COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER – Mahi tahi!!

Rangers’ Report – June 2018

Operational Summary... Yeah gidday, I hope you are all very well and have managed to avoid most of the colds and flu going around. I do also

hope you have been able to get out and about in some of the nicer winter days.

The volunteer and ranger team have had to keep hard at task with pest numbers (mainly mice) remaining still a bit

higher than normal for mid-winter. This has meant that all the bait stations and traps must be checked fastidiously as

always to keep everything in tip top condition to lure in those wily pests. We have also been busy maintaining the trap

lines, by clearing tight vegetation and cutting in foot steps on steep slopes. With approximately 65km of trap lines (in

often tricky terrain) this is always a mountainous task and the focus is, and will continue to be, on the northern slope

lines that the volunteers mainly service. Trap catches have slowed down moderately too, with 29 pests caught, down ten

catches from 39 in May. Only four of these 29 catches were caught within the reserve, the remainder being caught on

the boundary.

We have been really busy again with other operational tasks, such as re-monitoring the grey faced petrel (GFP) site,

hosting Whangarei Girls High School for historical and environmental education, kiwi call counts within Bream Head

Scenic Reserve, a cool kiwi show and tell at Whangarei Heads School in conjunction with Backyard Kiwi and Limestone

Island/Matakohe, weed control workshops, on the ground weed control action as well as new trap mapping and

maintenance.

Monthly predator control results: June 2018

Pest Total # caught this month

# of Total caught inside reserve (i.e. not on boundary/buffer zone).

# caught this month prev. yr.

# caught 2018 YTD

# caught 2017 YTD.

Rat 7 1 of 7 9 98 42

Possum 1 0 of 1 1 3 11

Stoat 0 0 0 3 7

Weasel 12 1 of 12 1 39 7

Ferret 0 0 0 0 0

Feral cat 0 0 0 1 0

Mouse 9 2 of 9 0 89 1

Hedgehog 0 0 4 3 14

Totals 29 n/a 15 236 82

Monthly Species monitoring results/updates: June 2018

Species Method # ID Sex Location Status/comment Rodent Tracking

Tunnel Rat: 2 tunnels out of eight tracked rats. Mice: 6 out of 8 tunnels.

n/a n/a GFP site BHCT to add snap-e rat traps into the GFP site area.

n/a

Tip, top traps… Volunteers/rangers have also been busy upgrading/updating traps, winter is a

great time to ensure our fleet of devices are delivering the best possible chance

of a fast, clean catch. Upgrades to our DOC200 mustelid trap boxes has seen a

new bait hook added that is removable so that the trapper does not touch the

old bait and therefore significantly reduces the chance of cross contamination to

the replacement bait. Many of the traps required their internal mesh baffles to

be replaced due to rusting. Trap sensitivity and trip plates have also been

tested and adjusted where necessary. Our possum traps (the Sentinel trap) are

getting to an age where they are rusting through and, in this state, are both

ineffective and dangerous to the trapper. Therefore, our plan is to replace them

gradually with the approved SA2 possum/feral cat trap. These are easier to use,

last longer in the environment and have the added bonus of being able to kill

both possums and feral cats with one trap. Here is a photo of our youngest

volunteer, Jake Somersall-Weekes, helping to upgrade one of the mustelid

traps out on the southern side of the reserve. You can see the SA2

possum/feral cat trap on the tree behind Jake. Jake is only 16 years of age and

is keen to become a professional conservation ranger when he leaves school

and spends 6-7 hours every two weeks trapping and filling bait stations for the

Trust.

More awesome volunteers… Other happenings in June have been the continued track and weed maintenance by the Smugglers maintenance crew

lead by Colin Edwards, these are the people to thank for the fantastic condition of the track and surrounding native

vegetation at Busby Head including Smugglers Bay. This small but passionate group meets once per month and the focus

is on being outdoors together enjoying one another’s company whilst doing some really great work for our community. If

you want to join this nice social bunch then contact Colin via email at c.medwards@actrix.co.nz

The long serving Busby Trappers have also been really busy in June, working hard to keep the bait stations full of toxin

as mice take has spiked this autumn/winter. The group have taken real personal pride in monitoring the take and

working on trial strategies to combat the mice issue. They are also a friendly, social bunch who enjoy a nice walk out in

the reserve whilst helping to restore the biodiversity of this popular place. The group meet once per month on the

second Sunday and their focus is on trapping and toxin delivery to the stations, spending an average of 2-3 hours

walking the lines. Moderate fitness and bush skills are required. If you are keen to join and make a difference contact

Geoff Pike via email at sgprincepike@gmail.com

The GFP are back in town…. During June a team of volunteers, along with our rangers installed study lids, setup new rat traps and set last year’s

tracking tunnels, mustelid traps and three trail cameras at the grey faced petrel (GFP) burrows. GFP burrows are often

very long (some can even reach 2m), therefore making it almost impossible to reach into the chamber to study the chick

development. In order to have easier access that is safer/less intrusive for the birds the Trust has permission to install

study lids over the burrows. The study lids are a 18mm thick plywood lid 400mm square which are placed over a short

tunnel we have dug to meet just outside the incubation chamber. Seabird expert Cathy Mitchell has excellent experience

at this task and supervised the group at each burrow we could make. The correct install of the lid is critical to avoid the

possibility of unwanted ingress of water. This has been done because June is the time that the adult birds should be

about to return to their burrows to lay and incubate their eggs. It was a really special day as trustees Geoff Pike and Bill

Mallet joined us and they got to see a large flock of tui (50+) and a beautiful kakariki out on the precarious and jagged

site. This is something I have only really witnessed out at the site, so it was cool to share the awesome terrain, views

and fauna interaction with our long-term volunteer/trustees. I will be revisiting the site every two weeks to check all the

traps and other equipment in the effort to continue protecting these birds that like to call Bream Head home. We have

permission also to band some of the birds, so we can therefore monitor the birds to see if the same adults, and if any of

the chicks, are returning to breed at Bream Head.

Cathy Mitchell (far left) inspects a burrow as part of the lid install.

Keith Hawkins (left and Cathy Mitchell at the original burrow site

Keith Hawkins takes in the vista vitae!

High school visits continue…

During the month we had the second visit of the Whangarei Girls High School to the reserve on a rather bleak and cold

winters day. Despite the weather our educational team of Shirley Peterson, Jacque Knight, Fred Tito and Murray Jagger

did a fantastic job of guiding the teenagers around the social, archaeological, geological and environmental history of

Bream Head. Unfortunately, due to the poor weather conditions, I was not able to conduct my restoration game and talk

about our project with the girls, but I do hope to meet with the group again to facilitate this important connection with

the school.

Kiwi for the kids…. I was fortunate enough to be involved with a Backyard Kiwi showing of a young female Northland Brown Kiwi called

Maia. I joined Todd Hamilton of Backyard Kiwi and Emma Craig of Matakohe/limestone Island, as they visited Whanagrei

Heads School for an awesome show and tell about the issues facing Kiwi in Northland and the recovery going on in our

backyards that is turning heads throughout New Zealand. The children were very well behaved and therefore got a great

up close personal look at Maia. As always, the children knew a lot about the plight of Kiwi already, an obvious reflection

of the awesome environmental culture and teaching going on at the school. Keeping on the Kiwi theme, several BHCT

and local volunteers braved the weather again in late June at Bream Head as part of the annual Whanagrei Heads kiwi

call count survey. This required listening for kiwi calls, in a set area over four nights, during a two-hour period in the

early evening. The Trust also installs two acoustic recorders over at Peach Cove to record call counts in this area.

Recently we purchased software that will speed up the analysis of the recorder data. The data contributes to the total

Kiwi call count for the Heads that Todd Hamilton’s team collates, with the results painting the picture of how well our

Kiwi are doing.

The war on weeds.. During June I was invited to attend an in-depth and very professional weed control workshop, hosted by NRC and

delivered by two leading weed experts from the Wellington region. The facilitators were impressed by our rate funded

community Weed Action group but alarmed at the size and quantity of invasive weeds we have to deal with in Northland.

Titled, the war on weeds, the workshop delivered excellent current best practice in weed control, and how important it is

that weed control needs to be co-ordinated on a regional and national scale, so we have far better combined effect (like

what has been happening and is developing further in predator control). I was particularly interested in the use of new

technology, like drone monitoring using spectral light imaging (using special cameras on the bottom of a drone to

highlight different species of plants amongst other vegetation).

Nice wheels bro… You may have seen my Nissan X-trail work vehicle has

had sexy new signage added to it. The Trust has invested

in the signage which will hopefully give us some more

exposure around our area. Check out Greg Innes’s cheeky

cat on the bonnet of my car not long after the signage was

installed. I wonder if this fleet footed feline knew how

close it was flying to the wind, lucky it’s a well looked after

pet cat! If you see me out on the roads, give us a wave

and a smile and I will reciprocate in similar fashion.

Weed of the Month (from the Whangarei Heads Weed Action website http://weedaction.org.nz/weed-of-the-month/)

The time has come to purge your place of privet!

This months ‘Weed of the Month” is the putrid tree privet (Ligustrum lucidum), sometimes known as Japanese privet or broadleaf privet. It is r ight up there on our dirty dozen priority target l ist because if we do nothing, over t ime it wil l spread more and more rapidly around the Heads, and replace our native forest with a monoculture of privet trees, as it has already started to do in spots further up the peninsula. This is bad news for our native species and for us humans as the pollen triggers allergies and asthma. Weed Action is undertaking a strategic project on the peninsula targeting the outlying infestations to contain the spread so now is a great t ime to take action and join the resistance!

How do I control it?

Free herbicide (that is particularly effective on tree privet) is available from the Weed Action Community Store. Just get in contact with our coordinator Jo.

1. Pull or dig seedlings. Leave on site with roots in the air to die and rot down, or mulch. 2. Cut stump application: Cut low (50mm above ground) and stump treat w ith (5g metsulfuron/1L) within 10 minutes of cutting. Undiluted glyphosate can also be used but extra care is required when working with undiluted herbicides. Cut stems can be left on site to rot down, or mulched.

2. Frill and fi l l : Make deep downward cuts in to the sapwood around the base of the tree, taking care not to ring bark the plant, and immediately saturate the cuts with (5g metsulfuron/1L water) to the point of runoff, within 10 minutes of cutting. Wait until the liquid subsides/absorbs and then apply again. Picloram gel can also be used (less effective). Undiluted glyphosate can also be used but extra care is required when working with undiluted herbicides. If necessary wait until the liquid subsides then apply the remainder.

3. Dril l and f il l : Dril l (c.12mm dril l bit) sloping holes into the sapwood at 20cm intervals around trunk, & immediately f i ll each hole with 10-15mls of (5g metsulfuron/1 litre water). Undiluted glyphosate, or undiluted Tordon Brushkiller can also be used but extra care is required when working with undiluted herbicide.

4. Spray, best in spring & autumn, with (5g metsulfuron+10ml penetrant/10L), or (100mls glyphosate/10 litres water).

Ensure correct identif ication. Easy to kil l with metsulfuron . Follow up 6-monthly. Easiest to spot during spring f lowering. Don’t replant until seedling regrowth ceases, as privet wil l grow through groundcover. If removing large adult trees and opening up an area to l ight, be prepared to treat the resulting seedlin gs that will germinate to prevent creating a thicket of saplings which are more labour intensive to control.

CAUTION: when using any herbicide or pesticide PLEASE READ THE LABEL THOROUGHLY to ensure that all instructions and safety requirements are followed.

Coming up in July: HQ site preparation…dedicated volunteers will start the site preparation for the upgrade of the HQ operational

facility.

More weed control…the BHCT volunteers and rangers will be out in teams again trying to contain the spread of

invasive weeds throughout the Bream Head scenic reserve throughout June.

Volunteers back into toxin control... our dedicated volunteers will be back out on the reserve checking bait

stations and traps to maintain our tight hold on pests and predators. Mauri ora (good spiritual health!) Adam M: 021 155 7380 h: 972 7996 (local Heads number) e: bhctrangers@gmail.com