, Lake Clearwater, and Maori Lakes. We also stopped at the historic buildings at Hakatere corner, which includes one of mid-Canterbury’s oldest buildings, the Stone Cottage constructed in 1862. The Department of Conservation has put together a fabulous interpretation room on the old shearers’ quarters, well worth a read to learn more about the history of the area and the buildings themselves. Wetlands are often described as swamps or bogs, but they provide incredible habitat, drainage and are nature’s water purifying system. Forest & Bird is working to ensure our remaining significant wetlands are protected – either by councils, or with RAMSAR status (the international treaty that protects wetlands of international importance).

Kettle holes

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The Ashburton Lakes are an important site for ‘kettle holes’ (ephemeral or part-time wetlands) which support rare and endangered vegetation such as the pygmy forget-me-not. Kettle holes were formed by blocks of ice separated from the main glacier, partially buried in sediment. When the blocks melted, it created a depression that filled with water to become either a kettle hole or a kettle hole lake. Plants in these kettle holes look like miniature gardens, landscaped and designed with an eye for detail, texture and colour. Getting up close is the best way to gaze at this amazing native carpet of tiny mosses, ferns, flowers and grasses. Feeling like Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole, I half expected to see miniature chairs and tables, alongside the wonderful miniature forest.

Birdlife We were lucky enough to see an Australasian crested grebe while at Lake Roundabout. Forest & Bird member Peter Howden tells me they’re native, nationally threatened with an estimated 678 birds in existence in New Zealand. They are only found in the South Island, where they inhabit many of the clear sub-alpine lakes east of the Southern Alps. “They live on lakes but require vegetation along the lake margins for nesting. They feed on small fish, insects and water weeds,” says Peter. Our group was also delighted to come across a cheeky little banded dotterel near the Maori Lakes. The single bird became 10 before morphing into hundreds of birds darting around a paddock, a wonderful sight to see. Nationally vulnerable wrybills also make their home in the Canterbury region. Their name derives from its unusual beak which twists to the right. Our braided river systems are extremely important to wrybills as that’s where they nest and feed. Damming rivers for hydro development and reduction of river flows for irrigation reduces the ‘braids’ of the river leaving the birds vulnerable to predators. Low river flows also reduces the wrybills’ food source. Sadly, it was the wrong time of year for me to see the endangered black-billed gull at the foot of the Ashburton River near the town bridge, where they nested over spring.

5 I’ve been coming here for the past 40 years, helping with weeding and maintenance,” he explains.. Conways Bush is a nationally significant area, as it contains the largest population of a plant species that is restricted to the Geraldine area. This is the Melicytus “Waihi”, a local shrub which grows up to two metres in height and has small, spindly branches. It is still awaiting confirmation as a separate species. 1 Peter Howden at Lake Roundabout. Photo: Jo Priestley 2 Historic building at Harakeke Corner. Photo: Jo Priestley 3 Wrybill. Photo: Steve Attwood 4 Whiteywood shrub (Melicytus “Waihi”). Photo: Jo Priestley 5 Forest & Bird members (from left) Fraser Ross, Marg

McPherson, Ines Stäger and Malcolm McPherson. Photo: Jo Priestley

Forest A riotous chorus of bellbirds heralded our entrance into Conway’s Bush, a 2.32 ha forest near the Waihi River. Conways Bush has been a Forest & Bird reserve since 1988 when the land was donated to the society by the late Stanley Conway. South Canterbury Forest & Bird member Fraser Ross says Conways Bush is part of the largest stand of totara on the Upper Canterbury Plains. “It’s one of the few remaining areas of lowland forest, and is home to regenerating totara, matai and kahikatea, along with broadleaf species such as tarata, kaikomako, horoeka and kapuka. 4

Welcome Jo Jo Priestley recently joined the Forest & Bird team as senior communications and media advisor. Jo has had an extensive background as a journalist, communications specialist and for the past five years has run her own marketing and communications company. A keen conservationist and firm believer in on-theground communications, Jo might be hard to keep at her desk. In fact within two weeks of arriving she was off to Canterbury to meet branch members and write our cover story about the challenges of protecting the water in our wild rivers and lakes. Jo is looking forward to bringing a strong communications voice to Forest & Bird, along with a firm focus on its members. Jo explains the threat of intensive dairying, see overleaf Forest & Bird

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COVER STORY

THE ENORMOUS COST OF DAIRYING

Photo: Peter Langlands

Bringing intensive dairy farming to unsuitable new areas will poison our freshwater rivers and lakes, as Jo Priestley explains.

airy cows like wet feet, not literally, but they like lots of water because it makes the grass grow quickly lush. If dairying occurs in naturally dry parts of the country, this water has to come from irrigation. Large-scale irrigation, damming, water storage ponds and fertiliser have allowed dairy farmers to turn what were once dryland farming areas into intensive dairy farms. This comes at enormous cost to the environment, to farmers and to the general public, who often end up funding expensive new irrigation schemes through their rates and taxes. Then there is the risk of pollution and resulting huge clean-up cost. Forest & Bird Campaigns and Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell says the bony alluvial nature of the soil in parts of Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay means there is a heightened risk of nutrients from dairy farms making their way into waterways and polluting them. “Dairying has become so profitable that blocks of land that were previously unsuitable are now being converted. Land with water is very valuable – land without water is not. Various schemes are in place, or being proposed, to assist farmers with irrigation, including subsidised waterways, canals, large scale ponds and dams. By the time farmers, investors and the government have put significant amounts of money into irrigation, there’s enormous pressure financially to make the land pay,” he says. One such scheme is the expensive and contentious Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme, a large-scale proposal for water diversion, damming, reticulation and irrigation for the central plains of Canterbury. Construction started in 2014. Water will be taken from the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers. Kevin Hackwell says taking water from alpine-fed rivers could lead to pressure being put on water authorities to allow minimum flow levels to be breached in dry years.

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He said: “A lot of pressure will come on to put aside the environmental protections. They will say ‘it’s an emergency, just this year’. But because of increasing climate change these ‘exceptional’ events will happen year after year. We run the risk that we’re going to kill these rivers. “Huge costs are needed for irrigation, and where the soil leaches nitrogen, polluting our rivers and streams, we will be facing a huge cleanup cost, and at the end of it all, there’s no guarantee dairying will turn out any different than other industries that have undergone significant booms, only to be followed by busts.”

Water pumping stations are a common sight in Canterbury.

Freshwater facts Run-off from dairy farms has severely impacted our rivers, lakes and fish life. In the past 20 years fertiliser use has increased by 800 percent. n Half of our lakes are polluted by excessive nutrients which can cause massive growth of algae and deplete oxygen. n More than 90 percent of New Zealand’s wetlands have been drained to make way for farming and development, destroying precious habitat for native species. n

etired hydrologist John Waugh is a member of Forest & Bird’s Ashburton branch committee and is a member of the Hinds Drains Working Party Group, which makes recommendations on water management to the ECan Ashburton zone committee. John, pictured left, believes the management of Windermere Drain by the Eiffleton Community Irrigation Scheme, is an excellent example of how a community water scheme can operate. Local farmers manage the scheme and report to ECan. Minimum water flows are measured at the control point of Windermere Drain at the bottom of the Eiffleton Irrigation Scheme. Native fish have been found in Windermere Drain, and there are plans to plant the banks of the drain to provide natural cover for fish and birds. “Low water levels in Windermere Drain during summer and droughts are supplemented by water from the deep well irrigation scheme pumped in by farmers. This has kept Windermere Drain flowing through the summer, while most other lowland drains are bone dry,” said John Waugh.

WORKING TOGETHER AT WINDERMERE DRAIN The community-run scheme initiated an audited selfmanagement programme and negotiated this with ECan as part of the consent. The scheme has an automatic water flow meter, data logger and telemetry system so members and ECan can monitor water flow daily. “I personally believe targeted stream augmentation is a win-win for both the environment and farmers who need water for irrigation and watering,” John added. Forest & Bird is fighting to save our freshwater, see overleaf

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Forest & Bird

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COVER STORY

We would be extremely concerned if HBRIC’s intention is to build the dam then hope for a loosening of the conditions down the track. Kevin Hackwell. It followed a successful High Court appeal late last year by Forest & Bird, Fish & Game and the Environmental Defence Society, which argued the original consent given by the Board of Inquiry had failed to establish clear conditions to ensure water quality standards could be met. The court ruled the Board of Inquiry had to reconsider these aspects of the consent and related changes to the regional plan. Forest & Bird’s Campaigns and Advocacy Group Manager Kevin Hackwell said the draft decision requires the consent holder, HBRIC (Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s infrastructure investment arm), to identify specific actions to be taken by landowners to ensure that the nitrogen limit is not exceeded by 2030. This will be extremely difficult given the limit is already exceeded in many parts of the catchment downstream of the dam’s irrigation zones, he says. The conditions also require the regional council to reduce ‘on farm’ nitrogen leaching rates if monitoring is not showing the necessary reduction in the amount of nitrogen present in waterways. “In light of this draft decision it would be irresponsible for the regional council to commit ratepayers’ money, or sign up farmers to the scheme, without having proved to their satisfaction the formidable reductions in nitrogen pollution are possible. We would be extremely concerned if HBRIC’s intention is to build the dam then hope for a loosening of the conditions down the track,” says Kevin Hackwell.

RUATANIWHA DECISION Photo credit: Peter Scott

Forest & Bird is campaigning against proposals to build a dam and massive irrigation scheme in Hawke’s Bay. David Brooks reports on recent developments.

orest & Bird’s campaign against the Ruataniwha dam and water storage lake received an important boost in May. The Board of Inquiry issued a draft decision that imposes new conditions designed to ensure water quality standards will eventually be met by landowners using the proposed irrigation scheme. The Hastings-Havelock North and Central Hawke’s Bay branches have been working with staff to oppose the dam and associated irrigation scheme, which would lead to an intensification of farming, especially dairy conversions. The dam would create a 450-hectare water storage lake on the Makaroro River, a tributary of the Waipawa River, which in turn flows into the Tukituki River. The irrigation scheme is planned to serve 25,000 hectares of farmland in the Tukituki catchment. The Board of Inquiry considering consents for the dam issued a draft decision in early May imposing further conditions aimed at limiting levels of nitrogen in the river catchment.

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He added that the nitrogen limit is designed to protect ecosystem health, which is home to native fish including inanga, lamprey, kōaro and dwarf galaxias.” A final decision will be published once interested parties have responded to the draft ruling. On another legal front, Forest & Bird has made a submission to the Department of Conservation opposing its proposal to allow high value conservation land in the Ruahine Forest Park to be flooded for the Ruataniwha dam’s storage lake. DOC wants to revoke the conservation park status of 22 hectares of land and ‘swap’ it for a block of private land. We argued both these steps would be unlawful because the Conservation Act does not allow conservation park land to be used for land swaps. “It will result in the destruction of river habitat and mature podocarp and beech forest that is home to a number of threatened wildlife species, including native bats,” added Kevin Hackwell.

WHAT FOREST & BIRD IS DOING We believe clean healthy water is a birthright. Here is a snapshot of some of the freshwater activities Forest & Bird is currently undertaking. n

Land and Water Forum – We are a key member of this national stakeholder group, which has been charged with drawing up a road map to improve freshwater management. We are also party to the Healthy Rivers regional forum in the Waikato, which is developing changes to the regional plan to help restore and protect the health of the Waikato and Waipa rivers. Legal challenges – Forest & Bird is not opposed to storage dams in principle, but we are concerned they impact on the environment, the ecology and land use of the surrounding area. For example allowing intensification of dairy in catchments that are already over-allocated or already have poor water quality. Our in-house counsel have been working hard to raise legal challenges where necessary, for example in the proposed Ruataniwha and Lee dams. Riparian planting – We are active around the country working on stream restoration and planting projects such as Streamcare in Golden Bay; trapping for predators of our threatened riverbirds, for example in the Maori Lakes Ashburton area, and riparian planting of Hulls Creek, Upper Hutt and Poukawa Stream, Hastings. Protecting wetlands – Forest & Bird works tirelessly on protecting important wetlands through covenanting, fencing, trapping and other measures. We also work to ensure our remaining significant wetlands are protected under council rules and those ecologically significant sites are guarded under the international Ramsar convention, for example the Waituna/Awarua wetland, in Southland. Advocacy – Our staff and volunteers are engaged in protecting rivers, lakes and wetlands across the country. For example we were actively involved in the Nelson Nature Urban and Rural Waterways initiative. We are also seeking better outcomes through the RMA process to protect one of New Zealand’s most important wetlands Selwyn/Te Waihora, in Canterbury. We regularly meet developers and other stakeholders to discuss measures to preserve water quality and protect river birds and fish species.

What you can do In five minutes Donate to our Freshwater Appeal, see www.forestandbird.org.nz/FreshwaterAppeal Contact your branch to see if a freshwater campaign or project in your area you could help with.

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Seabirds

A lifelong

passion

Fifty years ago Geoff Harrow made a startling discovery that led him on a lifelong journey to save a special seabird from extinction. David Brooks tells his story.

whoop of joy in the morning silence of the Kaikōura mountains marked the start of Geoff Harrow’s 50year labour of love to save a unique New Zealand seabird from possible extinction. The year was 1965 and the amateur Christchurch ornithologist had just found the decomposing remains of a Hutton’s shearwater, the first he had ever seen. In the mid-sixties, people living in Kaikōura knew little about Hutton’s shearwater except that clumsy young birds would sometimes crash into their houses on misty autumn nights. Local iwi knew their ancestors had harvested tītī in the mountains but ornithologists had no idea where Hutton’s shearwater nested. Now, thanks to Geoff, Kaikōura celebrates the arrival and departure of the birds each year and the future of New Zealand’s only mountainnesting seabird is far more assured. Geoff has loved birds and mountains all his life, so it seems he and Hutton’s shearwater were made for each other. At 88, he still brims with energy but says he now wants to “retire gracefully so I can wallow peacefully remembering 50 wonderful years with Hutton’s shearwaters”. The first Geoff heard of the strange seabirds nesting in the mountains was from Ivan Hislop, who owned a motel near Kaikōura where Geoff and his family stayed in late

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1964. Ivan said he and his brother had seen ‘muttonbirds’ nesting high in the mountains on a hunting trip more than a decade earlier. In February 1965 Geoff went to see the place the Hislops had found the nests at the head of the Kōwhai Valley. There were a few false turns and waterfalls to negotiate and he didn’t quite reach the nesting site on the first day, hearing nothing but the bleating of wild goats and the occasional kea as he settled down for the night. Success came next morning when Geoff found a smelly Hutton’s carcass as he came down a steep deer track. On the other side of the valley, the earth was pockmarked by burrows. He returned home with three dead birds and the Dominion Museum in Wellington soon confirmed all were Hutton’s shearwaters. “On later trips it became clear there were hundreds of thousands of burrows. I didn’t realise on my first trip but it turned out to be huge,” he says. In the following years, Geoff went back to the Kaikōuras about eight times a year at weekends or during holidays from his work in pharmaceutical sales. Altogether he discovered eight nesting sites, although within 20 years only two remained – Kōwhai Valley and another much smaller colony on private land at Shearwater Stream. Joining him at various times were family members, friends, scientists, students and other helpers.

Stoats were believed to be the shearwaters’ main predator and Geoff saw them often in and around the birds’ burrows. But work by British PhD student Richard Cuthbert in the 1990s showed that pigs were the real problem. He suggested wild pigs in family groups of up to 10 or more were doing the most damage, rooting up burrows and consuming everything inside. “Richard reckoned if they got into the big colonies they could wipe them out in two or three years. They could take out the smaller colonies in just a week or two.” DOC works to keep pig numbers low in areas around the burrows and today shearwater numbers at the two remaining sites are believed to be increasing, including over 100,000 breeding pairs and a total of over 400,000 birds. While an apparent slow recovery in recent years is encouraging, it follows a huge fall in previous years. “When I started in 1965, I was certain there were getting on for a couple of million in areas I knew. It came down to about 500,000 in just 25 years. When Richard started looking at it and worked out it was very likely to be the pigs, that altered the whole thinking about protecting these birds,” Geoff says. A decade ago, DOC started moving chicks to a new site on the Kaikōura Peninsula as an insurance policy against a disaster in the mountain colonies. Cats and other predators were taking a heavy toll so Geoff proposed in 2008 to set up a charitable trust to raise money for a predator-proof fence. So successful were the trust’s efforts, it also became responsible for building the fence and entered into a joint venture with DOC, Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura and Whale Watch to manage the colony. 1 The fenced Kaikōura Peninsula nesting site. Photo: Andrew

Spencer

2 A Hutton’s shearwater chick. Photo: Ailsa Howard 3 Geoff Harrow at Kōwhai Valley. Photo: Ailsa Howard 4 A flock of Hutton’s shearwaters at sea off Kaikōura.

Photo: Whale Watch

3 Looking back, Geoff expresses no surprise he worked for 50 years to save Hutton’s shearwater. “I’m a pretty obsessive sort of guy, it was something I was very enthusiastic about and wanted to do.“ Others share his passion to protect Hutton’s shearwaters. Forest & Bird’s Kaikōura chair and Hutton’s Shearwater Trust member Ailsa Howard admires Geoff’s “passion, humility and a very big heart”. Gina Solomon, a representative of local Ngāi Tahu organisation Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura on the trust, says she is happy he will continue as a kaumātua or trusted elder. “He has a mana of his own and he brings lots of energy and hope,” she says. Jodie Denton, secretary of the trust since its formation in 2008, says Geoff has “old fashioned qualities, he’s gentle, very determined and has a huge amount of passion”. Geoff’s work was recognised with the award of Forest & Bird’s Old Blue in 2007. Geoff’s climbing adventures with Sir Ed Hillary, see overleaf

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Climbing with Sir Ed Hillary Geoff Harrow’s devotion to birds and mountains was shaped early. He joined Forest & Bird as a young boy in 1938 after visiting an older sister in Wellington and being entranced by the whiteheads, robins and other native birds at Butterfly Creek, near Eastbourne. He lapped up books about New Zealand’s early explorers and gazed longingly towards the Southern Alps west of his Christchurch home. By his early teens he was biking to Arthur’s Pass to explore and he joined a mountaineering club while at high school. He quickly gained skills and experience climbing New Zealand’s highest peaks and in 1954 successfully applied to join the New Zealand expedition to the Himalayas led by Sir Edmund Hillary, just a year after the famous ascent of Everest. The original goal of the expedition was to climb the then unconquered Makalu, a 8,463 metre peak. At 6,700 metres, Hillary collapsed from the effects of malaria and broken ribs suffered earlier while rescuing a colleague from a crevasse. “We had to abort the climb on Makalu and get him down to safety. There was no option, he would have died on us if we had not got him down very quickly,” Geoff recalls. A few weeks later, Geoff and Colin Todd, the late uncle of Forest & Bird Conservation and Volunteers Group Manager Chris Todd, became the first to climb a neighbouring peak – the 7,129 metre (23,389 feet) Buruntse. Later the demands of work and family life saw mountaineering take a back seat. But Geoff’s taste for adventure remained and he later spent four months in Antarctica in 1966 helping to study emperor and Adelie 5 penguins. 5 Geoff Harrow in the Himalayas in 1954. 6 Geoff with Forest & Bird President Andrew Cutler and a

Hutton’s shearwater. Photo: Ailsa Howard

7 A Hutton’s shearwater. Photo: DOC

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Hutton’s shearwater factfile Hutton’s shearwater or tītī (Puffinus huttoni) was first described in 1912 and named after Frederick Hutton, an academic and curator of the Otago and Canterbury museums. The species is nationally endangered, with its two remaining breeding colonies located in the seaward Kaikōura mountains. Huge flocks can be seen off the Kaikōura coast during the summer months. Māori used to harvest the birds in the Kaikōura mountains and preserve them in kelp bags for food or trading. Tītī migrate to Australian waters in the winter, returning to New Zealand in the spring. When the breeding birds return in spring, their nesting areas are often still covered by snow and they will wait for it to melt before cleaning out their burrows and laying eggs.

Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust Geoff Harrow set up the Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust in 2008 to raise money for the building of a predator-proof fence around a new nesting site that had been established for Hutton’s shearwaters on the Kaikōura Peninsula. The trust raised $300,000 in a year to build the fence, which was completed in early 2010. Young chicks are transferred from the mountain colonies with the hope they will recognise it as home and return there when they start to breed. Chicks are placed in wooden nesting boxes and fed on sardine smoothies until they are ready to fly away to Australian waters. The trust also acts as advocates for Hutton’s shearwaters, especially in the local Kaikōura community, where they have been adopted as the town’s own special bird. The trust includes representatives of the local iwi organisation Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura, Forest & Bird, DOC, Whale Watch, which owns the colony land, and others with specialist knowledge. In the latest breeding season, 31 adult birds returned to the new breeding site, 16 eggs were laid and seven chicks fledged, just four seasons after the first egg was laid.

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Predator-free New Zealand

Worrying about wasps

Wasps pose a serious threat to native wildlife and we neglect them at our peril. David Brooks finds out about trials of an insecticide scientists hope could help.

e think of wasps as being a nuisance at picnics but they are also a serious threat to many native plants and animals, especially beech forests. Scientists have estimated if you weighed all the wasps in a honeydew beech forest, they would be heavier than all the birds, rats, mice and stoats combined. “From a conservation perspective, wasps are our neglected pest and I think we neglect them at our peril,” says Forest & Bird Top of the South Conservation and Volunteer Regional Manager Debs Martin. “We’ve tended to treat them more as a problem for people enjoying the great outdoors, but I think as an ecological pest we need to be looking at it very seriously.” Honeydew, a sugary substance produced by scale insects that burrow into the bark of beech trees, is an easy source of energy for wasps and their numbers explode. “You walk through the beech forest and the only sound you can hear is the hum of wasps,” says Debs. “It’s an ecological disaster as well as being a serious health and safety issue if you’re out there in the bush.” The worst problems are caused by German and common wasps, with New Zealand having one of the largest concentrations anywhere in the world because of a lack of natural predators, relatively mild weather and an abundance of food. 26

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The problem is worst in beech forests where they monopolise honeydew and eat huge numbers of native invertebrates, especially during their late summer and autumn peak. They compete with honeydew-eating birds such as tūī, kākā and bellbirds and have been known to kill baby birds. They also take the insects favoured by fantails, tomtits, bats and lizards. Control of wasps has historically been difficult, involving locating and destroying individual nests. But a Department of Conservation pilot programme using the insecticide fipronil has had excellent results. In the longer term there is hope that new biological controls will make a big difference.

‘Extraordinary’ insecticide DOC launched a pilot control programme this year using fipronil in a protein bait at five South Island sites – Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project in Nelson Lakes National Park, Bottle Rock Peninsula in the Marlborough Sounds, Pelorus Bridge in Marlborough, Falls River in Abel Tasman National Park and Craigieburn, near Arthur’s Pass. Pelorus Bridge is the site of Forest & Bird’s bat recovery project, where predator control work is done in partnership with DOC and Ngāti Kuia to help protect the population of long-tailed bats living in the reserve. Bats go into a state

We looked at a site in the Marlborough Sounds and out of 10 nests in the treatment area, nine were dead and one had a few wasps coming in and out. The reduction in wasp numbers was over 95 percent Department of Conservation scientist Eric Edwards. of torpor in the winter for up to two weeks at a time and require a store of protein and fat to get through. “If wasps are taking all the insects out of the forest, you have no food for the birds or bats,” says Debs. The results of the fipronil pilot have been excellent, says DOC scientist Eric Edwards, who is in charge of the department’s wasp eradication programme. “Our target is at least 90 percent reduction in activity of wasps. We recently looked at a site in the Marlborough Sounds and out of 10 nests in the treatment area, nine were dead and one had a few wasps coming in and out. The reduction in wasp numbers was over 95 percent.” “It’s an extraordinary insecticide, it’s one gram of fipronil per kilogram of protein bait so it’s quite a low concentration to start with and what the wasps carry back to the nest will kill a whole nest, usually more than a kilo of wasps.” He adds the bait is not attractive to bees, as they don’t consume protein, and birds can’t get into the bait stations. Although fipronil is effective, it does take money and time to mount an operation. “There’s a million hectares of honeydew beech forest in New Zealand. Fipronil is a breakthrough but we can’t treat a million hectares with this,” Eric Edwards says. “We’ll do important areas where we’re doing intensive management and areas that are important for public recreation.”

Biological wasp control Landcare Research biodiversity and conservation researcher Ronny Groenteman is carrying out a threeyear study into a mite that attaches itself to wasps. The mite, confirmed to exist in Canterbury and Nelson, is from the same family as the varroa mite, which damages honey bees and their hives. “We don’t know much about them but we do know they are associated with wasp nests that aren’t doing very well,” says Ronny. “We don’t yet know if they are the cause of the nest not doing very well or if they are a symptom of the nest not doing very well.” Bio controls are slow and expensive to start but they offer a long-term approach, she says. “Once they are working, they take care of themselves,” adds Ronny. “They would spread themselves into different areas where it would be difficult for us to get into.” In the future Ronny’s research will look closely at whether the wasp mites pose any threats to bees and native insects. She agrees, however, it will not be silver bullet for controlling wasps. “It’s a huge problem and we need all the tools we can get our hands on,” she said.

Wasp fact file ➊ The most widespread invasive wasps found in New

2 1 A common wasp feeding on honeydew. Photo: Eric Edwards 2 A black beech canopy in the Marlborough Sounds. Photo:

Eric Edwards

Zealand are common (Vespula vulgaris) and German wasps (Vespula germanica), which look very similar. ➋ German wasps were first found at an air force base near Hamilton in 1945. Common wasps did not arrive until the 1970s but quickly became established. ➌ Wasp nests resembling paper maché are made from dry wood mixed with saliva. Most nests – often underground or in the branches of trees – are about the size of a soccer ball but can become huge if they survive over winter. ➍ One nest discovered at Waimauku near Auckland in 1963 is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest – measuring 3.7m long, 1.75m in diameter and about 5.5m in circumference. ➎ New Zealand also has two invasive paper wasps – the Australian paper wasp (Polistes humilis) and the Asian paper wasp (Polistes chinensis). Forest & Bird

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Forest & Bird AGM

Being the voice of nature Here are some of the highlights from this year's Forest & Bird AGM. A top line up of leading conservationists will be speaking at Forest & Bird’s AGM and council meeting in June. Members and the public are invited to attend on the Saturday, when a varied and thought-provoking range of speakers will take to the stage, who promise to be varied and interesting. The Minister for Conservation, Hon Maggie Barry, is also due to speak on the first morning of the conference. One of New Zealand’s leading pest eradication experts Dr James Russell (pictured right), from Auckland University, will be talking about some exciting developments in a session discussing whether it’s possible to make New Zealand predator-free. Dr Russell has worked closely with the Department of Conservation for 12 years developing and testing tools to detect and monitor rodents. His recent work focuses on scaling the application of eradication technologies to very large and inhabited islands. Another highlight will be a panel discussion focusing on marine ecology. Speakers include behavioural scientist Dr Rochelle Constantine, who has previously received support from Forest & Bird for her work studying the behavior of Maui’s dolphin. There will also be a presentation about marine spatial planning. “From marine protection to new directions in pest control, come along and get to know what New Zealand’s

leading independent conservation organisation is all about,” says Forest & Bird President Andrew Cutler. Forest & Bird members are welcome to attend the rest of the weekend, which includes the Sanderson Memorial Dinner on the Saturday night. The AGM takes place on Sunday, when there will also be presentations and updates on Forest & Bird’s current and future work programme.

**Forest & Bird is holding its 92nd Annual General meeting on June 27–June 28 at the Comfort Quality Hotel in Wellington. There is still time to register, sign up at www.forestandbird.org.nz/agm2015.

YOUR WINTER GETAWAY STARTS HERE

Keep your photos and videos safe for future generations Special offer for Forest & Bird members SanDisk Memory Vault 8GB $99 $69 SanDisk Memory Vault 16GB $139 $99 To order, contact Lacklands Ltd 09 630 0753 or info@lacklands.co.nz

Bookings are now open for Forest & Bird’s Mount Ruapehu Lodge in Whakapapa Village. Stay at our comfortable, family-friendly lodge from where you can hit the slopes, trek the beech forest and keep a look out for resident kiwi or whio. Forest & Bird members receive a discounted rate. Book at www.forestandbird.org.nz/ ruapehulodge. 28

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Garden bird survey

House sparrow takes top spot It’s time for the annual Garden Bird Survey. Eric Spurr reports on the results from the 2014 nationwide count. One of the aims of the annual garden bird survey is to provide an ‘early warning’ system if common native species are found to be declining. That’s why it’s important as many people as possible get out into their gardens in late June to count the birds they see there. Results from last year show that only seven of the most frequent 19 most frequent species recorded in gardens around New Zealand were native. There wasn’t a great deal of native bird biodiversity either with an average of only 2.9 native species per garden (mostly silvereye, tūī and fantail). Last year more than 106,000 birds were counted during the week-long survey period with data coming from 3,220 gardens. A total of 75 different bird species were recorded (including 41 native species). The most common native birds were: silvereye, tūī, fantail, bellbird, grey warbler, welcome swallow and kererū. Apart from seabirds and ducks, other native species included harrier (253 gardens), pukeko (107), white-faced heron (62), kākā (36), weka (19), New Zealand falcon (12), morepork (6), tomtit (5), New Zealand pipit (4), red-crowned parakeet (3), fernbird (2), rifleman (2), robin (2), stitchbird (1) and whitehead (1). The introduced house sparrow was once again – by far – the most numerous species counted as you can see in the graph below. 12

The survey has been running annually for eight years. Counts have fluctuated from year to year, perhaps influenced by factors such as weather, food supply, disease, and predation. For example, house sparrow counts appeared to increase over the first four years of the survey, but have levelled off since and now may be declining. Silvereye numbers have fluctuated more than the counts of most other species, and seem to be particularly influenced by weather. Last year’s count was the lowest on record. This may have been a result of the mild weather in early winter, which may have meant that birds did not come into gardens in search of food as much as they would when weather conditions are harsher. Other species that had their lowest counts on record included: blackbird, song thrush, chaffinch, greenfinch and goldfinch. Blackbird and song thrush are two species for which counts appear to have declined over the eight years. However, this trend could change with more years’ data. Among potential pest bird species, there was weak evidence of an increase in counts of eastern rosella and decrease in counts of Australian magpie over the eight years.

Garden bird survey needs YOU!

House sparrow. Photo: Luc Hoogenstein

Grey Warbler Kererū

Eastern Rosella Dunnock

Australia Magpie Bellbird

Goldfinch

Rock Pigeon Welcome Swallow

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Fantail Song Thrush

Common Myna Tūī

Starling Blackbird

Silvereye

0 House Sparrow

NUMBER PER GARDEN

Silvereyes fighting. Photo: Dave Hallett

Graph 1. Average number of birds per garden for top 19 species in 2014, excluding gulls.

The survey’s success is dependent on the help of volunteers – and more are needed. The more people who participate, the more accurate and more precise the results will be. Anybody who can identify birds can participate in the survey. All you need to do is count the largest number of each bird species you see or hear in your garden at one time, during one hour of observation, on just one day sometime between 27 June and 5 July this year. A printed survey form can be found overleaf with full instructions. An online survey form is available on the Garden Bird Survey website at: http://gardenbirdsurvey.landcareresearch.co.nz. Please encourage your friends or children’s school to take part by sharing the above link. Eric Spurr is organiser of the nationwide annual Garden Bird Survey Forest & Bird

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Who’s in your garden?

New Zealand

Aotearoa

GARDEN BIRD SURVEY 27 June - 5 July 2015 Landcare Research and Forest & Bird are asking for the public’s help again this year in spotting birds in New Zealand gardens. Taking part is easy – spend just 1 hour (that’s 1 hour only) sometime between 27 June and 5 July looking for birds in your garden, parks or school grounds. For each species you detect, record the largest number you see (or hear) at the same time. Please count not just tick the species you observe. The easy to follow guide below will help you identify most birds you are likely to see. Then fill in and return the survey form opposite or enter your results online (which helps us to process the results faster and more easily) at: Photographs by: Andrew Walmsley Tom Marshall Andrea Lightfoot Craig MacKenzie Brian Massa Roger South www.istock.com

http://gardenbirdsurvey.landcareresearch.co.nz Regularly updated survey results will be available on the same website, and will provide valuable information about bird populations, giving scientists an indication of which species may be in decline, helping guide conservation efforts for the future.

Bird Guide (not to scale) Small birds 15cm or less

Medium-sized birds Up to 30cm

House Sparrow (m) House Sparrow (f) Yellowhammer (m) Yellowhammer (f)

Large birds Over 30cm

Eastern Rosella

Tui

Kereru

Bellbird

Magpie

Greenfinch (m)

Greenfinch (f)

Goldfinch

Dunnock

Song Thrush

Chaffinch (m)

Chaffinch (f)

Redpoll

Fantail

Myna

Starling

Red-billed Gull

Blackbird (f)

Blackbird (m)

Black-backed Gull

Silvereye

Welcome Swallow

Grey Warbler

Rural School

Rural Park

Rural garden

Describe

Lawn & ower or vege garden

Children (<18)

Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Master (circle)

Adults

Lawn, garden, shrubs, trees >5m

Please note: we will not give or sell your details to anyone else, we require them so we can contact you if necessary to clarify your results. If you prefer us not to contact you again, please tick here

Tel

Surname

First name

Contact Details

How many took part?

Other

Lawn, garden, shrubs <5m

Was search area

More than 600 m2

400-600 m (e.g. up to 20×30m)

100-200 m2 (e.g. up to 10×20m) 200-400 m2 (e.g. up to 20×20m)

Up to 100 m2 (e.g. up to 10×10m)

Area searched for birds (except birds ying overhead)

Urban School

Urban Park

Urban garden

Description of survey area (please tick one)

Region

Postcode

Town/City

Suburb

Number & Street

Physical address where you did the survey:

Survey Details

Please re-fold leaet and tape along edge before posting

Fix Stamp here

Eric Spurr New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 47 Brixton Rd Manly Whangaparaoa 0930

Start Time

Myna Red-billed Gull Rock Pigeon Rosella (Eastern) Silvereye Song Thrush Starling Tui Welcome Swallow Yellowhammer

Blackbird Black-backed Gull Chafnch Dunnock Fantail Goldnch Greennch Grey Warbler House Sparrow Kereru

No No

Did you have food out for birds in the survey area during the survey? Do you have a water-bath for birds?

Did your survey area include the area where you feed birds? (please tick)

Yes

Other (please describe)

Sugar-water

Fruit Seeds

Fat

Yes Bread

No If yes, what? (please tick)

Do you feed birds? (please tick)

N/A

Other species counted during the hour (give number)

Magpie

Bellbird

For each species record the largest number seen (or heard) at the same time – NOT the total number over the hour – do not enter zeros

Survey Date

Please do the survey for 1 hour only, sometime between 27 Jun & 5 Jul, 2015

Forest & Bird Project

Papaitonga –

a precious taonga

Photo: Kristina DC Hoeppner

Lake Papaitonga is a fine example of a rare dune lake and has a rich Māori history. Kimberley Collins visits the Horowhenua Forest & Bird project.

estled along State Highway 1 near Levin is a littleknown treasure. Described by Sir Walter Buller as “one of the prettiest bits of natural scenery in New Zealand”, Lake Papaitonga (sometimes known as Lake Waiwiri) is an important sanctuary for recovering wetland birds and one of the few surviving tracts of original lowland forest in New Zealand. Surrounded by a rich plantation of nīkau palms, the forest descends to a wetland. Tall kahikatea and pukatea trees stand above a boardwalk, which climbs to a look-out with a spectacular view. But beyond the beauty of this lake is a gruesome story of massacre, murder and betrayal. In the middle of the lake sits two islands – one built by hand with soil and crushed mussel shells, the other a refuge for the people of Muaūpoko. But the lake surrounding their island pa couldn’t protect them from a disastrous event in Māori history. The island was the scene of a bloody revenge killing of 600 men, women and children that cemented rival tribe, Ngāti Toa led by the legendary Te Rauparaha, as owners of the valuable land surrounding Papaitonga. The forest surrounding Papaitonga is now a tranquil wetland after being formally established as a reserve in 1901. It is home to a rich community of native flora and fauna, including the giant land snail – Powelliphanta traversii. The Horowhenua branch of Forest & Bird has been working to revegetate a pocket of farmland to the north-

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east of the main forest. In just 18 months, the branch has already planted thousands of plants. “The original lake is a reserve and doesn’t need too much planting, but the Department of Conservation recently acquired some farmland that we’re helping restore. The drains have been unblocked so it’s now reverted to a wetland,” explained branch secretary Margarette Treacher. “We’re collecting seeds and growing them at a nursery. We make sure they’re eco-sourced by taking them from the original forest around Lake Papaitonga.” Lake Papaitonga is a fine example of a coastal dune lake, which are only found in a handful of locations around the world. The area’s rich Māori and early settler history is another reason to visit Papaitonga Scenic Reserve. The region was first settled in the early part of the 19th century by the Muaūpoko, who lived happily there until one of their women was murdered by Ngāti Toa. The Muaūpoko tribe invited Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha to a meeting place near Lake Papaitonga. Enticed with the promise of canoes and a feast of eels, the men and women of Ngāti Toa came, only to be attacked by their hosts as they lay sleeping. The chief’s daughter was killed and he narrowly escaped. In a revenge attack, Ngāti Toa swam across to their island pa and stormed it with ferocious savagery, killing hundreds. The island remains tapu (sacred) to this day and is said to be strewn with the bones of those who fell.

Sir Walter Buller’s dream In the mid-1800s Victorian ornithologist Sir Walter Buller, then a young lawyer and magistrate, visited the Horowhenua district and was immediately drawn to the lake. At the time it was noisy with birdsong and huge flocks of kererū swooped down to feed on the kahikatea berries. Buller, later the author of A History of the Birds of New Zealand (1873), vowed to protect it from the axe as trees were chopped down and milled for timber all around him. He planned to buy the land and create a grand country seat (similar to those in England) and set up a refuge for kiwi, huia and tūī. He purchased the land in 1897 in a dubious deal with local Māori and set about creating his dream. He introduced water fowl, trout and fruit trees by the hundreds and laid out his magnificent grounds. But the grand mansion he planned never came to fruition – nor did he ever find the huia he searched for and declared as ‘hopelessly doomed’. Buller also hoarded any Māori curiosities he could find and placed them next to the lake. A magnificent carved pātaka (storehouse) was put in a prominent position. It can now be viewed at Te Papa in Wellington.

*Sir Walter Buller's story supplied by Debbie Waldin.

What you can see at Papaitonga

Giant snails Hiding among leaves on the damp forest floor lives a strange creature. The giant land snail, Powelliphanta traversii, is endemic to the region and can often be found around the lake – especially after it has been raining, emerging at night to slurp up slugs and worms like spaghetti. Living for up to 20 years, they can grow up to nine centimetres across –the size of a man’s fist, and weigh about 90 grams. Habitat destruction has been a threat to these unique snails and they are also under attack from introduced predators. Possums were first seen eating Powelliphanta in the 1970s and have since become a serious threat – eating up to 60 adult snails over a couple of nights.

Puriri moth While visiting Papaitonga with a group of new Forest & Bird members, we noticed a black bulbous lump protruding from the trunk of a puriri tree. It was the burrow of a puriri moth caterpillar – New Zealand’s largest and most magnificent species of moth. Most of the its lifecycle is spent as a caterpillar, feeding on fungi before climbing a tree and burrowing inside it to feed on sap. You will be lucky to see a puriri moth in its final form with large, green wings that span 15 centimetres. They only live for two days and are nocturnal. They spend their short adult life well – mating before spreading up to 2000 eggs amongst the leaf litter where their lifecycle starts over again. Forest & Bird

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Amazing facts about…

ARMILLARIA

Photo: Shirley Kerr – www.kaimaibush.co.nz

MUSHROOMS

By Michelle Harnett

The largest living organism in the world today is not, as commonly believed, the blue whale. It is in fact an enormous Armillaria fungus discovered less than 20 years ago spreading underneath 10 square kilometres of forests in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, USA (see box below).

ome of the Armillaria’s smaller cousins are native to New Zealand. A. novae-zelandiae and A. limonea, among others, are found throughout the country in dense groups around standing or fallen dead trees in beech and podocarp/broadleaf forests. Armillaria fungi are also known as bootlace mushrooms – named for their tough, flat and black bootlace-like rhizomorphs. These rhizomorphs have a soft core of mycelia and can bridge gaps between old and new food sources, extending the range of an individual fungus. Armillaria decompose dead wood and sometimes cause heart rot in living trees. A large number of indigenous plants including kauri and beech are susceptible to Armillaria attack, while others seem relatively unaffected even though they host the organism. On the other hand, exotic species can be very vulnerable to Armillaria attack. It can be a serious pathogen in radiata pine, especially on sites once occupied by native forests. Armillaria rhizomorphs spread out from infected and decaying stumps growing through the soil to infect the root systems of young pines. The fungus damages and destroys roots and interferes with water uptake. Diseased trees wilt and may die. Signs of infection can include fan-like mycelial sheets under the bark of roots and near the base of the trunk and resin bleeding from the trunk near or below soil level.

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Another sign of infection is the mushrooms that appear on rotten logs and other woody debris. The best time of year to spot them is from May to July. These fruiting bodies often appear in clusters and dense groups that can be up to 5m wide. A. novae-zelandiae has yellowy to reddish-brown caps less than 8cm wide and the caps are wet and slimy when the mushrooms are young. The caps of A. limonea are larger and lemon-yellow. Māori reputedly ate the mushrooms (harore) but it is probably best to cautious and leave them off the menu!

Strange but true It started with a single microscopic spore but over the past 2,400 years it has been slowing growing underneath the forests of eastern Oregon, killing trees as it goes. Armillaria solidipes (formerly Armillaria ostoyae) would be hard to spot if you were walking through the Malheur National Forest but it now covers over 2,200 acres – an area equivalent to more than 1,600 soccer fields. The discovery of this giant in 1998 heralded a new record holder for the title of the world’s largest known organism, according to the journal Scientific American.

Our partners

Voyage to the Kermadec Islands Heritage Expeditions is running a Forest & Birdexclusive voyage to the Kermadec Islands in March 2016. Travel with a Forest & Bird specialist and explore the rarely visited sub-tropical Kermadec Island group, which lies halfway between New Zealand and Tonga. The Kermadec Islands Nature Reserve and Marine Reserve are located about 1,000 km northeast of New Zealand. The islands are only accessible by boat and are the remotest reserves managed by the Department of Conservation. The 11-day trip will give members a chance to see a huge variety of birds, including tropical species such as the red-tailed tropic bird or masked booby. Many seabirds breed on the Kermadec Islands and you might spot species such as the black-winged petrel, white-naped petrel and white-bellied storm petrel when cruising around the islands. Marine life is abundant on these unique islands with an abundance of large predatory fish found close to shore, including Galapagos sharks, giant spotted black grouper and kingfish, as well as green turtles and other tropical marine species. Mention Forest & Bird and be eligible for a special members’ discount. You will also be helping Forest & Bird create a Kermadec Marine Sanctuary, as a portion of this voyage’s profit will go to this campaign. You can find more about Forest & Bird’s campaign for a Kermedec Marine Sanctuary at www.forestandbird.org.nz/ kermadec-ocean-sanctuary Contact info@heritage-expeditions.com or call 0800 262 8873 and quote ‘Forest & Bird’ to book this extraordinary journey.

Swim with giant grouper and see unique flora and fauna on the Forest & BirdHeritage Expeditions voyage to the Kermadecs. Photos: Heritage Expeditions

More kākāpō this year?

“There could be more of me soon”

The Kākāpō Recovery Programme team is preparing for a busy breeding season next year, with hopes running high that an ‘extraordinary’ repeat of the rimu mast on Whenua Hou/ Codfish Island and Anchor Islands could be the offing. It would be the second masting in three years, whereas masting normally occurs at up to five-year intervals. Rimu masts are one of the kākāpō breeding triggers. Programme Director Deidre Vercoe said: “Autumn rimu counts on both Whenua Hou/ Codfish Island and Anchor Island suggest there could be up to 30 nests and 34 chicks. If all goes to plan, it may be the first time kākāpō chicks have hatched on Anchor Island. With the small breeding population on Hauturu o Toi/Little Barrier Island, it’s possible this could boost the total population to more than 150.” The Kākāpō Recovery Programme is a partnership between Forest & Bird, New Zealand Aluminium Smelters and the Department of the Conservation. Next year this partnership will be in its 25th year. Over that time it has increased kākāpō numbers from 49 to the current number of 126. Forest & Bird

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In the field ANN GRAEME

Moving fairy prions to

Mana Island

It’s an ambitious project to re-establish fairy prions on Mana Island replacing decimated breeding populations. Ann Graeme is proud to be part of it. A cloud of loose down feathers swirl up into the air as I lift the wooden door of Burrow 37. Kneeling down, I grope deep into the darkness until my fingers close around a soft, warm body. I draw out the fairy prion chick and put her into the cardboard carry box. She complains indignantly, sounding just like a child’s squeaky toy. I call the chick ‘her’ because she is so noisy, but I can’t really tell if she is male or female. I close the wooden door, putting my coloured marker on it to be sure of bringing the chick back to the correct burrow and carry her up to the caravan to be weighed, measured and tube fed her daily allocation of sardine smoothie. Chick 37 doesn’t know it but she is one of 100 chicks being translocated to Mana Island to recreate a fairy prion colony. She had hatched six weeks earlier in a burrow on Stephens Island/Takapourewa, where she was fed by her parents. Then she was plucked from her burrow, put into a box and brought by helicopter to Mana Island, to complete her upbringing in an artificial burrow dug into a headland. Most seabirds return to breed in the place where they were fledged. Because Chick 37 is going to fledge on Mana Island - not on her Stephens Island/Takapourewa birthplace - it will be the landscape of Mana she will remember, her brief glimpse of the stars above it, the smell and the calls of the seabirds. Hopefully Mana will be the island to which she will return. Only a quarter of the 100 fairy prions that fledged from the artificial burrows this summer will survive to breeding age and of them perhaps half – some 14 birds – will

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return to breed in three or four years’ time. But some who fledged from Mana Island will divert to Stephens Island/ Takapourewa, just across Cook Strait. Perhaps their homing instinct was set before they were moved or they are lured by the calls of the 1.8 million pairs of fairy prions that nest there. On Stephens Island/Takapourewa, Chick 37’s parents would have fed her every night. They will not miss her going as their parenting ends when their chick leaves the burrow. She just left a little early. Now we volunteers from the ‘Friends of Mana Island’ must feed her for a week or more until she is ready to fly. Back at the caravan the chick is weighed, her plumage is inspected and her wing length is measured. Helen Gummer, who is the seabird transfer specialist in charge of the project, will use the data to judge the chick’s readiness to fledge. Chick 37 has grown most of her adult plumage and only a ruff of down still encircles her neck. Helen decides that the barricade on her burrow can be removed and she will be free to leave. Sure enough, when we check Burrow 37 the following morning, the chick is gone.

Creating biodiversity on Mana Island Sooty shearwaters still breed on Mana Island despite its checkered history. Now the island is pest-free, diving petrels, fluttering shearwaters and fairy prions have been translocated to increase the biodiversity.

We checked the artificial burrows of the fluttering shearwaters and found a number of chicks, some just balls of fluff, others older, sleeker and feisty. Their parents, brought here between seven and nine years ago, were reared in these burrows. Now the adult birds are returning to raise their own chicks in their old burrows. Diving petrels, translocated even earlier, prefer digging their own burrows to using the artificial ones. This is the measure of success. These pioneers mark the return of seabirds that for thousands of years used to call Mana Island their home. The returning birds are few in number but they are breeding and slowly their numbers will grow. One day the island’s darkness will ring again with the cacophony of seabirds, just as it does on Stephens Island/ Takapourewa. I am so pleased to belong to the Friends of Mana who are driving this ambitious project and to have played a small part in this story.

Why re-establish colonies? Breeding seabirds belong on coastal cliffs and in lowland forests, not just for their own sakes, but for the role they play in these ecosystems. They are like gardeners. They fertilise the soil, bringing the sea to the land in their mineral-rich droppings. Their burrows honeycomb the ground, aerating, draining and altering the terrain and providing homes and shelters for invertebrates, lizards and tuatara.

1 Ann Graeme carries Chick 37. Photo: Chris Crawford 2 Ann and Helen Gummer. Photo: Chris Crawford 3 Fairy prion chick. Photo: Chris Crawford 4 A sardine smoothie is on the menu for this chick.

Photo: Ann Graeme

New Zealand leads world in the delicate art of shifting seabirds New Zealand is the seabird capital of the world and, appropriately, we now lead the world in seabird translocations. Many breeding colonies were exterminated by people and pests but translocation offers the chance of bringing back the birds in places where pests have themselves been exterminated. Translocations have been attempted with 11 species of petrels as well as penguins and Chatham Island mollymawk. Not all translocations succeed but one of the most successful has been that of the Chatham Island tāiko, a seabird that was on the verge of extinction. Tāiko breed on the main island, where they are preyed upon by rats, cats, pigs and weka. Year after year, the few tāiko chicks were translocated into artificial burrows in a fenced pestfree area. Now grown up, these tāiko are returning to breed in the safe haven where they were raised, increasing the population and the chances of survival of this critically endangered bird.

Forest & Bird

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A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE

The biodiversity challenge

Climate change is set to create complex new challenges for conservationists when it comes to protecting our native biodiversity. David Brooks explains.

ny Forest & Bird volunteer will know how much effort goes into pest and weed control to try to protect our native biodiversity. It is likely that efforts to find better and more successful controls for predators and weeds will gain urgency as warming temperatures aid the spread of existing pest plants and animals – and allow new pests to become established. One area of concern is the impact of climate warming on the masting – or heavy seeding – of beech trees. Masting also occurs in other trees and plants, such as rimu and alpine tussocks. Last year’s once-in-15-year beech seeding event led to an explosion in the numbers of rats and mice and of their major predator, stoats. The potential effects of climate change on New Zealand’s terrestrial biodiversity were raised in a 2011 report for the Department of Conservation. Landcare Research scientists Matt McGlone and Susan Walker said changes to masting were likely to be subtle rather than dramatic but the outcome was unpredictable. Many native species such as long-tailed bats, kākā and mōhua (yellowheads) exist in small isolated populations and are particularly vulnerable to predation by stoats and rats, they said.

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“Even small alterations in predator population sizes and distribution may be enough to extirpate [destroy] some of these threatened species. This would add to the generally increased pest pressure that climate warming is likely to bring,” they said.

Warming brings new biodiversity threats Mammalian pests like rats and stoats have established in wide areas of New Zealand and in general their numbers are more dependent on food supply than on climate. However, some pests that are largely absent from colder areas, such as ship rats, will increase their range as the climate warms. “Milder conditions in alpine areas would also improve survival rates of predators (rodents and stoats in particular) and put invertebrates and endangered birds such as kea under more pressure,” says conservation scientist Wren Green in a report for the Department of Conservation last year How climate change responses by land managers could benefit biodiversity.

Cool high altitude areas were the last refuge for species such as the kākāpō and takahē, which were widespread in New Zealand before humans arrived. High altitude areas are the home of other endangered birds, including the rock wren, and many rare invertebrates and plants. Rabbits prefer warm and dry climates and such conditions are expected to become more common in New Zealand’s east. Higher numbers of rabbits will encourage bigger populations of feral cats and ferrets, which could mean more predation of native animals, says Wren Green. Major introduced invertebrate predators include wasps and ants. Wasp nests can survive through winter in relatively dry, warm conditions, building up to massive numbers for their peak in late summer and autumn. Argentine ants are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species, competing with local ants and other species for food such as insects, worms and nectar. They have already spread to a number of North Island main centres as well as Christchurch and Nelson, according to DOC. The big-headed ant is another voracious predator but is so far confined to Auckland coastal areas. It would likely spread south as the climate warmed.

Rise of exotic plant pests The situation is similar for plant pests. Matt McGlone and Susan Walker say that, in general, warmer regions have greater numbers of plant species. Frost is a key factor in determining the diversity of plant life in a region and when there is no or little frost the range of plant pests that can compete with native species is much greater. They cite the cases of Hawaii and Mauritius where exotic shrubs and trees dominate large parts of the landscape. In New Zealand, wilding pines are problems in many areas and climate change is expected to make the problem worse. Some species, including lodgepole pine or Pinus contorta, grow above the native treeline, taking over tussock grasslands. This species, along with Douglas fir, produces huge numbers of lightweight seeds which can be dispersed by the wind.

3 1 Infestation of European larch in South Island high country.

Photo: Jamie Cowan

2 Popular garden plants such as agapanthus have become a

serious weed.

3 The spread of some pest animals will be aided by climate

change. Photo: Ngā Manu Images

More extreme weather events are likely to lead to more erosion and flooding, creating disturbed and bare land where weeds can easily become established, Wren Green notes. Like many issues associated with climate change, there are no easy answers to the spread of invasive weeds and predators. As has always been the case with invasive pests, the longer the problem is left, the more difficult it is to effectively control. “A list of species already present that are likely to be advantaged by warmer and drier climates should be assembled, and consideration given to risk reduction actions such as education campaigns, banning sale and proscribing the planting of high-risk plants or legislating for their removal,” say Matt McGlone and Susan Walker. “Examples are spot occurrences of invasive invertebrates such as ants or the presence in gardens of plants with major weed potential under a warming climate such as strawberry guava or palms.” Wren Green says the problems created by climate change will be complex. Treating individual problems in isolation may just lead to more long term problems. For example, introducing drought-resistant grasses for agriculture may just mean the introduction of another invasive weed. Forest & Bird

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going places

Moutohorā Island It’s one of New Zealand’s most protected wildlife sanctuaries. Caroline Wood takes her family to discover the treasures of Moutohorā Island in the Bay of Plenty.

o far so good. The kids are loving the pretty wild boat ride from Whakatane to Moutohorā Island, as the waves lift us up and crack us back down again with a thud, the kids aged six and eight are standing hanging on to the railings, loving the roller coaster ride. Thankfully the trip is over in 15 minutes and we are soon entering the sheltered waters of McEwens Bay, where fur seals lounge on the rocks. Welcome to pest-free Moutohorā Island, or Whale Island to give it its English name. It turned out to be a great place to get the kids excited about conservation. First the boat trip, then a nature walk to a spectacular viewpoint, then a swim at Moutohorā’s natural hot water beach. The whale-shaped island can be spotted from Whakatane and the surrounding Bay of Plenty coastline, forming an instantly recognisable shape, often shrouded in sea mist. It has only been open to the public for two years, you can only visit by permit and only two companies are allowed to take visitors. There are strict bio-security measures to go through before you get on the boat. The island, a dormant volcano, has been under the care of the Department of Conservation since 1984, which currently joint manages it with Ngāti Awa. It is currently completely predator free (see panel) and is home to an abundance of native species that are endangered on the mainland. The restoration of bird life has been a great success, particularly sea birds. As well as thriving populations of grey-faced petrels (84,000 pairs), the island is now home to the sooty shearwater, little blue penguins, the threatened

| Forest & Bird

New Zealand dotterel, saddlebacks, kākāriki and the oystercatcher. Other threatened species are occasional visitors to the island, including the Caspian tern, North Island kākā and the New Zealand falcon. The place is also alive with gecko and skinks, and tuatara have been transferred from the Rurima islands. Once you jump off the boat onto the beach, visitors first pass a Māori carving, representing Te Rongotauaroa, who was the first occupant of the island around 1400AD. We pass the Department of Conservation hut, which is there for visiting staff, who come to monitor kiwi and clear the tracks. The island is home to the little brown kiwi, with 25 being introduced since 2001. Unfortunately this programme has not been as successful as DOC would have liked. The birds, which have been monitored, are fit, fat and healthy, but for some reason are not breeding successfully. The reason for this has not been established yet. The most likely theory is there is too much competition for the burrows from the thriving muttonbird colony. Our guide, Patrick O’Sullivan, regularly monitors the baby kiwi for DOC and he shows us how he sets up the kiwi tracking device and explains the regular bleeping sound is a good sign as the bird is still alive and well and hasn’t fallen down a muttonbird hole as one of its unfortunate brothers did. As we walk, we first hear and then see the noisy tīeke (saddlebacks), who follow us through the regenerating forest and are very friendly. Twenty male and 20 females were originally released and now there are over 1,500.

Seeing so many up close was a real highlight for me. Patrick also explains some of the island’s unique flora, including a species of kānuka that is endemic to the island Kunzea salterae. He also points out the twining stems of the rare New Zealand cucumber Sicyos mawhai. From 1984 to 1989, a DOC planting programme established 12,000 plants of 45 species on Moutohorā. Today it is covered by a mosaic of naturally regenerating pōhutukawa, māhoe and kānuka forest Our visit ends in Sulphur Bay where the children get to see some geothermal activity on this naturally occurring hot water beach. Patrick gives us spades and we dig, releasing jets of scalding hot water in some holes and cold water in others. The trick is to combine the channels to create a perfect-temperature spa pool. This activity, of course, turns out to be little-boy heaven. You can only go for the day, and you do have to pay to get there, but it was jam-packed with interesting things to see and do. So if you are in the area, I would recommend a trip across the water to Moutohorā Island.

From exploitation to conservation Māori were the original occupants of Moutohorā Island settling there over 600 years ago. The island was exploited for whaling, sulphur mining, grazing and quarrying over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As a result of human activities, a number of undesirable pests ended up being introduced. Goats were put there to be eaten but clearly understood their own place in the food chain and ate just about everything in sight. Rats were there in large numbers with Norway, ship and Polynesian all present. Then there were rabbits – eventually half a million of them introduced by cray fishermen to use as baits in their pots. Feral cats were introduced as well. During this time there were also fires. Whether they were lit accidentally or for clearing land is not known, but of course they contributed to the destruction of plant life. In the 1960s the pendulum finally swung from exploitation to conservation. The island was declared a wildlife refuge in 1965 and the immediate aim was to eradicate the worst of the pests. The goats were gone by 1977, the rabbits poisoned and the rats eradicated 10 years later. The Crown purchased the island in 1984 and embarked on a programme of reintroducing indigenous flora and fauna. • MOUTOHORĀ ISLAND

WHAKATANE •

Getting there

3 4 1

Moutohorā Island is named after its whale shape. Photo: White Island Tours

Patrick O’Sullivan explains how he tracks a baby kiwi.

3& 4 The island is rich in bird life (Photo: Luc Hoogenstein)

and is home to tuatara (Photo: White Island Tours)

Directions:

Drive to Whakatane, in the Bay of Plenty. It’s a 15-minute boat ride from the wharf. Only two companies currently have permits to take visitors (see below).

Staying there:

No overnight accommodation on the island but plenty in Whakatane or nearby Ohope beach.

More information:

We travelled with White Island Tours, which has daily trips to Moutohorā (weather permiting). Call 0800 733529 or www.moutohora.co.nz. The Department of Conservation has a leaflet about the island: www.doct.govt.nz (search term Moutohorā). Forest & Bird

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community

conservation

Working flat out at Paremata Flats The restoration of Paremata Flats Reserve near Nelson will go into overdrive in the next two years to complete the planting of an impressive 78,000 natives. Volunteers involved in the long-term project will never get to see the podocarp forest grow to its full height and tower over the reserve. But in just three years the area where the future forest will thrive has already been transformed. Before project organiser Ian Price became involved in 2011, the Nelson-Tasman Forest & Bird branch had been doing predator control work for four years at the reserve, which includes a stream estuary bordered by pasture and a small area of lowland podocarp forest. Restoration has taken off since 2011 and salt marsh ribbonwood has replaced chest-high fescue grass in the estuarine areas. “The fernbirds are all moving in there, there’s fernbirds calling everywhere, so anecdotally the population has increased quite dramatically,” says Ian. A remnant stand of kōwhai trees has always attracted large numbers of tūī, bellbirds and kererū during the spring flowering season. The pest control and planting have now encouraged a population of tūī and bellbirds to move permanently into the reserve. Around $57,000 has still to be raised for next year’s planting but Ian is determined the money will be found and the planting will be completed in 2017.

“The planting will be over then, but the intensive management – weed and pest control – will continue,” Ian says. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved here, it’s going extremely well.” There was a blip last year when some pasture land had to be excluded from the planned restoration but it’s full steam ahead again this year. “We are planting 18,000 trees this year and I’m hoping to have them all in the ground within 10 weeks. 2 I have a mailout list of just on 330 people now and within that group 10 percent are the backbone,” he says. Ian himself could be described as the steel in the backbone. The former farmer and property developer says he took from nature in his past occupations and is now driven by a desire to give something back. He spends two to three days a week at Paremata Flats. “I usually get out there at 6.30am and don’t get home till 5 or 6 pm, I like to put a full day in.” Even when the planting finishes in 2017, he plans to still be hard at work with his team, keeping predators and weeds out of Paremata Reserve. n David Brooks

Paremata planting In the last three years $131,700 has been raised to plant 35,841 native eco-sourced trees and 1,335 hours have been spent controlling weeds. A further 40,000 pioneer species including kānuka, kōwhai, coprosma, ribbonwood and pittosporum will be planted over the next two planting seasons. And 3,000 podocarps will be in the ground by mid 2017.

1 1 Eve (left) and Miranda Rucks clear a stoat from a trap at

Paremata Flats. Photo: Kath Rucks

2 Project organiser Ian Price is a former farmer and property

developer.

3 Already there has been dramatic growth of the new

plantings at the reserve. Photo: Colin Duncan

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$50 makes a big difference.

Please visit forestandbird.org.nz/joinus today. FAB0194/Ogilvy

community

conservation

Bridging the gap Pāteke have been successfully introduced at Matuku Reserve, as John Sumich, Waitakere Forest & Bird member and project founder of Habitat te Henga, explains. Diverse old growth and regenerating forest, extensive reed beds and treed wetland components make up Forest & Bird’s Matuku Reserve. The site was assessed 12 years ago as good habitat for a brown teal/pāteke translocation but further pest management was needed in the lower Waitakere river valley and surrounds. With the Ark in the Park to one side and the coast on the other, where New Zealand dotterels, shearwaters and petrels were already enjoying some protection, the Habitat te Henga project aimed to bridge the gap. Preparations included gaining permission from over 20 private landowners, raising funds for traps, transporting and placing 120 traps in the array and even erecting a bridge over a deep creek. The new traps, along with existing ones at Matuku and the beach, make an array of over 200 and will help bring to fruition the vision statement of the Ark in the Park: ‘From the Ridges to the Sea: Restoring the natural world of the Waitakeres’. Indeed kōkako, whitehead and robins released at the Ark have travelled this corridor, albeit infrequently.

while I explained the process to date and the assistance of the project’s many funders John Sumich and supporters. George Taua, kāumatua of local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki, gave a welcome and karakia to guests and pāteke, and told us about his own upbringing on the very hill behinds us where in those days his diet was supplemented with kererū from the forest, eels from the streams and mutton-birds extracted from their cliffside burrows (taking care to avoid the tuatara!). Local children and a few lucky adults got to release the pāteke. The birds rapidly escaped into the dense reed beds. Monitoring their presence, branch member Heidrun Schinke and a team of volunteers performed daily roll calls, radio tracking each bird. Almost six weeks passed before some of the pāteke were observed in open water and the majority remained in the general release area. From here monitoring will continue at less frequent intervals but predator management will be maintained year round – hopefully with the assistance of the local community who have been asked to keep their cats indoors at night. To date the pāteke have quickly adapted to this site readily finding their natural diet and generally eschewing the grain-based pellets at feeder stations. The Waitakere branch and its Habitat te Henga committee are cautiously optimistic for additional transfers next year and beyond to ensure a self- sustaining population. 1 Ruby Scott releasing one of the reserve’s 20 new pāteke.

Photo: P Grundemann

2 Heidrun Schinke monitors pāteke. Photo: J Sumich

With a trap array over 600 hectares and approval granted for a translocation in early 2015, we were almost ready. Normally a 50-minute return walk would be needed to access the reserve but this was not practical for the expected guests. Permission was gained from a valley resident to cross the river from his property to the reserve – offering a flat 15-minute walk. Seventy visitors, followed by 20 pāteke, crossed the river on the local surf club’s IRB on a hot summer’s day in January. Giant among the trees on the river flat, an old karaka gave shade to the group. John Staniland described the purchase and development of the reserve, 44

| Forest & Bird

our people

Welcome to... Dave Bowden

It’s in the DNA

David Bowden grew up in a Forest & Bird household in Hawke’s Bay and is a former branch committee member and Chair of the Central Auckland Branch. He is looking forward to the challenges ahead in his new role as Manager Programmes and Volunteer Coordination. David, who is based in Auckland, has a wealth of experience managing conservation projects, volunteers and contractors. He has been a strong voice for community-based conservation and has a real appreciation for volunteers and the importance of their role. “I am looking forward to increasing the level of support for volunteers in the society, and raising the bar when it comes to managing conservation projects that are supported by Forest & Bird,” says David. David worked at the Auckland Council for 11 years as its Biodiversity and Volunteeer Coordinator. He recently returned from a sabbatical in Borneo, which he describes as a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ to experience the beauty of its tropical forests (or what remains of them).

Amelia Geary has joined Forest & Bird as Regional Conservation and Volunteer Manager for the Lower North Island. Amelia’s great-grandmother was a Life Member of Forest & Bird and her grandmother is also a longstanding member. Amelia says she has been at the conservation coalface since primary school and carried on as a conservation volunteer through the Duke of Edinburgh award and at university. She studied muttonbirding in the Marlborough Sounds, working with local iwi to obtain her MSc. She has a BSc and a BA too, thereby proving a valuable member of Forest & Bird’s daily quiz team! Amelia worked for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in the UK, where she was involved in the Great Crane Project to reintroduce Eurasian cranes to the south-west of England. She’s also worked for the Department of Conservation, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and for two universities in Germany conducting research on pollination. “I’m very glad to be working at Forest & Bird where we can do meaningful work to save the environment,” says Amelia, who is based in national office but is often found out and about in her region meeting volunteers and branch members.

OBITUARY

John Groom He was known around the eastern Bay of Plenty as the Dotterel Man. John Groom, who died in March aged 85, worked single-mindedly for 15 years to protect the endangered New Zealand dotterel from predators and careless people. Forest & Bird recognised his achievements with the award of an Old Blue in 2011. Over the years, helped by his wife Bertha and former Eastern Bay of Plenty Forest & Bird branch committee member Sue Greenwood, John looked after more than 10 kilometres of coast, trapping predators, fencing off nests and educating people about the threatened birds in their midst. Linda Conning, Forest & Bird Distinguished Life Member and Eastern Bay of Plenty committee member, said John was notable for his commitment and diligence, practical ingenuity and friendliness. “He said his job involved both pest and people control but he always approached people in a relaxed way and was careful not to antagonise them,” she added. South African-born John started his work after retiring to Matata and having his attention drawn to ‘a funny little bird’ by his wife. He started keeping a dotterel diary and

discovered how desperate the situation was for the birds. About 2,200 of the northern sub-species remain around the coast of the top half of the North Island. Dotterel nests are often no more than a scrape in the sand above the high tide mark and besides being vulnerable to predators, they are easily run over by quad bikes or trodden on. Sue Greenwood said she would miss working with John on the local beaches. “I loved being out there with John, I really enjoyed his company,” she said. Forest & Bird

| 45

Volunteer coordinators

the heart of KCC

he Kiwi Conservation Club Coordinator’s annual gathering took place at Forest and Bird’s Mt Ruapehu Lodge in March. More than 30 volunteer coordinators attended, representing 19 KCC branches, from Northland to South Otago. They were joined by Forest & Bird staff, including Chief Executive Hōne McGregor, to share their experiences over the past year, learn more about KCC’s kaupapa and vision and take in the beautiful surroundings. KCC manager Tiff Stewart said: “Our volunteer coordinators are the heart of the Kiwi Conservation Club. Each coordinator brings their own talents and perspective. They all share our vision, which is to inspire the tamariki of New Zealand to explore, connect with, and care for our unique natural world. Each year they give thousands of hours to create inspiring, exciting trips. When I check out the KCC trips planned across the country, I often wish I could join them all!” We were particularly lucky to have coordinators Ron Fisher, from Whanganui, and Catriona Gower, from South Otago, who gave us an insight into their passions with the natural world. Ron brings a wealth of knowledge about our solar system as an astronomer and educator who, when he’s not a KCC coordinator, takes to touring the country along with his portable planetarium the Cosmodome. Catriona is a chiropterophile (bat enthusiast) with many years’ experience of bat conservation in the UK. She is now on a mission to spread the word about our unique bat species and the importance of protecting their habitat. We also invited Alex Warriner, from the Mountain Safety Council, and Helen Warriner, representing Scouts New Zealand, to take us through risk management requirements for our coordinators while taking children on KCC trips. This was invaluable in helping demonstrate the kind of support

| Forest & Bird

available to coordinators when taking our young members and their families out on their exciting adventures. Finally, we are lucky to have Kate Graeme as one of our volunteer coordinators. Kate brings a lifetime of KCC experience as the daughter of former leader Ann Graeme. Kate, who is also a Forest & Bird board member, explained the new process of electing two coordinators to represent KCC at Forest & Bird’s AGM in June.

Kiwi Conservation Club expands Eighteen new coordinators have joined us in the past three months. More than 80 percent of our Forest & Bird branches now have dedicated KCC coordinators, who plan and run adventures especially for children and families. What a brilliant way to introduce kids to the wonders of our natural world, KCC and Forest & Bird. Some of the newest KCC coordinators have joined existing KCC branches, and some have ‘reactivated’ branches that haven’t been active for some time. These include South Otago, Golden Bay, Southland, and, newest of all, Central Otago Lakes. I’m really looking forward to seeing the KCC adventures that will be taking place in these stunning places. KCC coordinators are supported by their local Forest & Bird branch, and by the KCC team at National Office. If you want to know more about becoming a KCC Coordinator in your area, we’d love to hear from you. Please email kcc@forestandbird.org.nz

n Melanie Dash and Tiff Stewart

Issue 126 Autumn 2015

��s Inside:

> Fascinating frogs > Geckos g galore

Games of survival

Us against climate change

S, U L PPuzzles ,

un skit fmore and

KCC is Forest & Bird’s kids’ club. Each KCC kid gets 4 Wild Things magazines a year and in some areas can join KCC group trips. KCC is fun and has been inspiring kids for over 20 years. Join your kids up at www.forestandbird.org.nz/kcc now. Forest & Bird

| 47

Lodges

The best lodge on the Five years ago Ruapehu Lodge rose out of the ashes to become the best purposebuilt lodge in Tongariro National Park. It’s a special year-round destination for all the family, as Caroline Wood discovers.

uapehu Lodge is the jewel in the crown of Forest & Bird lodges. Located in a dual world heritage area, with walk-from-door access to some of New Zealand’s best walks and a short drive to the skifields, the lodge can be enjoyed year round. But the lodge’s story could easily have turned out very differently, as Forest & Bird board member Jon Wenham recalls. Seven years ago he was standing a the base of Mt Ruapehu looking upon a scene of utter devastation. The original 1960s lodge – largely built by volunteer Forest & Bird labour in the 1960s – had been razed to the ground by fire. “It had raced through the old wooden building before fire crews could reach the remote location. It started at midnight and two hours later it was gone, there was literally nothing left of the old lodge, it was heartbreaking,” he says. The original lodge occupied a prime position on the mountain with drive-on access in winter, being just below the snow barrier in Whakapapa village, close to the Department of Conservation information site and the Chateau Tongariro Hotel. It was one of just 52 mountain concessions DOC gave out in the 1960s, and Forest & Bird snapped one up, along with a number of ski and tramping clubs. Jon knew the Society had to act fast or DOC might not allow reinstatement. Within days he had come up with ideas

| Forest & Bird

to replace what was there – but make it slighter bigger and a lot better. He presented sketch plans and initial estimates to the Society the following weekend. Insurance would not cover the full rebuild cost but the board narrowly agreed the plans and the race to replace was on. “Tongariro is one of the few dual world heritage areas in the world. It was a unique opportunity and DOC gave us three years to have a new building completed,” Jon says. “We were starting from scratch, it was a total write off. We had to pick up every bit of glass, every tiny nail, from the area because DOC said they didn’t want anything left of the old building. Over a few days, three of us cleaned up until all that was left was bare earth.” The fire service said the the original fire started from hot ashes left behind in the building by a group just departed, says Jon. Not surprisingly there is no log burner there now but the lodge is cosy thanks to highly efficient heat pumps and top of the line insulation. The rebuild started in April 2010 and the new lodge was officially open for business on 20 October 2010. Stanley Construction, of Matamata, prebuilt modular sections in its factory and put them together on site, allowing the building to go up in a short space of time. The 32-bed lodge has two lounges, a communal kitchen,

It’s our national lodge, everyone really enjoys their holiday to the mountain, whatever the season. Jon Wenham dining room for 40, a meeting room and library, and sitting areas on the deck. It has commercial grade aluminium, double glazing, is above code for earthquake and fire proofing, and is fully wheelchair accessible. “It’s the only purpose-built Forest & Bird lodge and DOC says it’s the best lodge on the mountain. It’s our national lodge. Everyone really enjoys their holiday to the mountain, whatever the season,” says Jon. “It’s just as magical in spring, summer and autumn, not just winter. There are alpine flowers and amazing fungi in the autumn, for example. Near the lodge you can see blue ducks in the Whakapapanui Stream, as well as riflemen, tomtit, geckos, kiwi and the New Zealand falcon.” Transport to the Tongariro Crossing is just down the road and the lodge is near the start of the best walks on

the mountain. There’s also rock climbing, skiing in winter and good mountain biking in the area. In summer, chairlifts carry visitors up the mountain to access walks and a café. Forest & Bird members can book online and are allowed to take guests to Ruapehu Lodge. For details go to: www.forestandbird.org.nz/ruapehulodge.

3 1 Jon Wenham 2 The fire destroyed the old lodge in 2008. Photo: Jon Wenham

3 The lodge is comfy and warm in winter. Photo: Jon Wenham

Tai Haruru Lodge

LODGES Arethusa Cottage Near Pukenui, Northland Sleeps 6 herbit@xtra.co.nz 09 405 1720

Ruapehu Lodge Whakapapa Village, Tongariro National Park Sleeps 32 office@forestandbird.org.nz 04 385 7374

Mangarākau Swamp Field Centre North-west Nelson Sleeps 10 javn@xtra.co.nz 03 525 6031

Piha, West Auckland Sleeps 6 hop0018@slingshot.co.nz 09 812 8064

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William Hartree Memorial Lodge Near Patoka, Hawke’s Bay Sleeps 10 hayhouse@clear.net.nz 06 844 4651

Matiu/Somes Island house Wellington Harbour Sleeps 8 wellingtonvc@doc.govt.nz 04 384 7770

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Forest & Bird

| 49

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12 NZ Bird calls Auto off in the dark Wood surround with glass face 3xAAA batteries

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Karen Condon PHONE 0275 420 338 EMAIL mack.cons@xtra.co.nz

Photo: Katya Ovsyanikova

Galapagos of the Antarctic – Wild Islands South of New Zealand By Rodney Russ & Aleks Terauds Heritage Expeditions $72 Reviewed by Phil Bilbrough This is a magnificent book. It is chock full of illustrations, stunning photography and a wealth of information about our southern islands. Chapter by chapter Rodney Russ (founder of Heritage Expeditions) and Aleks Terauds work through the flora and fauna, history and geo-history of the Chatham Islands, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Islands, Macquarie Islands, Auckland Islands and the Snares. Rodney and Aleks don’t leave much out, and perhaps they could have. I’m not sure the reader needs to know about funding applications for pest eradication. Yes, there’s a lot of detail here, but it’s well laid out and easy to follow. Rodney and Aleks tell the story of these islands as fans, and they have succeeded in exciting me about them as well.

Zealandia, Our Continent Revealed By Nick Mortimer and Hamish Campbell Penguin, $60 Reviewed by David Brooks New Zealanders should see themselves as residents of one of earth’s continents, alongside Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica, GNS Science geologists Nick Mortimer and Hamish Campbell argue. This book is the first comprehensive and relatively reader-friendly book focused on Zealandia as a continent. It is well produced with lots of quality photos and graphics. It is now accepted that New Zealand was once part of the super-continent Gondwanda until it broke up about 85 million years ago. The authors argue, with support from other continental geologists, that New Zealand is part of Zealandia, the world’s smallest and most submerged continent. Only six percent of Zealandia lies above the sea surface, compared to between 47 percent and 85 percent for the other continents. Near the northern edge of the continent lies New Caledonia, the east extends past the Chatham Islands and towards the southern edge is Campbell Island. The northwest edge is separated from the Australian continental crust by just 25km and Australia’s Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands both lie within Zealandia. The argument for Zealandia’s status as a continent is based on mapping of the sea floor by satellites and Forest & Bird

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ships, as well as analysis indicating its 4.92 million square kilometre area is made up of continental – rather than oceanic – crust. When the authors step outside their field of expertise, the arguments seem shakier. It seems over-optimistic to state:”We can be confident that the geography and geology of Zealandia will lead the people of Zealandia to sustainable living standards and cultural and environmental security well into the foreseeable future.” They also assert: “In our Zealandian melting pot, as species become extinct, so new hybrids and species will evolve. Nature is not conservationist.” Conservationists would argue you can’t compare what natural forces have created over hundreds of millions of years with the drastic changes human beings have caused over several hundred years.

New Zealand Native Ground Cover Plants – A practical guide for gardeners and landscapers By Lawrie Metcalf and Roy Edwards Canterbury University Press $34.99 Reviewed by Ann Graeme Ground cover plants do just that – they cover the ground. They are attractive, they can exclude weeds and they are prettier than sterile bark. They are very useful on steep banks, or in extensive areas, or just in places you want to look beautiful without too much work. To a less-thandedicated gardener like me, they are a delight. But as always, there is no free lunch. Ground cover + weeds = nightmare As the authors explain, with a nice turn of phrase: “A totally weed-free garden is an illusion, and the battle for a maintenance-free garden, even with ground cover plants, requires an awareness of what is likely to occur and having a sound strategy to deal with it.” The book advises you well. Chapters cover every aspect of ground cover plants including design, different habits of growth, propagation, maintenance and a 52

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comprehensive section on native species to choose from, with photos and descriptions. I particularly liked the description of bidibidis, plants most people associate with burrs stuck in their socks. “Many people do not realise that there are bidibidis that have been house-trained...most of the species chosen are well behaved.” This is a practical and workman-like book. It will be welcomed by new gardeners and experienced landscapers alike.

Tramping – A New Zealand History By Shaun Barnett and Chris Maclean Craig Potton Publishing $69.99 Reviewed by Anthony Hamel This coffee table book (weight 2.015 kgs, 368 pages) tackles a diverse subject and is another quality Craig Potton Publishing [now Potton & Burton] publication, crammed with stunning illustrations. What is the origin of the word tramping in the New Zealand context? This is emphatically answered and is one of a number of subjects extensively explored. The first third of the book covers the period prior to the formation of recreational tramping clubs in the 1920s. The balance of the book discusses organised recreational tramping, the rise of the concept of the New Zealand wilderness, great walks and other topics. The main body of text discusses topics in chronological order and short essays cover 28 subjects in highlighted text boxes. The authors show a considerable knowledge of the subject and have done a great deal of research as shown by the extensive endnotes, bibliography (58 pages) and a comprehensive index. There are numerous short reviews of key publications. Readers are encouraged to explore the subject further. On the downside, abridged histories do not leave everybody satisfied. An example is the evolution of outdoor gear section, which could have been covered in more detail, and likewise nude tramping in less detail. Taking a chronological approach means links between subjects are sometimes tenuous. Active and retired trampers will enjoy this fantastic publication while at rest. However, it is not lightweight reading so you will still need to find a paperback to take into the hills on your next trip.

Parting shot Professor Jean Fleming took this vibrant closeup of a kea’s plumage while visiting Nga Manu Nature Reserve, in Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast. Jean has been friends with Nga Manu since she was a teenager, when her father (Charles Fleming) supported Peter McKenzie to set up the reserve. Earlier this year, Jean moved back to Waikanae Beach after 22 years in Dunedin. This shot was taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70, which has a stable zoom lens, at ISO 800, 181 mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec. “I have been experimenting with plumage shots from our native birds and this one of kea feathers I thought was particularly successful,” says Jean. “The kea is one of two in a large aviary at Nga Manu, so they are not exactly freerange birds, but you can get right up close to them.”

PARTING SHOT PRIZE Send us a stunning photo of one of New Zealand’s special native plants or animals. Each published Parting Shot image will receive a Joby GorillaPod SLR Zoom RRP $110.

The GorillaPod is a flexible tripod with ball head for SLR cameras features a full 360° pan and 90° tilt that supports cameras up to 3kg. The flexible legs can wrap around fixed objects allowing the camera to be secured almost anywhere – inside or outdoors. Please send a low-res digital file and brief details about your photo to Caroline Wood at c.wood@forestandbird.org.nz Winners will be asked for higher-resolution files.

we ARE tramping

Tramping on Mt Howitt, Hooker Range, high above the Landsborough Valley Photo: Mark Watson / Highluxphoto

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