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Archives For 30/11/1999

Jobs at DOC: Fern—Species dog

Department of Conservation —  28/03/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

March is Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate this, we thought we would profile a slightly unique staff member, Fern the whio dog based in Ohakune.

Fern the whio dog in the snow.

I love going to work in rain, hail or snow

Name: Fern Dog.
Position: Species dog – kiwi and whio.
Office: Ohakune.

At work

Some things I do in my job include… finding kiwi and whio that humans seem incapable of locating. It’s so easy to sniff them out and I’m not really sure why they have noses if they aren’t prepared to use them. I’m also involved in advocacy work at schools and end up with a heap of kids sitting on and around me. I don’t really mind that because the kids make quite a fuss over me, and my ranger (Malcolm) talks about cool stuff like stoats and rats and possums.

The best bit about my job is… finding whio that the rangers can’t locate and listening to them discussing when they had last seen the birds and how they thought the birds had either been preyed upon or left the area. I have just started to help my ranger move the whio into nets for banding and that is very cool. I don’t like herding sheep but ducks are neat to herd and I get to swim in the deeper water because Malcolm is a bit of a sook once the water gets up to his waist.

Fern the whio dog crossing a swing bridge.

At first my ranger Malcolm was a bit scared of crossing swingbridges, but I showed him how it is done

The funniest DOC moment I’ve had so far is… when we were herding ducks into a net and I had done a great job when ranger Bubs said he would move the last ducks with a volunteer (as he had a real rapport with this pair). I lay in the sun with Malcolm and then we got a radio call to say the ducks had gone to ground and they couldn’t find them. I took Malcolm downstream and located the first one in a cave but was informed Bubs had already checked that cave out. Well he must have been using ‘boys eyes’ because ranger Ali looked in the cave and came out with a whio. How surprising!

Then I took Malcolm further downstream and pointed the second bird out to Bubs who actually managed to catch it. ‘At least he got that right,’ I thought to myself. When Malcolm told ranger Ali that we had caught the second bird she was very indignant as she had a huge net across the river and a heap of volunteers ready. I couldn’t help laughing to myself and I am pretty sure Malcolm had a grin on his face.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is… Neo, a male German short hair pointer who owns Andy Glaser. He’s not quite as big as me but he is very handsome. We have discussed having puppies together at some stage. He bought ranger Andy down to Mangatepopo a few weeks back and showed me how good he was at locating and herding whio. He is seven years old and works whio very well. Once I saw him working I thought ‘I’m going to be as good as him,’ and I have stepped up to be like Neo. He said he has taught Andy all he knows about species dog work and I am teaching Malcolm so that he can work at a higher level too.

Fern the whio dog sniffing out whio.

The nose knows

On a personal note…

The song that always cheers me up is… ‘Who let the dogs out’.

My stomping ground is… Mt Ruapehu and the rivers of the central plateau.

If I could trade places with any other person for a week—famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional—it would be… Neo.

The best piece of news I’ve heard lately is… that I passed as a fully certified whio dog for the Department of Conservation.

Fern the whio dog pointing out whio on the river.

Here is me doing what I do best: pointing out whio to humans

In my spare time I… rush round on Malcolm’s farm and show up the farm dogs that are slow and have noses and ears painted on their faces.

If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be… a falcon/karearea because then I could fly to the whio and give them one hell of a fright.

My secret indulgence is… food and I would make a good biosecurity sniffer dog at an airport.

If I wasn’t working at DOC, I’d like to be… a deer dog as deer are so easy to locate compared to kiwi and whio.

Fern and Ranger Malcolm monitorwhio in the Tongariro forest.

Me and ranger Malcolm monitoring whio in the Tongariro forest whio security site

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quote is… ‘They are still making them!’ when humans whinge about something broken or missing.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is… don’t be grumpy because life is too short.

In work and life I am motivated by… DOC rangers who are so passionate about New Zealand’s environment and biodiversity.

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is… look after it or lose it.

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Jobs at DOC: Andy Glaser—Whio Ranger

Department of Conservation —  22/03/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

March is Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate this, we profile Andrew Glaser—Whio Recovery Group Leader in the Te Urewera/ Whirinaki Area Office.

Andy and dog Neo walking in Te Urewera National Park.

A walk in the park, Te Urewera National Park

At work

Some things I do in my job include… trying to be the best ambassador/leader for whio, to inspire people, motivate and provide quality technical advice that will achieve whio recovery across New Zealand.

Some of the other things; Programme Manager Biodiversity Assets/Threats, Te Urewera Mainland Island, Area Compliance Officer, Fire Response Co-ordinator Whakatane/Opotiki, North Island Species Dog Certifier and a Whio/Kiwi Dog Handler.

How? Great support from my manager and a highly competent team of guys and girls in the Te Urewera Mainland Island and whio recovery programme that have the same passion and drive!!!

The best bit about my job is… being “Caption Whio”, a caped crusader for the Whio Recovery Programme, I can legitimately wear my underwear on the outside, because I know I have the support of my loyal sidekick and accomplice Tim, aka “Duck Boy” Allerby! Seriously. The whio work; a 4.30 dawn start, watchin’ the sunrise, riding up the river on my horse Ziggy, the feeling of contentedness and familiarity of horse and his gate, the creak of the leather saddle and clip of his hoofs over the coble and rhythm. The river environment; cool fresh air, the smell of the bush and Te Waiiti singing over the boulders as it runs through Te Urewera. The enjoyment of watching Neo hunting the river’s edge in search of whio, stalking ever so slowly then locking into a full point. The whistle of the male whio calls carrying across the chorus of the river’s song followed by the rattley growl of the female protecting a brood of seven ducklings. That’s the best!

Also working with a whole bunch of like minded whiolks associated with the programme, and achieving the success we have to date has been whiotastic!

Andy on Kaharoa trig, Te Urewera.

Top of the world, Kaharoa trig, Te Urewera

The awesome-est DOC moment I’ve had so far has been… initiating the partnership with Genesis Energy through the Whio Recovery Group in August 2010. This has been the most significant national milestone for whio conservation.

Their sponsorship, marketing capability and enthusiasm has provided us with the resources to implement the Whio Recovery Plan to raise public awareness and achieve whio recovery across New Zealand.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is… Dr Murray Williams. Murray was very inspirational in my career, demonstrating his dedication through 15 years of whio studies on the Manganui o te Ao river and his knowledge of waterfowl. He freely transferred his knowledge and taught me the tricks of the trade using his dry wit and sarcasm to keep me on my toes and always motivated. I guess I have tried to emulate these qualities through my career and similarly inspire and motivate people by encouraging them within their programmes and transferring the knowledge that I have gained over the past two decades (geez is that how long it’s been!).

Andy doing whio work in Te Urewera National Park.

Whio work in Te Urewera National Park.

On a personal note…

Most people don’t know that… I whakapapa to a line of American pioneers that settled in Nevada from Spain, hence my cowboy antics, love of horses and can do attitude. Ole’!

The song that always cheers me up is… I love music and there are so many songs to choose from, but this is a recent one that makes me smile. “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz.

In my spare time I… love to surf! It’s like baptising the soul, cleaning out all the cobwebs, washing away worries n stress, while getting an upper body work out. Quite a magical spiritual feeling of freedom, harnessing a piece of Mother Nature’s power and riding clean open wave face. Oooooh yea. Sorry, only a surfer knows the feeling! This may explain why I like whio, they too like water.

If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be… well, they’re all cool. From the cute little rifleman, to the hunters of the sky – the karearea, that scream through the sky at great speeds – and to the checky kea which some have likened me to. But if I had to pick, I would honestly say – yes, you guessed it – a whio!

That way I could play in the highest quality New Zealand waters, run some rapids, surf some standing waves, go with the flow and soak up the sun on a river bank. If bored, I could whistle, bite some tail, preen, dive, have a wrestle with the neighbour and keep an ever watching eye on what’s going on. Then, when feeling the need for speed, would take to wing and scream up and down the river at low levels like a fighter jet.

My secret indulgence is… I have a few: coffee, red wine (merlot), tequila, Mexican food, hot n spicy things, green salads, venison back steak bbq’d whole to m/ rare, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, fresh coriander and sexy… whio 😉 Got to love those lips, the only bird that has them. Haha even Angelina Jolie can’t compare!

Andy going for a surf.

Clean open face, oooh yea!

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quotes …

“Time to Cowboy up” – My dad.

“Take a teaspoon of cement and harden up” – My daughter (we breed them tough) haha.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is… 

“Even though it’s work Andrew, nobody says you can’t have fun along the way” – Jono Williams, Project Kiwi, Kouatunu Peninsula.

In work and life I am motivated by… the challenge to succeed, by my kids, with the desire to leave a lasting legacy for them and an example to follow. I am also motivated by strong, passionate people with a commitment for conservation, team unity, positive open culture and people with drive. People like the members of Recovery Group, who go above and beyond for the cause, hugely committed in their national roles for whio. I am motivated by every practitioner and by all the hard yards that each and everyone has demonstrated through their initiatives and dedication to get their whio recovery programmes up and running. The community groups – Friends of Flora, Wapiti Foundation – and individuals like Dan Steele who see conservation as a New Zealand identity worth preserving. Tangata whenua for their staunch passion for the whenua, the ngahiri, tikanga and toanga species that dwell within Aotearoa. The recent partnership with Genesis has given new motivation through their sponsorship to enable us to actually turn the corner in whio conservation and secure this iconic species.

Ooh and a great cup of coffee!!!!

A net full of whio fledglings caught by Andy for tagging.

A net full of whio fledglings

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is… our natural heritage is your identity as a New Zealander and what makes you as unique as the whio itself is to this country.

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do? I feel like I’m invisible already, well at times! I would be quite mischievous, nothing deviant or illegal, not in my nature but probably pranking my friends, random people and have a laugh. Boo!

Whio Family Fun Day at Auckland Zoo!

Andy Glaser and some of the other whio rangers will be at Auckland Zoo this weekend for the Whio family fun days at the new whio enclosure. Bring your families along to check out the enclosure and to join in a variety of fun activities around the enclosure.

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Jobs at DOC: Ivan Rogers—Whio Ranger

Department of Conservation —  15/03/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

March is Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate this, we profile Ivan Rogers—Whio Ranger in the Motueka Area Office.

A whio gets away from Ranger Ivan Rogers.

A whio nearly getting away on me. This picture gets trotted out at work fairly regularly, to much amusement.

At work

Some things I do in my job include… I’m in the second year of a three year study putting cameras on whio nests to record predation. I’m also tracking them during the moult when they are equally vulnerable to predation. And anything else that comes along, especially if it’s to do with lizards.

Ranger Ivan Rogers is bitten on the finger by a common gecko.

Attacked by a common gecko during hakea control. This was the first one found after a rodent eradication. From being virtually undetectable, they have bounced back strongly

The best bit about my job… is that moment when you find a whio nest and look her (briefly) in the eye.

The loveliest DOC moment I’ve had so far is… The first time I saw a rock wren. Gareth from Golden Bay had gone for a walk up Mt Perry and had seen one. I had never seen one and I was so jealous that I scooted up as soon as I could and there it was! There turned out to be a family group resulting from a successful nest. Like toutouwai they will perch on your boot.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is… Kath Smith from Golden Bay. We met when we were hut wardens—a rare instance of an ‘instant’ friendship—she knows me all too well!

Ranger Ivan Rogers holds a bag of fur seal vomit from Tonga Island.

This is me collecting fur seal vomit from Tonga Island

On a personal note…

Most people don’t know that I… was a punk in the very late 70s/early 80s.

The song that always cheers me up is… Roadrunner by the Modern Lovers or anything else with two chords.

My stomping ground is… I’ve had a few—Aro St, Surry Hills, the Heaphy Track…. Now I do my ‘stomping’ in the South Branch Wangapeka.

My greatest sporting moment was when… Kind of a sporting moment: I once rode a Yamaha 50 from Christchurch to Karamea and very nearly back—the front tyre blew out at Woodend so I chucked it behind a gorse bush and hitched the rest of the way….

In my spare time… I breed Northland green gecko (Naultinus grayii).

Ranger Ivan Rogers taking invertebrate samples on the Richmond Ranges.

Invertebrate sampling on the Richmond Ranges

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quote is… “Quick! A pumpkin” (a friend’s small boy. I think he plays for the Rabbitohs now).

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is… Keep all your (photographic) negatives.

In work and life I am motivated by… Quick answer: I’m in awe of those people who work with the demented elderly, the profoundly disabled, and the deeply disturbed. What a noble thing to do—how is it they are the low waged?

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is… Don’t put milk out for hedgehogs.

If you could move backwards or forwards to any decade in time, which would you pick and why?
It kind of depends on where as much as when doesn’t it? I was a bit too young to enjoy the 70s so that’s one decade I’d go for. Specifically 1970s USA—being around to see all those great bands. In Detroit the Stooges and the MC5 and in New York the last days of the Velvet Underground, the Ramones, the New York Dolls, the whole Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs scene.

Rangers Ross Maley and Ivan Rogers in the Horoirangi Marine Reserve .

Out in the Horoirangi Marine Reserve with my colleague Ross Maley

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Jobs at DOC: Andrew ‘Max’ Smart—Biodiversity Ranger

Department of Conservation —  08/03/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

March is Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate this, we profile whio fan Andrew ‘Max’ Smart, Ranger—Biodiversity Ranger, in DOC’s Te Anau Area Office.

Andrew catching juvenile whio for transfer.

Catching juvenile whio in the Arthur for translocation to the Neale Burn

At work

Name: Andrew ‘Max’ Smart.

Position: Biodiversity Ranger.

Office: Te Anau Area.

Some things I do in my job include managing the whio monitoring in the Northern Fiordland Whio Security Site and in four recovery sites. I manage the pāteke/brown teal re-introduction project in the Arthur Valley, liaise between the kākāpō team and the Te Anau Area Office, I’m the species dog certifier for the lower South Island, and assist with other biodiversity work as required (this may be translocations of tīeke/saddlebacks, kōkako, mohua/yellowheads, robins, takahē or kākāpō). I also monitor tawaki/Fiordland crested penguins and check stoat traps in Dusky Sound.

The best bit about my job is surveying for whio in wild and remote rivers with my trained whio dog and working with groups like the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, to help protect whio habitat. It’s always nice when you feel like you are actually making a difference. Also up there is the opportunities I have had getting to places I wouldn’t normally be able to get to, like the Antipodes and Bounty Islands.

A group of whio.

The beautiful whio/blue duck

The scariest DOC moment I’ve had so far is going for a slide down a rock face in the Murchison Mountain whilst on a takahē monitoring trip on 29 February 2004 (leap day). I ended up breaking my little finger on my right hand and breaking and dislocating most of my bones in my left foot. Which surprisingly I was reasonably happy about.

I remember sliding down the face and thinking ‘If I don’t grab that small tussock I’m dead’. That’s when I broke my finger and missed the tussock…. I said quite quietly in my head, ‘Well it looks like I’m going to die, this isn’t quite how I thought it would happen’, then hit the bottom and stopped. I thought, ‘Well that was lucky, I wonder where that big drop that I thought I was going to go over is?’. I looked around and I was less than a metre from it—hence why I was reasonably happy with just a broken foot and finger.

I ended up in hospital for eleven days with a plate and five screws in my finger and five screws and two pins in my foot. I’ve still got the hardware in my finger and quite large bone spurs in my foot where the screws were. My foot gets really sore and stiff after doing a river survey, especially in winter. I keep my screws from my foot in a little jar on my table at work—always a good way to gross people out.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee(s) that inspire or enthuse me most are Cam Speedy and the other members of the Whio Recovery Group who are so passionate about whio, even after some of them have worked with them for so many years (not looking at anyone in particular Peter Russell and Andy Glaser). This also demonstrates how great a species whio are to work with.

Andrew Smart surveying for whio.

Hard at work, surveying down the Clinton North Branch

On a personal note…

Most people don’t know that I was born in Akaroa and that I have a twin sister (not identical – I have been asked).

My best ever holiday was a nine week trip to North America a couple of years ago. We visited 15 National Parks and numerous National Monuments and State Parks in the USA and another three National Parks in Canada. The highlights of the trip would have been Utah and Arizona (Zion NP, Grand Canyon NP, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges National Monument, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse State Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capital Reef NP and Bryce Canyon NP), along with New York City and the Labrador Coast. A walk over Clouds Rest in Yosemite NP was also very cool.

Another trip also right up there was when I saw Mountain Gorillas in what was then Zaire, climbed sand dunes and walked to the bottom of Fish River Canyon in Namibia, paddled around in a dug out canoe on the Okavango Delta and got saturated by the spray at Victoria Falls.

In my spare time I tend to do things around the house as we have just built a house and there are always plenty of little jobs to do.

If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be either a bottlenose dolphin or kareakarea/New Zealand falcon.

If I wasn’t working at DOC, I’d like to still be working with animals. Not sure where but definitely working with animals.

Before working at DOC I worked as a forest technician undertaking time and motion studies.

A helicopter used for whio transfers.

Hard to believe it but we were waiting for the cloud to break in the valley below, so that we could get down to start a whio survey

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quote is – (I don’t have one, I’m not really a quote type of guy).

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is –  I can’t think of what that would be but I’d have to say if it was, it would probably be “Don’t sweat the small stuff”.

In work and life I am motivated by trying to enjoy it as it seems to be getting shorter by the minute.

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is take conservation seriously; it shouldn’t just be a ‘nice to do’ and shouldn’t be seen as a cost, but an investment in the future.

Andrew with his dog Tea.

Me and Tea on the way back from a successful day in the Joes River

Watch a video of Ranger Andrew ‘Max’ Smart on a whio egg hunt:

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Jobs at DOC: Tim Allerby—Biodiversity Ranger

Department of Conservation —  01/03/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

Today kick starts Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate, we profile whio fan Tim Allerby, Ranger—Biodiversity Ranger, in DOC’s Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area Office.

Tim Allerby with whio chicks on the upper Tauranga river.

The first whio chicks on the upper Tauranga river (November 2012) since 2008, well worth the early start

At work

Name: Tim Allerby.

Position: Biodiversity Ranger.

Office: Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area.

Some things I do in my job include…

  • Providing advice/support for whio related operations throughout the Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area and its surrounds.
  • Implementing and managing stoat control operations for whio with the Northern Te Urewera.
  • Carrying out outcome monitoring of whio and kōkako.
  •  Assisting with the trialling of A24 self resetting traps.

The best bit about my job is…
Catching stoats and seeing whio chicks on rivers.

Tim Allerby with stoat traps flown in by helicopter for the upper Tauranga river.

Flying stoat traps into the upper Tauranga River site 2012

The funniest DOC moment I’ve had so far is…

The eruption of disgust, laughter, and bewilderment from thirty-plus totally sucked in kids and adults after I tasted stoat poo (Marmite) to confirm that it was indeed stoat poo during a mock up whio mortality scene investigation.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is…
Captain Whio (aka Andrew Glaser)—without his passion and persistence for whio protection we would not be in the position we are at with respect to whio recovery.

Tim Allerby with the Te Urewera Mainland Island team all dressed up.

Captain Whio (Andrew Glaser), Duck Boy and the motley Te Urewera Mainland Island crew

On a personal note…

The song that always cheers me up is…
All I ever need is you – Kenny Rogers and Dottie West.

My stomping ground is…
Waimana Valley in the mighty Te Urewera National Park.

If I could trade places with any other person for a week—famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional—it would be…
Donald Trump. I would cover every bit of New Zealand conservation land in double set DOC200s (traps) and set aside enough money for those traps to be checked once a month for the next 100 years.

If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be…
A karearea. They are definitely the boss of the sky.

If I wasn’t working at DOC, I’d like to…
Become an astronaut. I’d like to look back at Earth from space. Maybe one day Jet Star will do cheap deals?

Tim Allerby during a kokako translocation.

Looking and feeling awesome after stopping a branch from hitting the ground with my head (kōkako translocation 2009)

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quote is…
What’s the worst that could happen? – Kobey Brebner.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
No hunter will ever have surplus brownie points so you just have to realise this and accept it.

In work and life I am motivated by…
Doing the best that I can. I always have high expectations of myself in whatever I do so I always push myself to reach those goals.

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is…
Do as much as you can whenever you can, no matter how little or insignificant you think it may be.

Tim Allerby inserting a transponder into a whio.

Inserting a transponder into a whio

Question of the week…

‘Question of the week’ will differ each week. If you have any suggestions for questions, please leave us a comment.

What’s your signature dish?
Not being the greatest cook I don’t think I can claim a signature dish however I can cook venison a thousand ways. While I am in the bushes I am particularly fond of venison heart, garlic, and onions all fried in a generous lashing of butter.

Watch this video of Tim Allerby talking about his work saving whio/blue duck:

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