December 2017 Weka Chicks We’d hoped to report to you about a number of successful weka families but they are proving hard to find. Tipene and Sheila have lost one of their two babies but the surviving chick is looking well. It is starting to show the first brown feathers and is past the cute fluffy stage. The pair at the back of Te Papa Road might have 2 chicks but they are not being seen right now. Roxy... Read More | Share it now!
Spring is here. There has been a change in the behaviour of some of the weka pairs; not appreaing as often and not being seen together. Tipene and Sheila have been one pair like this. This weekend Sheila was seen taking small pieces of cheese up into the bush rather than scoffing them on the spot. This is what we call ‘carrying’ and it means that she and her mate have small chicks to feed. Cheese is... Read More | Share it now!
We have to accept that, if we are to save endangered native fauna, we have to get rid of the animals that can harm them. WekaWatch targets the worst weka predators, stoats, ferrets and weasels and also rats and hedgehogs. Safe baits became very expensive so we now use only traps. Timms traps. Most people are familiar with the bright yellow trap in the photo below. Timms traps are the most effective... Read More | Share it now!
Weather Four major weather events between mid-February and late April have influenced our work more than anything else over recent months. Rain, rain and more rain in March and April caused severe slips on the Coast Road closing access to our two longest trap lines and also to five of our 11 count sites. The road is still closed to all but residential traffic and it seems it will be for another 6 to 9 months.... Read More | Share it now!
But the Government has publicly stated that it may now change the law to get around the Supreme Court ruling and won’t listen to New Zealander’s like you. It intends to make changes to the Conservation Act that could well and truly sell nature down the river. With your help we will fight this every step of the way – nature is not for sale and never will be. Look what we can do when we work... Read More | Share it now!
Our enthusiastic trappers had a productive month in June. The two long trap lines on the Tawhitokino farm were walked and 92 traps were cleared, some of them twice. And the results? 70 rats, 9 hedgehogs, and one stoat. Only 2 possums have been taken in the Te Papa Road area this month, quite a low number for 30 days. But the possum total for 2017 is now 34! We are really targeting stoats and ferrets. The... Read More | Share it now!
Leanne Chamberlin reporter to the Pohutukawa Coast Times, wrote a recent article reporting the recent death of our oldest breeding weka, Cheeky Charlie, long time resident of Kawakawa Bay. Download the full story here… http://www.pctimes.co.nz/images/PDF/PCTJune92017.pdf ... Read More | Share it now!
Finally after struggling with abominable weather and severe damage to the routes into our count sites, the 2017 weka count was completed in mid-May. This is much later than usual so the final numbers are probably not directly comparable to earlier years. In 2016 the weka population was at an all time low and we are encouraged that the numbers this year show a slight increase. We cannot relax our protection... Read More | Share it now!
Sadly we lost Charlie, one of our oldest male weka, on the morning of Mothers’ Day. His still warm body was found beside the road, with a compound fracture of a leg and some severe internal injuries. This was clearly road kill and illustrates how important it is for us all always to take care when driving along the Coast Road or in Te Papa Road where there are often weka near the road. Charlie was... Read More | Share it now!
Bad news for the possums but good news for the weka in the Te Papa Road area! Possums frequently trip our motion sensitive cameras so we know they are always there in our valley. In April John trapped 14 of them! Thank you Barbara and Alan for the free feijoas – the possums loved them! This gives us a grand total of 352 of these pests trapped since 2005. We all know that possums are a ‘bad... Read More | Share it now!