Welcome to the Friends of Flora (FoF) newsletter for the chilly June of 2006, sent to keep you in touch with our work of bringing the birdsong back to the Flora. For those of you who had last weekend's monitoring postponed due to snow and ice on road to the Flora carpark, your team leaders will be in touch to confirm new dates.

Whats my Line? This month Christine Johns tells us why she is so enchanted with A Line...

Our monthly encounter with nature stimulates the mind and soul. Terrain from rocky steep slopes to a wonderland that can only be likened to 'Lord of the Rings', amongst Dracophyllum and Powelliphanta snails to golden grasses that ebb and flow with the soft breezes from the spectacular mountain tops. A sense of satisfaction and fulfilment as the birds sing safely with the knowledge that predators are kept at bay. An occasional owl flies down to speak his approval, whilst the weka forage around uninterruptedly. Craig is 12yrs and has been helping with the trapping programme for 3 years, it is to him I am grateful, as his interest in conservation has led our family to continue to fight for the life of whio in the Flora and we have been rewarded with the knowledge of increasing bird numbers and above all meeting people who really “care.” A line is a great reminder of the beautiful things in life and I would recommend the monthly stroll to anyone.

Know Your Rats There are three species of rats in New Zealand - the kiore (Polynesian rat), ship rat and Norway rat or Rattus exulans, Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus. The kiore arrived with the Maori and due to competition from the next two arrivals and the house mouse (Mus musculus), has retreated to offshore islands, Stewart Island and southern Westland to Fiordland. The Norway rat arrived on ships from the 1770s onwards. At this point it was the dominant rat species in Europe. However, its European range was taken over early in the 19th century by the ship rat, so that 'stowaway' rats on sailing ships from mid-century were ineviatably Rattus rattus. So far as we know, all rat kills in the Flora have been ship rats, although there is no particular reason why Norway rats should not be present, particularly near streams - they are inevitable found within 10m of running water, hence one of their many common names is 'water rat'.

A quick test will distinguish these rats. If the ears cover the eyes when pulled forward it is either a kiore or a ship rat, not a Norway rat. If the rat also has a small triangle of dark hair extending from each ankle onto the foot, it's a kiore. Although ship rats have three different colour forms, their feet are always pale and their tails noticeably longer than their head and body combined. The Norway rat's tail is clearly shorter. Any two, but never all three, will share the same range, so it shouldn't be too confusing to identify your next rat!

From the Chairman Here's a short extract on the theme of 'commitment' from FoF chairman Chris Potter's report to last months AGM:

"On behalf of the wider community I gratefully acknowledge the dedication of the whole FoF team: Committee members, active volunteers and other helpers over the past year. We must never take this exceptional commitment for granted. With the first monitoring having taken place in February 2002, a number of our members have now made more than 50 trips to the Flora on FoF business. Another way of looking at the work involved is in the time spent in monitoring alone: at least 750 person-days or about 4,500 hours. Added to this is the time taken making tunnels, attending committee meetings and all the other background tasks. Clearly this is a group of people who feel the responsibility for our struggling natural environment personally and are prepared to put their concerns into serious action. We must keep up the momentum as long as we can...as with liberty the price will be eternal vigilance."

May pest stats
Rats; (ship rats, that is!) 55 (876 in total since Feb 2002)
Mice; only 4, (total 652)
Stoats; just the one (total 309)
Possums 8 (total 204 since June 2004)
and a weasel off B Line (thanks Phillip and Sally) taking this total to 8.

Edwards Clearing Thanks to Maryann Ewers for the following:

The clearing where the Flora Hut is situated today was once known as ‘Edwards Clearing’. Edwards had a store on this site during the gold fossicking times in the latter part of the 19th century on the Tablelands. He sold all the necessary equipment i.e. tools and food, needed for the fossickers. There was never much gold found, but he would have made his money, along with the butcher and blacksmith who were on the Tablelands. He probably received any gold found as payment for goods!

More from FoF later this month. For back issues of the newsletter and much much more, check out our website at www.fof.org.nz

Ivan Rogers FoF Committee