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Turtle visitors to Far North beaches

Department of Conservation — 23/01/2014

By Denice Gillespie, Partnerships Ranger, Kaitaia

Last year we had some interesting visitors on the shores of the Far North beaches. Five turtles were found washed up: two olive ridley turtles and three green turtles.

We usually have reports of turtles in the Far North, but they are getting more frequent.

Rob Bennie of Kiwi Carpentry with a large olive ridley turtle.

Rob Bennie of Kiwi Carpentry fashioned a shipping crate for a sick olive ridley turtle

“Which makes us think why?”

The majority of the turtles that are reported to DOC are in poor condition. Their shells are covered with algae and goose barnacles, which indicate that they have been floating on the surface for some time and would have been unable to dive for food.

Turtles are prone to ingesting plastic, because they forage in areas where you get accumulations of marine debris. Floating plastic bags look a lot like jellyfish or seaweed. Eating this rubbish causes blockages in their digestive tract, which contributes to starvation and buoyancy.

Turtle and two tamariki/children on the beach.

Children investigate a turtle found on a Far North beach

Turtles are prone to ingesting plastic

“What can we do?”

The simple answer to this is to be “tidy kiwis” and to make sure that you reduce, reuse and recycle where possible.

Take part in local beach clean ups and make sure you follow proper boat waste disposal practices.

Join a conservation group today and help make a difference for our turtle friends, there are plenty of conservation groups to get involved with.

A sick turtle found on a Far North beach.

A sick turtle found by DOC staff

So, when your next exploring the beach keep an eye out for our turtle friends and be sure to report sick or injured wildlife, or whale or dolphin standings’ on the DOC Hotline, 0800 362 468.

In Native animals Far North, Green turtle, Kaitaia, Oceans, Olive ridley, Pollution, Rubbish, Seas, Turtle

Jobs at DOC: Jennifer Germano, Kiwi Recovery Group Leader

Department of Conservation — 17/01/2014

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 we profile Jennifer Germano, Technical Advisor Ecology/Kiwi Recovery Group Leader based in Hamilton.

Finding my first Ascaphus frog in Canada, along with New Zealand’s native frogs this species is one of the world’s most archaic frog species

At work

Some things I do in my job include… helping to coordinate conservation efforts for kiwi across the country. The Kiwi Recovery Group is an amazing group of people, whose expertise covers a range of topics, including kiwi handling and biology, research, community groups, iwi issues, on the ground kiwi operations, predator science, education and advocacy. My job is to help bring together those people with different backgrounds to get technical advice out to kiwi practitioners and DOC staff. I also have the privilege of working with both the Recovery Group and others to develop national strategies for kiwi conservation.

This helps achieve DOC’s vision by… protecting and conserving one of New Zealand’s most iconic species!

The best bit about my job is… the people. I just started a month ago, but so far, people in the kiwi community and DOC have been incredible. Definitely a friendly and passionate group that have made me feel welcome from day one.

The awesome-est DOC moment I’ve had so far is… meeting with the staff at Kiwi Encounter and seeing the newly hatched baby kiwi there.

The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is… James Reardon. His enthusiasm for conservation and his passion for herpetofauna are contagious. He’s a great biologist, an amazing photographer and a good person to be in the field with, whether it was hanging out with the skink crew in Central Otago or searching for frogs in the Amazon. James was one of the first biologists I worked with when I first arrived in New Zealand over ten years ago and he helped to introduce me to the wildlife and the unique conservation problems that we face here. Also, while some people are scientists and others are more interested in on-the-ground wildlife management, James showed that it was possible and advantageous to blend the two in order to help save a species from extinction.

Packrafting in the Colorado River

On a personal note…

My most recent stomping ground was… Red Rock Canyon in Southern Nevada, USA. I just returned to New Zealand after doing translocation research on desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert for the last few years. Red Rock had some of the best rock climbing in the states, plus it was a beautiful corner of the Mojave full of wildlife (desert tortoises, big horn sheep, snakes, lizards) and amazing landscapes. I’m still finding my way around Hamilton and looking for some new stomping grounds around here.

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… Jane Goodall while she was working with the chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She was able to combine being a conservationist, a scientist, a mother, and an educator and has inspired people worldwide to care about, not only the chimps in Africa, but about protecting the environment and the world that we live in.

Radio tracking desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert

My best ever holiday was… spending a summer in Ecuador with my sister. We were living with some families down there learning Spanish and because our travel agent messed up some of our plans, they squeezed us into a couple empty spaces on a boat visiting the Galapagos to pay us back. It was the trip of a lifetime. Amazing wildlife! Albatross mating, blue-footed booby birds, giant tortoises, marine iguanas. We snorkelled with sea turtles and seals, snuck up on some flamingos, and stood in the shallow waters on a beach while the sting rays washed over our feet with the incoming waves. It was an amazing adventure to share with my sister… I wish I could go back again one day!

My greatest sporting moment was when… I finished the Memphis Road Race Series, which included two 5k, two 5-mile, two 10k, two 10-mile, and two half marathon races over a 10 week period. It definitely showed that with a bit of hard work and determination, I could accomplish anything and that by surrounding myself with enthusiastic and passionate people, I could be inspired to do things that I never would have attempted on my own.

My secret indulgence is… anything chocolate!

Jen kayaking on the left and tramping on the right.

Left: Kayaking near Vancouver Island Right: Tramping near Mount Cook

Deep and meaningful…

My favourite quote is… Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is… go out and do something amazing.

In work and life I am motivated by… the fact that we are all capable of making the world a better place in some way, whether it is big or small.

My conservation advice to New Zealanders is… take the time to help others appreciate the natural world around them. Passion for conservation can be contagious, so share your love of the outdoors and help others to get outside. It’s only when people understand and have a connection to nature that they’ll make the effort to help protect it.

Jen and family at the Vernal Falls, USA.

Family camping trip at Yosemite National Park, USA.

Question of the week…

What did you want to be ‘when you grew up?

I thought I wanted to be a palaeontologist. I had quite a collection of rocks with little fossils in them that I had found behind my parents’ home and as a kid always had dreams of finding a dinosaur. When I started uni, I did a heap of geology papers and then spent my first summer as a palaeontology intern. But after spending 40 hours a week staring through a microscope sorting out microfossils from buckets of sand, I decided that I’d rather be in the field studying animals that were still alive rather than the remains of dead ones.

In Jobs at DOC, Kiwi Ascaphus frog, DOC, ecology, Jen Germano, jobs, Kiwi Recovery Group, Staff, Technical Advisor

Photo of the week: Red-crowned parakeet/kākāriki

Department of Conservation — 08/01/2014

Today’s photo of the week is of a red-crowned parakeet/kākāriki taking a bath in a stream in Rotorua. Kākāriki, means ‘small green parrot’ in Māori.

There are five main species of kākāriki. The red-crowned species is distinguished by a bright crimson forehead, crown and a streak extending back beyond the eyes.

Attacks by introduced predators such as stoats and rats are the main threat to kākāriki.

This photo was taken by Jackson Wood | CC BY-NC 2.0.

In Native animals, Photo of the week Birds, Endemic, kakariki, parakeet, Parrot, predators, Red-crowned

A year in the life of Pitt the takahē

Department of Conservation — 02/01/2014

Takahē live interesting lives and, thanks to Biodiversity Ranger, Chris Birmingham, we’ve got our hands on the 2013 diary of one of the Maud Island locals. So, for your reading pleasure, may we present to you… A year in the life of Pitt, the matriarchal takahē’:

January

It’s January 2013. I feel it’s time to leave Roy. He’s a nice guy but I don’t think he’s fatherhood material.

We’ve been out here on the Peninsula now for a while, and he didn’t do a great job of incubating our eggs last year, and they failed to hatch. I can’t describe my disappointment when the rangers came and told me my egg had failed, and that I wouldn’t be a mother this year. Again! Poor genetics they said! Pffft! There is nothing wrong with my genes, it’s these men they keep trying to pair me up with! I have great Fiordland takahē genes!

Time to go. And besides, I miss the fig tree at the ranger’s house. Roy never really did like figs.

Pitt the takahē carry a fig in her beak.

I love pinching figs from the ranger’s tree

February

Dear diary, now it’s February, I packed my bags under my wing and left Roy and moved back to Home Bay. When I got here I discovered a new pair of takahē had taken over my old stomping ground.

No, no, no, no, no this is not good enough! Don’t they understand the pecking order here? You can’t just arrive and expect to take up the best territory! It doesn’t work like that.

But wait….that Kowhai is quite a handsome bird isn’t he? Strong looking, cute, and from Burwood Bush too—my old home. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but you can’t have it all I guess. Can’t say I like his girlfriend Harper much though, too clingy, he’d be much better off without her.

March

Dear diary, now it’s’ March. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to woo Kowhai away from Harper. She clearly underestimated the power and charm of an older woman. I saw her off with the help of my old nemeses from up the hill, The Captain and Rangi. Rangi might be in her twilight years now, but she still loves a good fracas! And they know me well enough to stay up the hill too! Now to make Kowhai mine for good!

Couple months later

Dear diary, it’s been a couple of months now since I lassoed Kowhai. I have taught him in the ways of the fig and the feijoa, and showed him how to get the most out of the rangers here on Maud. People are easy to train, takahē not so!

Winter’s coming, time to batten down the hatches and hunker down.

Pitt the takahē with ruffled feathers on her head.

What do you think of my new hairstyle?

Several months later

Dear diary, it’s several months since my last entry. Things were so great for so long, now Kowhai is gone! Oh, woe is me! That strumpet Pango from over the hill came and stole him from me. Is this karma coming to burn me for taking him from Harper? Now she has paired up with Roy, and I am alone again. A girl could just cry. If takahē cried, of course.

One week later

Dear diary, it’s one week since Kowhai left. I am hoarse from calling for him, but I get no reply. He must have gone off to the other side of the island. I can’t even find consolation in food anymore.

Two weeks later

Dear diary, week two of flying solo. I was just about to steel myself and head over the hill to get Kowhai back from that wanton harlot, when who should turn up? Kowhai!

Seems Pango wasn’t half the woman I am! I was so pleased so to see him again, but I didn’t let on…too much. I let him know in no uncertain terms that if he did that again, the welcome mat wouldn’t be so welcoming next time. In fact, don’t bother coming back! But I love the way he grooms me, and runs around like a fool sometimes when he gets startled. This must be love?

Spring

Dear diary, we made it through winter and now it is spring. I am starting to feel ‘clucky’. Kowhai and I are taking turns chasing each other round the Lodge lawn. Spring is definitely in the air! I think it’s time to show Kowhai how to build a nest.

Late October

Dear diary, it’s late October now, we’ve been busy. Building a good nest takes time. Kowhai isn’t the most technically apt nest builder, but he more than makes up for lack of skill with enthusiasm!

And now, guess what!? I am sitting on an egg! A creamy little speckled orb of joy! I am so excited, and so is Kowhai. It’s his second go at incubating—he tells me had a go at Burwood but it didn’t work. Never mind, with some careful guidance from an old hand like me, we’ll get there! I have a good feeling about this year. It’s hard to believe I have been in this position many times before, but never enjoyed the thrill of raising my own chick.

A Mitre 10 Takahē Rescue box on Maud Island.

Maud Island, the perfect place to be a takahē

Early November

Dear diary, It’s early November and today the ranger came and “candled” my egg. I hate this part, though I accept it’s all part of the process. I trust them implicitly with my egg so I stand up and let them take it out. I know they want it to hatch as badly as I do. They shine a torch through it and check for development in the embryo. I hear excited murmurs from them and soon my egg is placed carefully back under me. They know what I already do, it’s fertile! A mother always knows. I tuck the egg back under me and smugly drift off to sleep in my warm nest. Kowhai isn’t so sure and paces about outside. I reassure him with a few soft “narks”.

Mid November

Dear diary, it’s mid November now, and today my egg internally pipped! My little chick has broken out if its internal membrane and is ready to start pecking its way out of the outer egg shell!

I call Kowhai over, this is the most exciting part of the whole process. I talk to it, encouraging it out of its dark calcium cocoon, it talks back, peeping away and struggling to break the outer shell with its’ cute little “egg tooth” on the end of its beak.

Over the next few hours it chips away until suddenly it breaks the whole end of the egg off and rolls out, a delicate little wet bundle of joy!

24 hours later

Dear diary, it’s been 24 hours now since our baby hatched. Kowhai and I are beside ourselves with happiness. I know the rangers are too, they knew when it would hatch and have come to listen for it. I can hear their joy when they hear it chirping away to me! I have kept it warm under me, letting it dry out and now it is a little ball of black fluff, squeaking away like crazy, so hungry, so curious to get out of the nest. Don’t be in such a hurry little one, the world will wait for you! Now the mammoth task of raising our chick begins, are you ready, Kowhai?

December

Dear Diary, I’ve been too busy raising my precious new chick to find time for my diary. Kowhai is coping being a new dad and our crazy, hungry, and now rather loud chick is getting big—I know what they mean now when they say they grow up so fast.

It has been a rough year of highs and lows, but having our new wee chick has bought a stunning end to 2013.

A new takahē chick to end 2013!

In Native animals Awareness Month, Maud Island, ranger, takahe, Takahe Rescue

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