Welcome again to the Friends of Flora (FoF) newsletter which brings you the latest news on our efforts to bring the birdsong back to the Flora. Most of our news is about birds this issue, starting with…

…Big birds A reminder: please record all sightings (and calls heard) of what we call “big birds”, that is kea, kaka, kakariki, whio, falcon/karearea and weka. Note these birds on your monitoring sheets, I Line bird count sheets or email Bill and Maryann at info@bushandbeyond.co.nz with sighting details.

Maryann on nest! Cross your fingers everyone because the first nesting attempt by whio in the Flora for over a decade is under way. Maryann, the juvenile female whio translocated from the Pearse R. early last year, was discovered sitting on an unknown number of eggs not far from the Upper Junction swingbridge last week. Keep a look out for her ducklings any day soon!

Signs of Spring It’s been a shocking spring weather-wise but that hasn’t stopped the native clematis/puawhananga putting on a show in the bush opposite the Graham Valley Rd. And while the shining cuckoos/pipiwharauroa are possibly regretting their decision to migrate from the Solomon Islands, their “tsiu, tsui” calls have been heard for some weeks now. Keep an ear out too for the first long-tailed cuckoos/koekoea. They are often heard screeching around the Mt Arthur hut in summer as they seek out brown creepers to parasitise.

Training Day. Put a circle around Saturday 24 November on your calendars. At 8.00 am in the DOC Motueka yard Gavin Udy will demonstrate how to rid your vehicle of all traces of didymo in DOC’s unique didymo car wash. All those who take their vehicles past the gate are urged to attend. Following this, at 10.30am in the Flora Clearing, Gavin will demonstrate the use of telemetry gear to track whio and, when they arrive, great spotted kiwi/roa.

Weka-proofing project DOC staff have since last year being steadily chipping away at the massive task of converting all traps in the Flora to exclude weka. There’s been quite an explosion of weka numbers in the Flora in response to our predator control and they can now be encountered almost anywhere between the carpark and Salisbury Lodge. On C Line alone there are two families consisting of pairs with 2 and 3 chicks respectively. The conversion project involves moving the trap well away from the door (and removing the second trap if double-set) and installing a new baffle system to prevent any possibility of curious weka ending up as “by-catch”. The project has passed the half-way point with A, D, E, H, and upper I Line complete.

Prints in the snow this month around this (converted) trap on E Line show it has been inspected by a curious weka.

Monthly pest parade

Stoats: 6 (total 420 since Feb 2002)
Rats: 23 (total 1427)
Mice : just 3 (total 812)
Possums: 5 (total 301 since June 2004)

That’s closing in on 3,000 bird-munching, egg-stealing, tree-gobbling pests. In the same period DOC took 3 stoats and 12 rats off D, H, E and upper I line. FoF’s catch for the same period last year was pretty similar at 4 stoats, 30 rats, 9 mice and 4 possums.

Health and Safety – radios If your team is monitoring on the weekend, please remember that DOC leave out hand-held VHF radios to keep in touch within your team, with other teams or with emergency services if things go pear-shaped up there. Select Channel 5. Take a radio; it could save a life. If you’re going up during the week, there are usually spare radios you can borrow for the day.

That’s all for this month. Remember, monitoring weekends are the last two weekends of each month

Ivan Rogers,
FoF Committee