Newsletter Number 55 September-November 2013

Autumn

Typically changeable spring weather has brought a mix of northeasterly and southwesterly winds. The level of the 'Blueskin Blanket' has often been low, leaving the Ecosanctuary in golden morning sunshine above the clouds. The orchids certainly know that it is spring, with Corybas, Pterostylis, and Simpliglottis all flowering in profusion. So too are the robins aware, with many successful breeding attempts already. We are looking forward to a bumper summer for the biodiversity of the Ecosanctuary. Think of us over the summer and bring any friends who are visiting. Bear in mind that many of the biodiversity features of the Ecosanctuary are subtle, so consider a guided tour to get extra value from your visit.

From the Trust

It’s been a spectacular year for the Ecosanctuary. A few highlights by the month: January – our two young Southland Museum tuatara strut their stuff at the new viewing pen; February – work intensifies to upgrade culverts and seal off suspected mice intrusion; March – Orokonui Foundation takes shape; April – a community-led project (‘Beyond Orokonui’) is proposed to enhance the halo effect of the Ecosanctuary through trapping in the surrounding areas; May – female takahe Paku from Kapiti Island is released as a mate for Quammen and a new Memorandum of Understanding is signed with the City Council; June – a Haast tokoeka chick sighting confirms the first breeding in the area for at least 140 years and Matariki events are well supported again; July – generous donations ensure the construction of a new two-bay shed for the workshop complex; August – a $50,000 donation from the Harry J. Wilson Trust is a gift from heaven for the project, and volunteer effort continues at high levels; September – 50 South Island saddlebacks helicopter in from Breaksea Island, and a second visit by Sir Occo, knight of the parrots of the night, brings hundreds of new faces to the Ecosanctuary; October – takahe have a nest and one egg incubating (unsuccessfully) for a month, and the project’s 10th anniversary (more or less) coincides with the launching of Diane Campbell-Hunt’s book and the launching of the Orokonui Foundation endowment fund; November – 31 Otago skinks are welcomed into their new sub-enclosure and our rangers report no mice detection for six months; December – visitors have an opportunity to see three endangered species (tuatara, takahe and Otago skink) within a couple of minutes’ walk from Orokonui’s main gate. A top year.

Neville Peat, ONHT Chair.

1 Ecosanctuary Report

It’s been another big year of achievements on all counts; biodiversity outcomes, visitor attraction development, equipment and facilities development and increasing financial viability.

Helping our highly committed staff, volunteers and partners (particularly the Zoology Department) to protect our biodiversity in the last three months were primarily Biodiversity Funds and the Community Environment Fund with specific support for the saddleback transfer from the Mohua Charitable Trust and the Zoology Department of the University of Otago and for our revegetation Survey from the JS Watson Trust.

Due to the success of our education programme its future is looking secure with funding from the Ministry of Education likely for another three years. We look forward to inspiring more budding conservationists.

We’re slowly climbing towards self-sufficiency. Sirocco was a welcome boost to our visitor income this year and our gift shop and venue hire revenue has doubled over the past year. The café is making changes for this summer, increasing its range of pre-prepared food while adhering to its ethos of free-range, organic and locally sourced ingredients.

Behind the scenes we have been putting effort into our sponsors and volunteers and our systems and processes. Good communications ensure the Orokonui team operates effectively, efficiently and happily!

Chris Baillie, General Manager.

Introducing Anne Schnurpfeil

For everyone who has not met me yet I would like to give a short introduction to myself and also point out why I came all the way from Berlin to Orokonui.

Since my first visit to New Zealand, I have been fascinated by what volunteers contribute to organisations in New Zealand. They run play centres, local fire brigades, visitor information centres … and they also volunteer in terms of ecological restoration and nature conservation. I have travelled around many countries and have never seen such an involvement of volunteers in different projects. That might be due a very unique attitude which makes New Zealanders differ from other nationalities.

As I am studying forest ecosystem management in Germany my particular interest is in forest and ecological restoration and how volunteers at Orokonui contribute to it. I am aiming to investigate this topic and gather data for my final thesis. I have already met many volunteers who amaze me by contributing an incredibly large amount of their time and skills to sustain the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and make it such a special place.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me to have a good start in New Zealand and at Orokonui. Special thanks to Kelvin, Beatrice, Robert and Fergus who offered so much to me and make me feel like part of their family every day. Many thanks also to Valerie who helped me a lot to get involved in volunteering at Orokonui including lifts from up to the Ecosanctuary, advice, lists, general information and much more. So far I have gained a good insight into the planting and weeding mornings, environmental education programme and

2 bird surveys. I am really impressed by the huge variety of bird species already abundant at Orokonui and one of the South Island robins (Petroica australis) even tried to befriend me straightaway.

I am really looking forward to meeting more people (and birds :-)) involved in Orokonui Ecosanctuary!

Biodiversity News

Fauna

Tuatara

The tuatara in the Tuatara viewing pen have been encouraged by the warmer weather and are emerging from their burrows on fine days.

Creature Feature:

Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus): myths, misconceptions and common questions

A juvenile tuatara - photo: Scott Jarvie

Myths, misconceptions and questions about tuatara are common. Here are a few that I often hear from colleagues, friends and family:

Are tuatara ‘living fossils’? Tuatara are the sole living member of Rhynchocephalia, the sister group to Squamata (lizards and snakes), which diverged about 250 million years ago. They are not, however, ‘living fossils’ as often mistakenly described. Fossil evidence indicates that rhynchocephalians were diverse in their morphology, diet and lifestyle, and some aspects of tuatara anatomy previously thought to be ‘primitive’ are now known not to be. Tuatara should therefore be considered a modern reptile. How many species of tuatara are there? There is currently one recognised species of

3 tuatara: Sphenodon punctatus. Recent taxonomic work indicates that there are geographically distinct and genetic variants, however. It remains uncertain whether there were additional species of tuatara in the recent past. Where are tuatara found in the wild? Tuatara are now found naturally on about 31 offshore islands, having disappeared from the mainland after the arrival of humans and introduced predatory . Recent translocations of tuatara have been to 10 islands and free-release within at least five mainland sites. The reintroduction to Orokonui Ecosanctuary in 2012 is the first-time tuatara will have roamed freely on the south-eastern South Island in a few hundred years, a milestone in the ecological restoration of the Ecosanctuary and tuatara conservation in general. Has the translocation of tuatara to Orokonui Ecosanctuary been successful? There are a number of definitions to describe the success of a translocation. My preferred definition is that a translocation is successful when a self-sustaining population establishes and persists at the release site. Because tuatara are long-lived (~100 years), late-maturing reptiles (at age ~13-20 years) with slow recruitment, success of a translocation according to the above definition will take decades to confirm. Early signs however, are positive with at least two nests laid in the first year and high survival rates of animals over winter. I hope this helps to debunk myths and misconceptions about tuatara and also answer some common questions about the translocation to the Ecosanctuary.

Scott Jarvie, PhD student, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Takahe

Paku and Quammen became more than just friends, with Paku soon sitting on an egg. The first takahe nest in the Dunedin area for a very long time! Unfortunately these two hopeful parents have a history of producing infertile eggs, and we suspect the same was true on this occasion. Paku ultimately destroyed the egg after it failed to hatch on time, but she has recently re-nested. This takahe nesting is a very good sign for the Ecosanctuary, and perhaps one day we will be given a more productive breeding pair and thus raise some Orokonui takahe chicks.

Robin

As predicted, the robin population at the Ecosanctuary is booming - so far this spring 41 robin breeding pairs have been detected, and they have fledged at least 50 chicks. Robins are reliably seen in the lower valley and are likely to move up-valley as their population increases.

Saddleback

Initial results of the second saddleback translocation give hope that the saddleback population will follow the robins and successfully establish. Initial surveys have identified nine pairs, but the male of one of these pairs has unfortunately lured a female over the Xcluder fence at the bottom of the valley. Of the eight known pairs, it appears that six are nesting. As one pair was only found recently, it is possible that more will be detected with playback surveys. Nest-finding has begun, but this is not easy with saddlebacks. At least four individual birds have also been seen.

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Maps on the wall of Elton's office. The left hand map shows the locations of saddleback pairs (red pins) and individuals (yellow pins). The right hand map shows the Ecosanctuary's incredible track and tracking tunnel/trapping network.

Fernbird

A fernbird pair raised chicks near the eel pond and many people got to see these elusive birds up close as they flew between nest and foraging places close by. Two other fernbird nests have been discovered by chance, as no specific surveys of fernbirds are carried out. Wander around the tracks and open spaces above the Kaka Track and you will very likely hear or see them.

Tui

The Visitor Centre has been the food centre for a tui who has found the guttering and the outside blinds a rich source of food and it has been great to see the aerial skills as it swoops and dives to catch insects in flight.

Butterfly garden

Butterflies are beautiful but ephemeral. Just as Sue Hensley was pointing out a red admiral butterfly to a visitor, a bellbird swooped and the butterfly was gone! We look forward to more butterfly encounters as the butterfly garden develops. By Christmas there will be a release of red admiral caterpillars onto their host plants, the nettles, including the fierce tree nettle (Urtica ferox).

5 Otago skink

November has seen Ecosanctuary staff and volunteers working busily to get the Otago skink enclosure ready in time for the arrival of 30 of these special lizards in November.

Vegetation and flora

Flowering in profusion

It is a great flowering year for harakeke and tī kouka, with spectacular flowering of mature tī kouka at the top of the Ecosanctuary, and of the harakeke above the path near the pedestrian gate. The tiny flowered tree daisies of Olearia hectorii, O. lineata, and O. fragrantissima in the rare plants garden are also doing well. Neville Peat has had to wait five years for O. fragrantissima to flower and he has finally been able to check out whether it really does smell and yes it does – very nicely. The spring-flowering greenhood orchid Pterostylis graminea, spider orchid Corybas trilobus, and two-leaved orchid Simpliglottis cornuta have inconspicuous flowers but they are well worth stooping down for to enjoy how they have converted sepals and petals into specialised floral structures. So do take time to enjoy the rare plants garden and other flowering plants the next time you visit the Ecosanctuary.

Olearia fragrantissima Olearia lineata flowers Spent miro male cones on flowers the Kaka Track

Corybas trilobus Simpliglottis cornuta Pterostylis graminea Photos: Kelvin Lloyd Permanent plot re-measurement

Kelvin Lloyd and Gary Paterson have become a familiar sight to the robins and other forest birds - and some of the students monitoring them - as they steadily progress through the re- measurement the 52 permanently marked vegetation plots established on conservation land within the Ecosanctuary over 2005-2007. 30 of the plots have been re-measured now, with plots on the eastern side of the valley now almost completed.

6 Invertebrate herbivory on foliage

Gary has also been sampling leaves of common tree and shrub species to assess invertebrate herbivory inside and outside the Ecosanctuary, to help Dr Bill Lee (Landcare Research) test an hypothesis he formed while visiting Orokonui. It will be really interesting to see if there is a difference - the expectation is that release from mammalian predation would increase invertebrate populations and thus see more invertebrate herbivory on leaves within the Ecosanctuary.

Rare plants garden

The Rare Plants garden is full of flowers at present, with Celmisia hookeri, Gingidia grisea and several different species of Olearia in flower. Many visitors walk past the rare plants without taking a lot of notice of them, but not so the six busloads of delegates from the International Botanic Gardens Congress, who recently came to visit Orokonui. For once it was less the birds that were the focus of attention than plants and trees. These visitors were greatly intrigued by some of our oddities, like the twiggy Melicytus flexuosus which on a first look appears dead, as it has only vestigial leaves; and the Spanish speakers smiled when they heard what we commonly call our species of Aciphylla and why. For the guides it was great fun guiding groups of visitors who were just so interested and knowledgeable. Chief guide Sue Hensley made sure all the guides were up to speed with these special plants, by gathering all together at the Rare plants garden for some up-skilling beforehand

Graeme Cook admires the profusion of Celmisia hookeri flowers in the Rare Plants garden, which he and his wife Judy helped construct and maintain.

Photo: Alyth Grant

Gary Paterson at Orokonui

Gary Paterson is a primary teacher from Weston, North Otago. Earlier this year, he was awarded a Primary Science Fellowship, a government initiative administered through the Royal Society of New Zealand, the purpose of which is to create science curriculum leaders for primary schools. Selected teachers were given the opportunity to take leave from their school for two terms to engage in a programme of learning around science. For the last two terms, Gary has been hosted by Dr Kelvin Lloyd at Wildland Consultants Ltd. During his time at Wildlands he was to carry out projects that involved ecological monitoring in and around the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.

Working at Orokonui alongside Kelvin, Gary was involved in locating and marking out a network of vegetation baseline monitoring plots that had been established within the

7 Ecosanctuary prior to fencing and pest eradication. He assisted in re-measuring the plots to enable assessment of vegetation response to low or zero densities of mammalian pest densities and in the entering and summarising of data. Gary also assisted with leaf sampling for a Landcare Research project (see above).

Gary has gained knowledge and understanding of how scientists utilise scientific processes and methodology when conducting field studies as well as a more intensive insight into the ecology of New Zealand native plants and vegetation and of the techniques used to monitor and assess these.

A pre-requisite to all this understanding and knowledge was for Gary to come to grips with the botanical names, as well as some Māori names, of plant species found in the Ecosanctuary. At the beginning of the Fellowship Gary knew a few common names of some high profile species so at first there was a ‘desperate’ scramble to enable a quick leaf identification and match it to its botanical name. Initially, he likened moving through the bush at Orokonui to pushing your way through a crowd at a shopping mall, but now, months on, it’s the same shopping mall but it’s like gently easing your way through a crowd of people you know.

Gary's Fellowship comes to an end in mid- December. As a result of this work assisting with monitoring, assessing and sampling vegetation, Gary has gained an on-going interest in the conservation of New Zealand’s biodiversity and the effectiveness of island and mainland ecosanctuaries. He has also been intrigued by the dynamics of New Zealand’s forests and into the possible evolutionary characteristics of forest species.

Gary looks at invertebrate damage to mahoe foliage. Photo: Gary Paterson

Gary would like to acknowledge the help and patience of Dr Kelvin Lloyd and also his appreciation for the awareness and understanding of how scientists work, and for the insights into New Zealand’s ecology and botany which Kelvin generously taught. For his part, Kelvin is deeply appreciative of the assistance Gary gave with finding and re-measuring vegetation plots, the insights Gary provided as an 'outsider' looking in at science and scientific processes, and for Gary's self-starting ethic which made hosting him so easy.

Biosecurity news

Pest control

No mice have been detected in the sanctuary since May of this year. All 1350 monitoring tunnels were activated in mid November and the only footprints on the ink cards were skink,

8 gecko, insects and birds. Although the main initial knockdown of pests occurred in 2008 it has taken five long years of enormous effort and dedication to produce these six months with no evidence of mice. Long may it last! The myriad adjustments to the pest exclusion fence and the seven months it took to expand the grid of monitoring tunnels so that it is small enough to reliably detect mice has been well worth it. This is an amazing result and I think Orokonui is probably the only mainland island sanctuary that has been able to achieve this.

Facilities

Two bay shed

The two-bay shed was built on time for Sirocco, and is now greatly appreciated by Ecosanctuary staff. A function was had at the end of Sirocco's visit to celebrate the completion of the shed, and farewell Errol, one of Sirocco's minders.

Staff and volunteers celebrate the completion of the new garage. Photo: Alyth Grant

Otago skink enclosure

Staff and volunteers were busy in October and November constructing the enclosure for the Otago skinks which were released into the enclosure on 20 November. We are particularly appreciative of assistance from our stalwart volunteers Tony Stewart, Guy Blakely, Alan Kilner, John White, and Graeme Cook for this project.

Matt and Tony Stewart at work on the tricky construction of the Otago skink enclosure. Photo: Alyth Grant

Tracks

Tracks are in very good condition with the recent spell of dry weather meaning all track surfaces are good. Low level track maintenance continues.

Visitor income

Guided and self-guided tours both increased significantly in October compared to last year. A number of weddings and other events have been booked at the Ecosanctuary for December

9 and January. Venue hire income has exceeded budget so far this year, and shop sales are also doing well. The cafe produces great food and coffee but is struggling to make a profit. Please support the cafe by using it if you are visiting the Ecosanctuary.

Volunteering

Pa Harakeke maintenance - The Pa Harakeke (flax grove) is situated just outside the fence and is a joint project of Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and Orokonui Ecosanctuary – Te Korowai o Mihiwaka. It features over a hundred varieties of flax including many taonga weaving flaxes handed down through the generations. Set in a sheltered patch of fuchsia (reclaimed from Himalayan honeysuckle, broom and gorse), it’s a lovely spot to sit and relax. Check it out on your next visit to the sanctuary. It was opened in 2010 and some of the plants are now mature enough to harvest.

A core group of volunteers and staff have been maintaining the Pa over the last couple of years and recently the Dunedin group of Japanese Kodomo Kai spent a day in the Pa. The morning was spent in a variety of weeding tasks and then in the afternoon they were introduced to the windmill knot from which fish, mobiles, fishing lines and mats were made. Kodomai Kai with some of their work Photo: Sue Hensley

Do you lack transport to the Ecosanctuary?

We are aware that we have loyal members who cannot easily get out to visit the Ecosanctuary because they have no means of transport. We are sure we can find volunteers who would be willing to provide the transport but first we need to know who might be glad of the opportunity. If that is you, please contact Alyth Grant (470 1142), who will do her best to match people up for a visit during the summer months. A call has already gone out to our band of volunteers, but other members who would like to help out in this way are also invited to contact Alyth.

In October we again benefitted from over a thousand volunteer hours - thanks very much to everyone who helped out!

10 Season's Greetings

Once more we’re doing the time warp and Christmas is just around the corner - can you believe it? Orokonui would like to thank everyone who supported the sanctuary in the very many ways that keeps this place humming along. Best wishes for a safe and relaxing summer.

For other news and activities visit www.orokonui.org.nz or facebook. Cafe and Visitor Centre are open daily except for Dec 24th and 25th.

We warmly welcome the following new members:

Individual Grant & Barbara Shackell Lea Renwick Nathan Kershaw Hilary Phipps Suzanne Middleton & John Robilliard Jocelyn Harris Valerie & Paul Dyer Anne Reddington Harry & Gabrielle van der Pauw Family Katrina Campbell Rowan Gudmanz Lois McKee Marion & Brendan Gray Dan Pulvers & Ami Radler Ken Harrison Scott Pulver Linda Liddy Rama & Robert McGee Janine Cochrane Toby & Pip Lovell Alistair & Josephine Regan Lee & Dennis Asher Guy & Bea Blakely Ronda & Martin Trent Robyn & John Armstrong Stuart & Coleen Landsborough Shaz and Shaun Judy & Jim Neilan

Membership Cards are available for collection at the Visitor Centre next time you visit.

Bram Evans took these photos of the magnificent Cabbage tree on the Kiwi track

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Thank you to our sponsors

Marie and Graeme Bennett Alexander McMillan Trust Dunedin City Council Caversham Foundation Biodiversity Funds Ministry of Education Otago Daily Times Otago Community Trust Otago Regional Council

Callis Charitable Trust MTF The Rotary Club of Dunedin Ironmaster Trust Cooke Howlison Hope and Sons Harry J Wilson Trust Oceana Gold Community Environment Fund

Blueskin Nurseries NHNZ John Swan Topflite Farra Engineering Gallaway Cook Allan Rotary South Fund Managers Otago Amenities Society Port Otago Crowe Howarth Wildland Consultants Power Farming Otago Ryman Healthcare Click Media Leslie Hutchins Foundation Bendigo Valley Trust ANZ Staff Foundation Mitre 10 Mega Mohua Trust Mercy Hospital COGS Southern Victorian Trust Blackhead Quarries Ltd JS Watson Conservation Trust WWF – New Zealand Dunedin Forest and Bird City Forests

Attention members for whom we don’t have an email address: Because of the time and expense of posting information to members, or trying to make contact by phone, in between newsletters, we only email invitations to special events. If you don’t have an email address you can keep up to date with what’s happening through our website or by phoning the office.

Ecosanctuary contact details:

Street address: 600 Blueskin Rd, Waitati, Dunedin Postal address: P.O. Box 6425 Dunedin email: [email protected] Telephone: (03) 482 1755 www.orokonui.org.nz

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