• /
    • Archives /
  • 30/11/1999

Archives For 30/11/1999

Jobs at DOC: Trainee Ranger, Sacha Astill

Department of Conservation —  09/03/2012

Every Friday 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.

Today we profile Trainee Ranger, Sacha Astill.

At work…

Position: Trainee Ranger, Greymouth Area Office.

Taking a kiwi egg for artificial incubation in Christchurch

Taking a kiwi egg for artificial incubation in Christchurch

What kind of things do you do in your role?

A bit of everything. Over the two year traineeship the idea is to get work experience with each team—visitor assets, biodiversity, community relations and historic.

Over the last few months I have been part of the bio team monitoring great spotted kiwi/roroa in the South Eastern Paparoa ranges and blue duck/whio up the Kawheka Creek behind Kumara.

A whio release at Moonlight River

A whio release at Moonlight River

What is the best part about your job?

Tracking down and catching kiwi. We end up in some pretty neat patches of West Coast forest and get some fantastic views from the ridgeline down the coast to South Westland. The birds themselves are very cool. Being the largest species of kiwi, they are really strong and have quite a prehistoric look about them.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Kiwi poo—very smelly!

Sacha kneeling on the ground, holding a large kiwi.

Female Great Spotted Kiwi at Nelson Lakes

What led you to your role in DOC?

After working in the design and museum industry I needed a career change into some sort of outdoor or environmental role. I was already quite passionate about looking after New Zealand’s flora and fauna, so moving into a field work position for DOC made sense.

I went through the Nelson NMIT Trainee Ranger course last year which included an awesome three month work placement at Nelson Lakes National Park. I then managed to get a two year placement with the West Coast Conservancy.

Sacha holding a chainsaw about to cut through a large log.

Chainsaw training on NMIT Trainee Ranger course

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

Catching and weighing one of the newly released sub-adult great spotted kiwi/roroa by myself. ‘Stamper’ usually runs off before you get to it’s burrow and is generally quite hard to catch.

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Kayaking around Whangaroa Harbour
  2. Mountain biking
  3. Swimming at the waterfall back home in Kerikeri

    Sacha with friend amongst twisted, snow covered trees, wrapped up warm, packs on backs.

    Tramping along cone ridge on the Tararua Ranges

Three pet peeves

  1. Rubbish on the beach
  2. People who don’t compost their organic waste
  3. Supermarket trolleys that don’t steer properly

Three favourite foods

  1. Lindt sea salt chocolate
  2. Cream cheese
  3. Good musli

Three favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Rarawa Beach in Northland
  2. Kahurangi National Park
  3. The Mussel Inn

    Sacha walking down a steep, tussock covered hillside.

    Tramping near Dunn Mountain

Favourite movie, album, book

  1. Movie: Don’t really have a favourite—anything directed by the Cohen bros is usually pretty good
  2. Album: Anything by electronic duo Pitch Black
  3. Book: I have just been given the massive 500 page + (!) reference book on New Zealand native trees, currently my favourite book for plant ID

Deep and meaningful…

Who or what inspires you and why?

The retired volunteers that contribute to our community conservation projects, particularly the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary in Nelson. It’s great so see these people still out there in their 70s, putting in so much time and dedication to pest control and track clearing.

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

A sculptor or some sort of artist.

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

In a role involved with environmental education.

Sacha in takahe suit posing with Mitre 10 'Big is Good' giant Levi Vaoga and a small girl.

Me as takahē for a Mitre 10 Mega opening

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Try to buy second hand as much as possible, and of course get on a bike or walk. It’s amazing how much shopping you can fit on a bike.

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home?

Buying in bulk so we don’t end up with so much plastic food packaging to deal with.

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

Thats a hard one to choose… Perhaps a fantail/piwakawaka—they have quite a bit of character and it would be pretty fun to do such acrobatic moves in mid air.

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

Appreciate what we have. Aotearoa is pretty dam unique and educating the next generation about respecting and protecting it is crucial.

In Jobs at DOC , , , , , ,
permalink

Top 10 native animals of 2011

Department of Conservation —  06/01/2012

It probably doesn’t surprise you to hear that people love visiting our native animals online at www.doc.govt.nz. What may surprise you are the native animals people like visiting the most.

#10 Kaka

This amusing, social and boisterous parrot seems to be as much fun to hang out with online as in the real world.

Kaka

#9 Frogs

New Zealand’s four species of native frog may be cold-blooded, but they’re warmly regarded, and well visited, on the DOC website.

Hamilton's frog

#8 Tui

It’s not too much of a stretch to see why this pretty and popular song bird made the list. 

Tui feeding

#7 Kakapo

This eccentric New Zealand parrot has a huge following, partly due to their high profile ambassador Sirocco, who regularly makes news headlines around the world.

Kakapo chicks

#6 Tuatara

The only survivor of an ancient group of reptiles that roamed the earth at the same time as dinosaurs, tuatara are internationally famous and endlessly fascinating.

Tuatara

#5 Bats

Maori refer to bats as pekapeka and associate them with the mythical, night-flying bird, hokioi, which foretells death or disaster. Despite this rather gloomy association we still love visiting them.

Short-tailed bat cluster

#4 Kiwi

The kiwi is New Zealand’s national icon and unofficial national emblem. The only surprise about kiwi would’ve been if it didn’t make our top 10.

Kiwi

#3 Weta

Beating many a fair and feathered creature, New Zealand’s most recognisable creepy-crawly takes third place.

Giant weta

#2 Eel

These slimy and snake-like creatures obviously have more love out there than we give them credit for.   

Longfin eel

#1 Gecko

One look at the photos on the gecko pages and you’ll understand why these gorgeous creatures made it to the number one spot.

Marlborough green gecko

So, that’s the top 10 native animals of 2011, based on the number of visits each of them received on the DOC website during the year. Do you think visitor numbers have given us an accurate picture of popularity? Did your favourite make the list? Let’s take a quick poll to find out…

In Native animals , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Top 10 blog posts of 2011

Department of Conservation —  02/01/2012

Although kakapo didn’t win Bird of the Year in 2011, they certainly took out top honours on the Conservation Blog. Nine out of our top ten posts are exclusively, or in part, about this much loved New Zealand parrot. 

#10 Notes from an island sanctuary

This fantail chick lives right outside Chris' lounge

This recent post was the first from our new ranger on Maud Island, Chris Birmingham. You loved hearing about his life on the island, which is also home to Sirocco the kakapo. We’re all looking forward to hearing a lot more from Chris in 2012.

#9 Kakapo ‘curse’ hits breeding season – but more eggs to come

Kakapo chicks

Containing some of the first news of the 2011 kakapo breeding season, as well as a cute kakapo pic, this post promised to be a crowd favourite – and it was!

#8 Animal Health Board staff help save kakapo

We love our kakapo stories, and this one – told by Jane Sinclair of the Animal Health Board, who was lucky enough to win a trip to Whenua Hou/Codfish Island – was no exception.

#7 Mini miracles as kakapo chicks pull through

Kakapo chick, just hours old

The 2011 kakapo breeding season had us all on the edge of our seats. With so few of these beautiful and charismatic birds left, we held our collective breath as news came in from Codfish Island about each and every mating, egg and hatching.

The DIY egg – stuck together with glue and masking tape after kakapo Suzanne stood on it – was one of your favourite stories of the season.

#6 The great ‘kiwi in Russia’ mystery!

Special Agent Kiwi

Remember the kiwi that mysteriously turned up in the Russion port of Sochi back in May? Oh, that’s right, it was actually a common bittern. Never-the-less, it provided the material for this tongue in cheek story that appealed to the conspiracy theorist in us.

#5 Jobs at DOC: Spokesbird for Conservation, Sirocco the kakapo

Munchin' on a kumara-pop

Our ‘Jobs at DOC’ series provides behind the scenes insights into the jobs and the personalities of DOC workers. The post about our very own spokesbird for conservation, Sirocco the kakapo, was by far your favourite of these, taking out 5th place in our top 10. 

#4 Vote now! Remix the sounds of NZ competition

The grand finale of our New Zealand Music Month competition was always going to be popular. In it, our judges – Sirocco the rock star kakapo and Simon the mad morepork owl – played and commented on the top five tracks and then left it over to you, our savvy readers, to pick the winner.

#3 What New Zealand native species are you?

Native species quiz

This native species determination chart was the star of our Conservation Week series.

Over 3,000 people took the fun and fact filled test and, interestingly, we discovered that readers of the Conservation Blog are overwhelmingly kea!

#2 The world’s first takapo eggs

Our April Fool’s day post, about the world’s first takapo eggs being discovered on Maud Island, was a huge hit.

Haggis and Sirocco with their newly found eggs

Almost 5,000 of you have read and shared this fun and far fetched story.

#1 Remix my mates during NZ music month and make me a bona fide rock star!

To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, and to raise the profile of New Zealand’s avian songsters, Sirocco the kakapo put out the call for the musically talented to remix the sounds of New Zealand’s unique birds.

Sirocco the rockstar kakapo

This post received over 3,500 views in one day, and thousands more since then, making it the clear winner of our most popular post of the year.

What was your favourite?

Our top 10 blog posts for 2011 were chosen based on the number of people who viewed them. Do you think this accurately reflects the best of the blog?

Do you have a personal favourite that you’d like to comment on (that either did or didn’t make it onto our top 10 list)? We’d love to hear from you.

In Kiwi, Native animals, Sirocco the kakapo , , ,
permalink

Vote for your favourite kiwi name

 —  11/10/2011

What’s in a name? After recently reading about the release of Richie McKiwi, I decided to investigate what other cool kiwi names are out there, and how they came about.

I also came across a newborn at the West Coast Wildlife Centre. Any ideas for names? Submit your suggestions by commenting below.

As far as kiwi that already have names go, here are some (in no particular order) that stood out:

1. Gingernut – Named because there were orange patches on its head and back (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

Gingernut and his orange patches

2. Pike – Hatched on the day of the Pike River mine memorial (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

3. Koanga – Meaning ‘spring’, named because it was the first chick hatched for the season (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

4. Bella – Meaning ‘beautiful’, named by an Italian tourist (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

5. Shadow – Because the kiwi had interesting shadows inside its egg during incubation (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

The reason Shadow is called Shadow

6. Sonic the hedgehog – Given to a feisty wild chick who was super-active (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

7. Hupai – Around the hatching of the 1000th Operation Nest Egg chick in 2007, Save the Kiwi Trust had a contest to select a name for the chick. More than 1000 entries were submitted. The name ‘Hupai’ which means ‘to overcome’ was chosen (Waimarino Forest).

8. Patch – Named after John Cumberpatch, who had just retired from DOC. Coincidentally, the egg had a tiny hole in its shell that had to be ‘patched’ up, and it hatched with a massive patch of white feathers on its head! (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

9. Bacon – Mainland Foods (Kiwi Bacon) were a sponsor of the Save the Kiwi Trust for a short term, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kiwi Bacon. To launch the sponsorship, a kiwi was released in Whangarei, with the somewhat dubious name ‘Bacon’ (Whangarei Sanctuary).

Richter cuddling up to another kiwi (Howie), on Valentines Day no less

10. Richter – Named after the Christchurch earthquakes (Richter scale) (West Coast Wildlife Centre).

11. Kimposter – A male who was found incubating another male’s (Kim’s) eggs (Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary).

12. Liz Taylor – Named after being caught with eight different males (Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary).

13. Crikey – Named in memory of Steve Irwin (Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary).

14. Fat Freddy – Named after the New Zealand band—and his fat puku (Whangarei Kiw Sanctuary).

15. Scratch – Named after the blood he left on kiwi ranger Peter Graham’s arm when he was first caught (Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary).

DOC's Paul Cornille with Richie McKiwi

16. Richie McKiwi – Named by children from Purua School to celebrate the Rugby World Cup (Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary).

17. Nack and Paddywack – Offspring of Nick (Whangarei Sanctuary).

18. Doug and Lass – Doug was caught in a small stand of Douglas fir trees. He had to be chased around the tree trunks, before being caught. Lass is Doug’s mate. She was caught in the same small stand of Douglas fir trees (same place, same night). They had a chick called Fir… (Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary).

 19. Sparkler – Hatched on Guy Fawkes day (Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary).

 20. Peter Pan – Named because he ‘flew through the air’ over a log while being chased (Wendy is his mate) (Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary).

What’s your favourite kiwi name? Vote here:

Name ideas for the newborn

What should my name be?

A kiwi chick at the West Coast Wildlife Centre hatched yesterday—what are your name ideas?

Bevan Cameron, one of the Haast Biodiversity Asset Rangers, delivered the Haast tokoeka kiwi egg to the West Coast Wildlife Centre on September 28. The Haast DOC rangers actually went in expecting to rescue a chick which was about a week old, but were surprised to pull out an egg instead!

The parents of the egg are called Lightning and Thunder. Yesterday morning the wee chick inside the egg had made the first cracks to the egg overnight—the rangers were lucky enough to be watching when the chick made a third hole with his/her bill! This chick is really vocal and his/her egg was always wobbling around on the bench as the chick was busy inside trying to break out of the egg! It made its grand entry into the world at 1.30pm yesterday!

Leave a comment with your name ideas!

In Kiwi , , , ,
permalink

Jobs at DOC: Kiwi ranger and rodent dog handler, Miriam Ritchie

Department of Conservation —  15/08/2011

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 look at kiwi ranger and rodent dog handler, Miriam Ritchie:

At work:

Miriam Ritchie holding a kiwi

Name:  Miriam Robin Deans Ritchie

Job:  Kiwi ranger and rodent dog handler, Whangarei Area Office

Describe your role

I have two part-time roles: I monitor kiwi in the Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary to gather data for a long-term study of Northern North Island Brown Kiwi, and do some predator trapping within the sanctuary. I also do surveillance and monitoring of New Zealand’s offshore islands and rodent-free mainland sites with my certified rodent dog, Occi. 

Miriam with rodent dog, Occi

What kind of work /projects are you currently involved in?

I am currently removing transmitters from most of our adult kiwi sample as our project is undergoing a major change from intensive kiwi monitoring to a community relations/kiwi vs. dog advocacy campaign. I am also spending a bit of time with my dogs in the Bay of Islands working on Project Island Song, hunting down a trickle of invading rats that are threatening the potential rat-free status of the islands.

What led you to your current role in DOC?

Hard work, Raoul Island, persistence and taking opportunities.

Taking a helicopter ride to Three Kings Island

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Bush
  2. Coast 
  3. Freedom

Three pet peeves

  1. Injuries
  2. Being late
  3. People trying to run me over on my bike

Miriam and Occi

Getting personal:

What three things do you always have in your refrigerator?

  1. Some greenery
  2. Cooked rice
  3. A half-eaten avocado

What was your favourite birthday present as a kid?

My first pony—her name was Kindy, and I had her ’til she died at 27 years old.

Tell us about your 15 minutes of fame

Hah, I think that’s yet to come.

Miriam with 'rodent dog'

What is your dream holiday location or activity?

A chunk of swimmable coast, some hills to sweat up and some dogs to chase.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

Plant things, garden, ride my bike and explore with my dogs.  

What was the most useful thing that somebody once told you?

I don’t think anyone told me this but with hard work and the will, you can do anything.

Name a book and movie you would recommend: 

Wouldn’t presume to be able to do that, people vary too much in what they like! Although…

Occi staying safe in his high visibility outfit

Book: John Salmon’s Native Trees of New Zealand, despite being a bit out of date now, is a great reference book for anyone who loves the bush. Movie: The Flying Scotsman. 

If there was a competition for best place in New Zealand where would get your vote?

North Cape, Cape Reinga, Cape Maria Van Diemen—the tippy top of Northland.

And if there was one native species that ruled them all, what would be your pick?

Maybe the Kauri, being from Northland and all. They are pretty awesome in every sense!

In Animal pests, Jobs at DOC, Kiwi, Northland , , , , , ,
permalink