Codfish Island |

Codfish Island – a ‘land before time’

Kurt Sharpe — 31/03/2014

I’ve recently returned from Codfish Island/Whenua Hou where I spent a week helping rangers from DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery team. While I was there I was lucky enough to experience the hatching of the first kākāpō chick of the season.

The journey to Codfish Island began with my first ever ride in a helicopter. As the chopper flew over Foveaux Strait I could almost hear the Jurassic Park soundtrack playing in my head. We were heading to the New Zealand equivalent of a ‘land before time’.

Helicopter landed on Codfish Island. Photo: Kurt Sharpe.

My first helicopter ride

Upon arriving on the island it truly did feel like I had been transported to another era. Birds, bats, lizards and insects ruled the island, and the small hut just off the main beach at Sealer’s Bay, seemed to be an oddity in such a wild and ancient place.

The island is home to most of the surviving population of kākāpō in the world, and was teeming with kākā, kākāriki, korimako, mōhua and the Codfish Island mātātā.

Codfish Island fernbird. Photo: Abbey McMillan.

Codfish Island mātātā. Photo: Abbey McMillan

The diversity of plants at different points on the island was stunning; I had never before seen such lush plant life and native bush. The local korimako/bellbirds were by far the friendliest native inhabitants of these bushes and they were not afraid to land right at your feet and check you out before returning back to the bushes alongside the tracks.

The curiosity of the bellbirds was only rivalled by that of a kākā called George who loved getting his beak into anything that was left lying around the hut. He was even blamed for one or two items of clothes that went missing from the washing line.

The view across to Stewart Island. Photo: Abbey McMillan

Having grown up in the North Island I had never before seen a mōhua/yellowhead. This beautiful little bird was last year crowned New Zealand’s Bird of the Year so I really hoped I would get to see one during my stay. Not only did I get to see one, but I discovered they are social creatures and groups of them could be seen flitting from branch to branch and singing from the treetops.

Mōhua. Photo: Jinty McTavish

At night the short-tailed bats took over the island. Unlike other bats they use their folded wings as limbs to scramble around on the ground to search for food, if you are walking around the island at night you have to be careful where you step.

The booming and chinging of the male kākāpō can be heard all over the island at night. One evening, as we were transporting gear from one of the kākāpō nest sites, we ran into Wolf the kākāpō booming his little heart out just off the track. If you’ve never heard a kākāpō boom before it’s quite an unusual sound. Not only do you hear it but you can also feel the vibrations go right through you.

A booming kākāpō

DOC’s ensures the kākāpō are well looked after and protected from pests and diseases. Quarantine on the island is strict. Diseases and pests could do real harm to the remaining kākāpō population and the other species that call Codfish Island home.

While on the island one female kākāpō needed to be caught for a health check. Transmitters make finding the kākāpō a reasonably easy job, although catching them isn’t always as simple. Sometimes the kākāpō might be sleeping up in a tree or tucked away on the forest floor. These are wild animals, so they don’t take kindly to human intrusion. In this case the kākāpō was easily found and caught and the health check turned out to be a quick and painless affair.

Kākāpō health check

DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery team doing an amazing job caring for the kākāpō of Codfish Island and I consider myself really lucky to have spent a week there meeting this team who are doing an awesome job for kākāpō conservation.

Watch this short video of my first meeting of a kākāpō on Codfish Island:

In Islands, Native animals Codfish Island, Fernbird, kākāpō, Matata, mohua, Sealer's Bay, Whenua Hou, Yellowhead

Hatch day for new kākāpō chick

Kurt Sharpe — 17/03/2014

I’ve just come back from spending a week on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou down by Stewart Island helping the Kākāpō Recovery Team with the important work they do to look after those mossy green parrots.

Codfish Island/Whenua Hou

With only 126 kākāpō in the world every chick counts, so imagine how stoked I was to be able to witness the hatching of the first kākāpō chick for the 2014 breeding season. Hopefully there could be up to six new kākāpō chicks by the end of this season.

I arrived in the deep south to news that the egg that was due to hatch had been accidentally crushed by kākāpō mum-to-be Lisa. The kākāpō rangers had been monitoring the nest and were able to swiftly rescue the egg and, thanks to some quick thinking and some good old-fashioned ‘kiwi ingenuity’ from ranger Jo Ledington, the egg was carefully repaired with some glue and tape.

Lisa’s crushed egg

The condition of the bird inside the egg wasn’t known, but everyone crossed their fingers and hoped that this little chick would be a fighter.

The day I flew into Codfish Island the chick could be heard pipping inside the egg. This was a big relief to know that the chick was alive and almost ready to hatch.

After dinner kākāpō ‘surrogate mum’ Darryl Eason ran in to tell us that the chick was starting to hatch.

Kakapo egg in the incubator starting to hatch.

Hatch day for the egg in the incubator

Luckily the chick managed to find an exit from the egg avoiding the tape and hatching out the other side. It was a frail looking bundle of fluff, but it was in a good condition. It was a fantastic experience to be in the room as the newest kākāpō entered into the world.

Welcome to the world little one

It can take a while before the sex of the kākāpō can be determined, so for now this little was is known simply as ‘Lisa One’.

The wee chick will be returned to a nest when it is healthy and strong. To give the chick the best start in life it may not go back to its biological mother Lisa, instead the rangers monitor potential foster mothers to ensure that the best mum is given the chance to raise a chick.

Cuteness

Kia kaha little kākāpō, it was great to experience your hatch day with you and I can’t wait for further updates from the kākāpō team.

In Native animals, Southland Chick, Codfish Island, Egg, Hatching, Incubator, kākāpō, Lisa One, Recovery, Whenua Hou

Photo of the week: Kākāpō nesting on Codfish Island

Department of Conservation — 05/02/2014

The first kākāpō eggs in three years have been discovered by rangers on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. The two nests that have been found so far belong to Lisa, an experienced kākāpō mum, and Tumeke who has bred before but had infertile eggs.

Both Tumeke and Lisa have laid two eggs each – but it will be another week before it’s known whether their eggs are fertile.

Today’s photo of the week is of Tumeke being viewed on her nest through a video monitor.

Kākāpō breeding and nesting on Whenua Hou is triggered by the amount of rimu fruit available on the island, as it is the food that the mother kākāpō relies on to feed her chicks. There has been no breeding during the past two summers because of poor rimu crops.

The Kākāpō Recovery team is preparing for the possibility there could be up to 15 kākāpō nests this season.

In Native animals, Photo of the week, Southland Breeding, Codfish Island, Eggs, kākāpō, Lisa, nesting, Recovery, Rimu crops, Tumeke, Whenua Hou

Not your typical thieves in gold-mining era campsites

Department of Conservation — 21/01/2013

New Zealand has an extensive history of gold mining. The principal New Zealand gold fields were Coromandel, Nelson/Marlborough, Central Otago and West Coast. DOC has as many as 1000 gold-mining sites on lands it manages, and some of these are currently used as campsites.

Grant Jacobs the author of the blog, “Code for life”, shares a recent experience he had while on a camping trip at a gold-mining era campsite. He writes*:

“[When] camping in New Zealand, small items left lying around are at risk from thieves. I was reminded of this whilst sitting on the foundation stones of what was once an old gold miner’s hut, the iron remains of the roof and perhaps chimney at my feet, reading a novel with my tent pitched on the other side of the clearing where the thief stalked.”

Tent across the clearing at an old gold mining campsite

“Some of these camping grounds are now, and probably were then, home to indigenous thieves. As I sat on the foundation of the miners hut, my back against a tree, I became aware that one such cheeky thief was prowling my tent on the other side of the little clearing.”

A weka under the outer fly of the tent looking for items to steal

“Those not familiar with weka might think that they would only steal food, but stories say that weka will steal seemingly anything portable that attracts their attention. Of the non-edible objects, lore has it that a bit like the gold miners, they prefer shiny things.”

Weka have a bit of a reputation for pilfering small objects. They will take the objects to the nearest cover to investigate them. For this reason it is best not to chase weka but to simply watch where they go and retrieve the objects a little later.

Because of its scavenging habit, the weka can be problematic for conservationists. Some subspecies are threatened, but moving them to offshore islands can disrupt other threatened wildlife species. For example, weka released onto Codfish Island, where they haven’t lived in recent times, threatened the viability of the Cook’s petrels there and had to be removed.

Make sure you check out Grant’s full blog post.

*All text and photos from the blog “Code for Life” are copyrighted content of Grant Jacobs.

In Camping, Coromandel, Historic, Native animals, Nelson/Marlborough, Otago, West Coast Campsite, Codfish Island, conservation, Cook's petrels, gold mining, Historic, miners hut, Weka

Jobs at DOC: Spokesbird for Conservation, Sirocco the kakapo

Department of Conservation — 19/09/2011

Every Monday Jobs at DOC will take you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

This week we find out about our Spokesbird for Conservation, Sirocco the kakapo:

At work

Me as a baby, only 14 days old. So cute!

Name: Sirocco kakapo

Position: Official Spokesbird for conservation, and one of 129 kakapo left in the world.

What kind of things do you do in your role?

Officially, I’m the Conservation Spokesbird, and occasionally I get out and about to promote conservation (and myself) in New Zealand. I Facebook and tweet about conservation-oriented stuff and try to get the message out about our threatened flora and fauna and their habitats. Other than that, I’m just your average kakapo stooging around in the bush!

What is the best part about your job?

The travel? Nah, the people. People might think that it’s them seeing me when I am at places like Orokonui and Zealandia, but actually it’s the other way round! I find it fascinating to see all these different shaped bipeds peering through the glass!

And now I'm 14 years old! This is me at my birthday party earlier this year

What is the hardest part about your job?

The travel! No one should be put in a pet crate for any amount of time! The indignity! Why can’t I sit in a seat?

What led you to your role in DOC?

I was hatched into it! Literally. I had health issues when I was a chick and was hand raised by my surrogate mum Daryl Eason (he’s awesome, you should do a piece on him) and the rest is history.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

The macadamia nuts? Wrong answer! Getting back out into the public eye. I enjoy the solitary ways of my normal parrot life but it’s nice to get out and about and spread the conservation message. The nuts are a bonus too.

The rule of three

Three loves

My mum Zephyr (and you too Daryl!)
Macadamia nuts.
Haggis the takahē, but she ran off with one of them takahē blokes. Woe is me!

One of my portfolio shots. Who's a pretty boy then?

Three pet peeves

An empty food hopper that should be full.
Blue penguins invading my track and bowl.
Introduced mammalian predators!

Three foods

Lately I have really been enjoying the juicy bits of the renga renga lily, but I will eat most things green and planty.
Coprosma berries (mmm beeerrries).
Macadamia nuts when I can get them.

Three favourite places in New Zealand

Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, it’s my place of hatching. Particularly Norwest Bay, my old hood.
Te Hoiere/Maud Island, it’s my current home and has a nice climate, plus Haggis the takahē lives there.
Rakiura/Stewart Island, it’s my ancestral home (where mum and dad came from) and it’s a beautiful part of New Zealand.

Favourite movie, album, book

Munchin' on a kumara-pop

Movie: I’m not really big on movies, I only get to see them from outside the hut (why is that!), but I do like David Attenborough’s Life of Birds series. I’m a bird and I am still amazed by the things birds can do!
Album: It’s not an album but I really like the dawn chorus on Maud Island. It’s like my reverse alarm clock telling me to go to bed!
Book: Alison Ballance’s recent book, Kakapo. It’s about as up to date on kakapo as you can get and, obviously, it has me in it.

Deep and meaningful

What piece of advice would you tell your two year old self?

I would say, “Self, when you’re hanging out in your tree during the day having a snooze, minding your own biz, and you hear the people coming, it’s usually not to give you a macadamia nut! Something is up! Especially when they have the carry crate with them.”

Who or what inspires you and why?

All the people who give their time to conservation. I’ve seen a lot of volunteers and rangers in my time (some even have the scars to prove it!) and it’s amazing how much hard work and love they bring to the cause. It is truly inspiring to see such dedication and it makes me feel all warm to know they have got my best interests at heart, as well as those of all the other critters and plants.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An artist's interpretation of me as Ranger Sirocco

A DOC ranger, they seem to have all the fun. And now, well, I kind of am one aren’t I? ‘Ranger Sirocco’ … Sounds good to me. Where’s my uniform?

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

I quite liked the look of that cockpit on my flight down to Dunedin, all those buttons and lights, maybe a pilot!

If you could be any other New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

One that can fly! Perhaps a karearea/New Zealand falcon, they look pretty neat and boy can they fly! Is there a pattern forming here? I’m perfectly fine with walking most of the time, but, you know, well, flying looks like so much fun!

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

My old friend Don Merton once said, “They are our national monuments. They are our Tower of London, our Arc de Triomphe, our pyramids. We don’t have this ancient architecture that we can be proud of and swoon over in wonder, but what we do have is something that is far, far older than that. No one else has kiwi, no one else has kakapo. They have been around for millions of years, if not thousands of millions of years. And once they are gone, they are gone forever. And it’s up to us to make sure they never die out.”

So true. People! We need to value and protect all of our native species and their habitats, not just the super awesome handsome ones like me. So get out there and get stuck in kiwis. We all need your help. Get involved! Plant a tree, run a pest trap line or give your time as a volunteer to a conservation project, and if you’re passionate like I am, tell anyone who will listen. And if they won’t listen, tell ‘em anyway!

In Jobs at DOC, Native animals, Sirocco the kakapo Codfish Island, conservation jobs, kākāpō, Maud Island, Sirocco the kākāpō, spokesbird