Welcome to the Friends of Flora (FoF) Christmas newsletter, out a little late to incorporate some recent items of good news…

Four in the Flora! Maryann and Bill whio’s eggs have hatched and they are now cruising around with four ducklings. This represents the first breeding success for Flora whio since 1995. Maryann was translocated from the adjacent Pearse River by DOC staff in early 2006 and she soon paired up with Bill, one of a handful of resident males left in the Flora Stream. Of the clutch of six, one egg failed to hatch and one duckling presumably died soon after hatching. With predation well suppressed by FoF and DOC’s trapping efforts, the chances of the four reaching fledgling stage and fending for themselves are very good. Keep an eye out for them between Gridiron Stream and the Balloon Creek confluence. This event is reported on the front page of the Dec. 6 Motueka Golden Bay News.

Happy family: Bill (front) and Maryann (rear) and their brood on Tuesday. Photo by Chris Golding

Highly commended (again) More good news with FoF receiving a ‘highly commended’ award at last week’s Tasman District Council Environmental Awards ceremony, held at the Upper Moutere Community Centre. The panel, who had previously been shown around our traplines by Maryann Ewers and Chris Potter, were all very impressed with FoF's record and plan to take their family members up to the Flora to show off their newly-acquired knowledge. This is the third time we have been recognised by a TDC Environmental Award. Our thanks to the sponsor, Fulton Hogan, and our congratulations to the winners, “Keep Motueka Beautiful”.

Outrage. In stark contrast to the good news items above, almost all of our 65 traps on the Gordon’s Pyramid (P) line have been set off and in some cases destroyed by vandals. The devastation was discovered by FoF volunteers Snow, Andy and Michael last weekend. A few boxes on I Line have also been interfered with. As this outrage has been reported too, it may shame those responsible into ceasing their sabotage. Every act of sabotage gives stoats a chance to kill native wildlife in the Flora, such as nesting whio!

Monthly pest parade Totals for October 2007:
Stoats: 4 (total 424 since Feb 2002)
Rats: 21 (total 1448)
Mice: just the one (total 813)
Possums: also only one (total 302 since June 2004)
In the same period DOC took 3 stoats and 8 rats off D, H, E and upper I line. FoF’s catch for the same period last year was rather higher for rodents - 60 rats and 15 mice – with one stoat and 5 possums.

Footprints show: stoats are low. An impressive turnout of 15 volunteers turned out last month to collect inkpads from ten 500m lines of footprint tracking tunnels in our predator-controlled area. The results were encouraging – of 50 papers collected, only one (from a tunnel below Lodestone) was tracked by a stoat, showing our trapping really is suppressing stoats in the Flora. Of course, the idiots who sabotaged P Line have just let a few more in…

Kea fans… You might like to check out the Kea Conservation Trust’s excellent website at http://www.keaconservation.com .
Remember to note all kea, kaka, kakariki, falcon, weka and whio sightings on your monitoring sheets or email Bill and Maryann at info@bushandbeyond.co.nz

Next month: November bird census results, Flora bird list and the Flora’s other duck the grey duck/parera. That’s all for this issue, and for the year. Have a safe and happy festive season. Remember, monitoring weekends are the last two weekends of each month

Ivan Rogers,
FoF Committee