Rotokare.Org.Nz

www.rotokare.org.nz ROTOKARE Bush Telegraph 2017 Spring 06 764 8500 [email protected] Welcome WISH LIST DONATION To the Spring edition of the Rotokare Being a charitable organisation we regularly add a wish list Bush Telegraph. to our quarterly newsletters . We were very fortunate to As always we have lots of generous have OMV New Zealand purchase all of the items listed in people to thank: the last newsletter. Uhlenberg Haulage Ltd for the We are incredibly donation of 20m³ of metal, including grateful as the items delivery, for track maintenance. we request are things Tony Green digital callipers, banding we do not have equipment, markers and education funding to purchase, equipment. and either borrow from our local community or The Wheelhouse - Facebook tuition go without. Having these will make the lives of our staff and volunteers so much Your help is hugely valuable— easier. Having the Rotokare works extremely hard right tools and to raise enough funds to meet equipment ensures Some of the team with the purchased gear including a set of operational costs and to continue better efficiency when to deliver significant conservation winter quad bike tyres, spades, clipboards, petrol water blaster, completing core tasks. binoculars, compasses and more. and community outcomes The Trust is focused on reducing EDUCATION PROGRAMME operational costs and increasing operational funding. GIVEN BOOST You can help! We are truly thankful for a new sponsorship from the Lysaght-Watt Trust who, along with LEOTC and TET, support our Education programme, including our We are calling for support— Rotokare Youth Ambassadors, the Discover Your Schoolyard Programme. become a ‘Friends of the lake” - your $30-$50 annual donation is With support like this it means that everyone has the opportunity to see what a significant way to help support we are doing here, to see something they might not ever get the chance to the ongoing sanctuary success. see, and to be a part of our story in different ways. Please join the family and The Rotokare Environmental Education programme strives to empower our support Taranaki’s Sanctuary. future generations to take ownership of their environment. Please call or email 06 764 8500 [email protected] 2017 SPECIAL RESERVE HONEY www.facebook.com/rotokare Available NOW, $20.00 per jar, See pg 6 for more info An exciting new piece of infrastructure has now been completed at Rotokare, just in time for everyone to enjoy this summer. A new boardwalk meanders through some of Rotokare’s usually inaccessible wetlands, giving lucky visitors personal encounters with rare and often cryptic fauna such as the mātātā/fernbird and pūweto/spotless crake. The boardwalk leads to a floating platform jutting out into the lake, fitted with a large seat perfect for relaxing and bird watching. The new boardwalk was officially opened in September after two years of planning and construction. All made possible by some very special members of our community. Firstly to the army of volunteers that constructed the boardwalk, and to Bill and Sandra Hodges who’s donation made this project possible. For many years Bill and Sandra Hodges had been closely associated with Rotokare, supporting in many different ways "We really believed in this Trust and this project" says Bill. "We could see the passion for conservation and an equal passion for people and community, and that's why we got involved. Rotokare is such a special place and we just wanted to play our part in helping the Trust achieve their goals, and importantly supporting their education programme" he says. As time went by Sandra became unwell, but this husband and wife team still visited Rotokare in the weekends from their home in New Plymouth, often timing their visits to meet-up with the volunteers after a working bee. "Sandra just loved how much effort and love the volunteers would give, “they are inspirational". says Bill. "The boardwalk project has exceeded my expectations. To give something back to the community, and to have the pleasure of it is a dream come true. This is Sandra's gift to the young and the old". Wetland boardwalk completed in time for summer! Wetland So come out and enjoy the new boardwalk - you will get unique views of the reserve you may not have seen before. The added bonus is that this boardwalk and platform is pram and wheelchair friendly . Biodiversity Update We are all in love with the newest recruits to Rotokare Sanctuary. These friendly, nectar eating birds have been charming the staff, volunteers and public with their unique calls and interesting behaviours. In September we completed a full reserve survey of the population, following the translocation in April this year. We are regularly servicing 5 nectar feeding stations, and consumption is increasing, as expected leading into the breeding season. Nest boxes have been cleaned and 17 of the 38 boxes have signs of nest building and at least 6 nests with eggs, which is hopeful for the upcoming breeding season. Two males have been successfully caught to have their missing leg bands replaced. Having birds banded is essential for ongoing monitoring to assess Hihi / Stitchbird the breeding and overall success of the population here at Rotokare. If you would like to get involved with the feeding of hihi, get in touch so we can organise a training session before you get started. A male hihi drinks from the nectar feeder Toutouwai surveys are now If you manage to complete with 60% of the birds read the bands on translocated in May being one of our birds resighted. A number of these please let us know. new bird have also been seen paired up with some of the in the visitors book resident birds. Via email or message us Robin usually begin breeding on Facebook from September/October Call us 06 764 8500 onwards and have a 18-20 day incubation period. In the last few weeks we’ve been excited to see this years toutouwai fledglings appearing around Rotokare. Rotokare staff and volunteers Toutouwai / Robin Toutouwai were also excited to support the Read from left to right, Taranaki Mounga Project with top to bottom their toutouwai survey. Check out their website for more information E.g.: yellow, yellow / http://taranakimounga.nz/ Blue, Red Six more males have had transmitters fitted, in order to better understand the reproductive rates here at Rotokare. Monitoring the chicks born from these birds, from when they first hatch, will enable us to learn more about survival rates through to juvenile stage. It is exciting to think that the chicks from these newly monitored males will likely be among the first of the birds Kiwi translocated out from Rotokare to other sites. This milestone will mark the start of phase two for the Kohanga Kiwi Project, a joint partnership between Taranaki Kiwi Trust and Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust. We currently have 3 males incubating eggs. Once thought to be an insect that turns into a plant the vegetable caterpillar (genus Cordyceps) is one of the most bizarre oddities in New Zealand’s fauna. This is actually a fungus that invades native underground dwelling caterpillars—the spores are thought to be ingested with it’s food. The fungus then absorbs nutrients from it’s host’s tissue, the caterpillar becoming mummified. Once the food source is exhausted the fungus will send up a long (fruiting) stalk above the ground. Vegetable caterpillars are edible - having a nutty flavour once cooked. Traditionally Maori also burnt them and used the charcoal produced for moko (tattooing). Dactylanthus (Dactylanthus taylorii) is a rare parasitic flowering plant, endemic to New Zealand. Known also as pua o te reinga, meaning ‘flower of the underworld’ and wood rose, due to the rose like structure formed on the host trees roots as a result of the dactylanthus plant attaching to retrieve nutrients. Seeds from this special plant were sown at Rotokare in 2014, a second sow is planned for this year—as long as the seed is available. Dactylanthus can take up to 8 years before producing a flower for pollination above the ground so it is difficult to know if these seeds have grown successfully. We have marked the plots so we know Dactylanthus where to look for these specials plants when they do eventually make their way above ground. The bottom picture is the rose like structure, the “wood rose” which were popular with plant collectors. 3 years on....... Since the last ranger update, the Halo project has made some significant gains. We are nearing the end of year three and the last major funding round from the Ministry for the Environment. As at Mid-July we have 1,000 traps in the field. This covers an area of 2,904 ha. That is another 325 traps and an extra 1,000 ha covered. In addition to this our total collaboration effort with Taranaki Regional Council, South Taranaki Forest & Bird and Taranaki Kiwi Trust has hit 4,050 ha or 10,000 acres! Blue: Rotokare Halo Project (2,904 ha) Purple: South Taranaki Forest & Bird, and Taranaki Kiwi Trust (~1,000 ha) Orange: Halo project expansion goal by end of 2017 (~1,000 ha). HALO update HALO Check out an A12 possum trap in action, the possums think the cinnamon lure is to die for! On a recent trap check, there were 14 possums dead along a line of 4 of these A12 possum traps. A12 traps are self-resetting powered by carbon dioxide gas. They have the capacity to kill up to 12 possums before servicing. A great time saving option, especially in remote areas.

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