Shakespear Open Sanctuary

Transcription

1 Shakespear Open Sanctuary Newsletter No 38 August 2016 In this issue Completion of planting for 2016 What is happening with the robins since their arrival? Successful translocation of an Auckland Threatened Plant Open Sanctuary contributing to Tertiary Education Report from Open Sanctuary coordinator Other updates Upcoming Events Shakespear on Sundays will resume on Sunday 18th September. And will continue on the third Sunday of each month. December 2016 Celebration of re-opening of park and pest free status watch out for more details. Autumn 2017 Translocation of Little Spotted Kiwi to Shakespear Open Sanctuary Planting in 2016 has exceeded all expectations Bruce Harrison, Community ranger reports that the area planted was expected to take two years to complete, but has been accomplished during the three public planting days as well as an additional day provided by a large group from the Chinese Conservation Society. These all occurred from Saturday 11th June (Chinese group) and then on Sundays June 12th and 19th and finally Sunday July 17th. A total of more than 19,000 plants will have been put into the ground when the dune planting and enrichment plantings are finally complete. The SOSSI nursery was responsible for raising 7444 of these, 10,400 of manuka and kanuka were provided from the Auckland Botanical Gardens and Coastlands Nursery provided 1313 dune plants (Spiniflex and Pingao) Line of planters awaiting their turn for sausages before the rain The weather was mostly kind, although wind and one heavy shower of rain on the final day when a long line of volunteer planters were waiting for their barbecue sausages may have dampened their enthusiasm slightly. 1

2 The main species planted on the public planting days were Manuka and Kanuka, but included Coprosmas, Mahoe, Cabbage Trees, Flax and Mapou We were very fortunate in the numbers of volunteers who arrived,140 on the first day, 160 on Volunteers planting and later enjoying barbecued lunch the second and over 200 on the final day, this despite forecast rain. They came as family groups, friends and some organised groups including Shanshan Multicultural and ICONZ. Shakespear Volunteers are now involved in enrichment planting with the trees which will grow to form the canopy of the new forest These include, Puriri, Tairaire, Karaka and Kohekohe. These plants are going to previous planting sites where there is already the initially planted manuka, kanuka etc. Tuesday volunteers planting canopy trees in previously planted areas SOSSI thanks New World Whangaparaoa for the generous sponsorship provided towards the catering on the 12th and 19th of June and 17 July plantings. If possible, please show your support by shopping at the New World Supermarket, Whangaparaoa Rd 2

3 Last newsletter we reported on the first translocation of Robins to Shakespear. So what has happened to the robins since they arrived at Shakepear? Here is a report from Mhairi McCready who provided the first monitoring. My mission was to track down 40 robins, 40 very important robins, the founders of the brand new population of North Island robins at Shakespear Regional Park. There were two releases of 20 individuals, these releases were 5 weeks apart so the first month of my placement at Shakespear was the easiest one. I had 20 birds to find and they were all released in the Navy land, in the section of bush known as nads. The day following the release I went searching, I followed the trap line through nads making as much noise as possible; a strange method for most bird monitoring but robins are very inquisitive and just can t resist coming to have a look. I had only been walking for about 5 minutes when I spotted one, it was red-red (as I know him) his banding colour combination is RR-OM, he did not come down for the tasty mealworm treats I was offering which I thought was fair enough as that is how we had caught him just a few days earlier. As it turns out most robins forgive and forget rather quickly and they simply love mealworms too much. I found 9 robins on my first day of searching which I was happy about. Nads is a great patch of bush, it looks the perfect place for robins to set up territories but it didn t take the curious little birds long to venture further and explore other options. Three days after release came the first report of a robin in Waterfall gully, he was photographed by Alison. By the time I went to look for him he had already moved over to Kowhai glen where he has stayed with his new partner, these two are the easiest to see on the public track. So, robins can travel distances quickly and are happy to cross some areas of open pasture and scrubby patches, the search area was widened. I found most of the 20 in the first week of searching, they were all either still in NADS, Waterfall gully or Kowhai Glen, these are the best areas on the park so natural choices for the robins. Two birds left to find I had not expected to find them all, Kevin definitely didn t expect me to, the only person who had faith (more in the robins than in me I think) was Bruce, of course. Number 19 just turned up one day in nads, he must have been there all along, hiding in a particularly thick patch of supplejack. Then, with a few days to go before our second catching trip, I found her, number 20! She had decided to pair up with a single male in Waterfall gully, who knows where she had been hiding for almost a month. Then the Tiri birds arrived and things changed significantly. We were all wondering what would happen but truthfully no one really knew what to expect. Would the resident 20 stand their ground and hold territory, would the Tiri birds fight it out or adapt to the scrub areas, and most importantly would they all stay inside the fence? I now had to search everywhere and I pretty much found birds everywhere, things got a lot harder and keeping track of them all was tricky. The Tiri birds obviously needed to explore more as the best patches were already taken, one bird was seen in 4 different areas over 4 days, the last place I saw him he was behind the workshop, I hope he settles there. 3

4 Mhairi s report continued By the time I left I had found 37 out of 40 and in general I was finding them in the same places, they were settling down into hopefully what will be their territories. Some pairs were forming and there was even one mixed pair; a Mangatutu female with a Tiri male. Things look good for the upcoming breeding season and I wish the robins the best of luck for their future at Shakespear. And now from Richard Chambers who will monitor the nests of the robins during the breeding season and band the fledglings. On 3 rd August I found two robin pairs on the Kowhai Glen track. I should say they found me, without any prompting, so along with the two Waterfall Gully pairs this gives good opportunities for walkers to see them. I also checked two pairs which are well settled in the NADs release area. There is another bird there which I think is single. A third pair I checked on the defence side (Defence Valley) is also firmly established. With this last pair the male actually fed the female while in all the other pairs the male was only tolerating the female in close proximity and allowing her to feed. During winter the male female relationship is not a close one but as breeding gets closer the male first tolerates the female, then finds himself collecting food to feed her. In the crossover period (which is now) he sometimes collects and moves to feed her but can t quite bring himself to be that nice. Amusing to watch his angst. A new addition to the flora of Shakespear Open Sanctuary While the eradication of pest mammals from Shakespear has made it a safe place for our native birds and reptiles, it is also a place where threatened or uncommon plants could thrive. Since April 2013 seed of Ileostylis micranthus which ripens about this time every year has been collected from a site on state highway 1 north and attached to various Totara, Kanuka and Karo trees in accessible locations within the sanctuary. Typically a proportion of these seeds germinate on the trees but only a very small number actually succeed in attaching and growing on the host tree. Although this plant, throughout New Zealand grows on a wide variety of hosts and is a hemiparasite, as are all NZ mistletoes. In the Auckland region it is uncommon and has been found growing on Totara mostly, but also on Karo, Kanuka and Plagianthus divaricatus. New Zealand has five mistletoes in the Loranthaceae family and Ileostylus micranthus is the most common. Possum browse has been blamed for the decline of these as well as the loss of the appropriate habitat and the bird dispersers. One species has become extinct last being seen in This was Trilipedia adamsii. Shakespear Open sanctuary already has growing naturally the species, Korthalsella salicornioides, in at least two sites within the park. It prefers to grow on manuka and kanuka but is very tiny and often overlooked. 4

5 Ileostylus micranthus growing on a totara tree. First photo taken October 2013, 6 months after planting seed and the last 2 taken July 2016, 3 years after planting Open sanctuary contributing to tertiary education By Weihong Ji (Coordinator of stage two paper Ecology and Conservation at Massey University) Shakespear Regional Park has been an open laboratory for tertiary students to learn ecological methods and obtaining knowledge in conservation management. Each year since 2010, undergraduate students at Massey University Albany enrolled in the stage two paper Ecology and conservation have spent two days in the Park in March to practice some field techniques used in ecological studies. These include vegetation survey, invertebrate survey and bird survey. They would learn how to set up the field surveys using various methods and collect data on forest composition, invertebrate diversity and abundance, and bird diversity and abundance in Waterfall Gully, Kowhai Glen and along the Heritage track. A talk by a ranger about the history of the open sanctuary and conservation management in the Park is always part of the program and has been warm received by students. Massey students sampling foliage invertebrates The duty ranger Beckie Trigg and 2016 Massey ecology and conservation class The hands on practice and the talk by the ranger greatly enhance the students understanding of ecological methods, conservation issues and conservation management in practice. Data collected from this two-day fieldtrip are used in further laboratory exercises and data analyses which have made the paper more relevant. The Shakepear Open Sanctuary is playing an important role in fostering the next generations of ecologists and conservationists. 5

6 Open Sanctuary Senior Ranger Update It has been lovely watching our new toutouwai (robins) settle into their new home and the enthusiasm with which they have been greeted by SOSSI supporters, volunteers and park visitors. It really is a great reward for all the hard work that goes in to making Shakespear Open Sanctuary a safe haven for wildlife. But we never rest on our laurels and it is onward and upward to further plug the gaps in our missing ecology. Planning is advanced for the reintroduction of Little Spotted Kiwi to Shakespear Open Sanctuary next year. Paperwork and consultation are well underway and SOSSI has made great gains in securing the necessary funds, as it is not a cheap undertaking. This smallest of our five kiwi species, little spotted kiwi number just over 1500 birds across some eleven sites. Kapiti Island is the stronghold for this species (1200+ birds) and population growth and species security is constrained by suitable (i.e. pest free) available habitat. Several of the eleven sites mentioned are relatively new and capitalise on the continued advances making islands and areas of mainland (sanctuaries) free of kiwi threats. Shakespear Open Sanctuary will be part of a metapopulation management approach for this species. A metapopulation is defined ecologically as a group of populations that are separated by space but consist of the same species. These spatially separated populations interact as individual members move from one population to another. As many of these populations are on islands and the large connected mainland is not safe for these birds, much of the movement of individuals must be assisted via translocation. It is worth noting that little spotted kiwi have been greatly depleted in number historically by the usual suspects in NZ conservation introduced mammals with teeth and claws. In fact, the distinct North Island form is extinct and all little spotted kiwi now are of South Island origin. Early translocations of this species occurred at a time when genetic considerations for founder populations were not as well understood as now and also with relatively few birds from which to source founder birds for new populations. Consequently small island populations have been established from limited genetic stock. Several generations hence this is now in need of remedy to mix things up before inbreeding depression occurs from these population bottlenecks. Inbreeding depression can lead to lack of fitness in individuals for the environment and may lower the population s ability to survive and reproduce. So after that brief population ecology lesson, what is the role of Shakespear in this metapopulation? Firstly Shakespear offers a reasonably large safe habitat (500ha) which can significantly contribute to overall population growth. By taking care with the composition of the founder population the Shakespear kiwi population can both redress current population bottlenecks at other sites and be best suited to create a new genetically robust population. Over the period birds will be moved out of crowded islands such as Tiritiri Matangi to Shakespear and those gaps can be backfilled with new stock from Kapiti. Other new stock then comes from Kapiti to Shakespear to be matched with the Tiritiri Matangi birds. The process may take several years depending on the rate of harvest which Kapiti Island can sustain. So one day not too far from now you will be able to stand atop the lookout and hear the sound of little spotted kiwi with the lights of Auckland city across the water. Our recovering seabirds will be passing overhead and coming in to their burrows on the eastern cliffs as the night shift takes over after the bellbirds, kakariki, whiteheads, toutouwai and more have gone to sleep in their safe homes. None of this would be possible without good safe habitat and we thank all SOSSI supporters for their role constructing and maintaining the pest proof fence, checking our pest surveillance network, suppressing pests in our buffer, and sowing growing and planting trees for habitat. Thank you all for sharing our vision and making it a reality we salute you! Kind regards, Matt Maitland Matt Maitland can be contacted at matt.maitland@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or

7 Little Spotted Kiwi helpers Our plans for reintroducing Little Spotted Kiwi to Shakespear next year are going very well. We ve been awarded $5000 by KiwisforKiwi and have just heard that Foundation North have awarded us all of the $20,000 which we asked for! We re very grateful to them both for their support. This still won t cover the full cost though, so we ll soon be starting a public appeal for the rest. We re also in need of some volunteers to assist with monitoring the LSK when they arrive. Each one will be fitted with a radio transmitter to enable them to be tracked regularly - probably every day initially and then every week. Maree Johnston will be responsible for coordinating this but she will need a lot of helpers, so if you are able and willing to help let us know at info@sossi.org.nz and we ll pass your name on. Please note that the requirements are a bit arduous but are as follows; regular and reliable and willing to commit to rostered checks over the first year or more; of character that will be suitable for accessing NZ Defence Force land unaccompanied. mule driver qualification (full or limited) will be an advantage or else be prepared for long walks; be prepared to commit a half to whole day for each check as things don t always go smoothly (e.g. birds move, gear fails and birds die). Shakespear Tracks report By Roger Land Many compliments have been received from track users, and in particular from the X-Terra Trail Run event organizers Total Sport Ltd. This event is held annually in June, where this year saw 1300 runners successfully and safely pounding through our track network. Kowhai Glen now has the old seat fully reconditioned, levelled and rebuilt on new foundations.during the rebuild we had 2 locals overseeing the works.they being Robins WY-OM and KY-YM which was a delight. They were duly rewarded. Another bird watching seat midway through Kowhai Glen is planned. The seat in the taraire grove area is proving to be a great spot to observe the resident Robins They really are a wonderful addition to our Shakespear birdlife. Current work has been enhancing the entrance to the grass track (just below the waterfall) ready for summer, and improvements to the track accessing the WW2 pillbox. Visitors to Sossi display during Xterra Trail Run 7

8 Our seabird monitoring cameras are functioning again and there will be regular checks on the nest sites. Some recent volunteers have visited the sites at night and been able to see and band some Grey Faced Petrels Look at the Little Blue penguin detected entering the sanctuary by our onsite cameras. For further info connect here The cameras are out in all weather so they have a hard life and need good batteries, and they're out all hours as well and so you can imagine that we get through an awful lot of batteries too. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of MAXLIFE, this has so far cost us nothing. Education The park had a visit from 240 Takapuna Normal Intermediate School students and their parents and teachers over four days in July. They planned to follow a Shakespear Discovery talk from our Shakespear guides with some tree planting. Sadly the weather wasn t always great (well done day 4 for soldiering on) and day five s group didn t make it. They still managed to plant 500 plants for us in the newly fenced out areas below the picture frame. Keep Shakespear Open Sanctuary free of pests Please check your vehicle and bags for unwanted pests before visiting the Park MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS $10 for 1 single years membership $40 for 5 years membership Your support helps work towards ecological restoration goals Shakespear Open Sanctuary Inc. is a joint project with Auckland Council Contact us P.O Box 790 Whangaparaoa Auckland 0943 info@sossi.org.nz 8