Save Kiwi Month the GREAT KIWI

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Save Kiwi Month the GREAT KIWI Save Kiwi Month THE GREAT KIWI... QUIZ If you want to add an activity to your Great Kiwi Morning Tea, you could do a quiz. We’ve even put one together for you. Get those thinking caps on and have fun! 1. Use the letters in the following phrase to find four threats to kiwi: MOSS GUARDS COSTS TO PASS 2. Tokoeka is a species of kiwi found in Fiordland, the Haast Range and Rakiura (Stewart Island). The name tokoeka comes from the Māori meaning what? 3. Name three types of habitat that kiwi could live in. 4. Which are bigger, male or female kiwi? 5. New Zealand has many species of native birds, but only two native mammals, which are both types of what? 6. If an area has 10 pairs of kiwi in it, each of which can lay four eggs a year, but only 5% of the chicks from those eggs survive, how many surviving chicks would those 10 pairs of kiwi have after five years? (Don’t include calculations of the chicks having chicks!) 7. In Kuwi’s Huhu Hunt, the second book featuring Kuwi the kiwi, Kuwi goes looking for food to feed her fussy chick. She tries all sorts of grubs and plants. Kiwi eat both. What’s the name for an animal that eats both meat and plant-based food? 8. Can you name four native New Zealand birds (apart from kiwi) whose names begin with K? Māori names can definitely be included. 9. How long does it take for a kiwi to incubate its eggs? 30, 50 or 70 days? 10. How many species of kiwi are there? Can you name them all? ANSWERS 1. Stoats - the number one killer of kiwi chicks. Dogs - the number one killer of adult kiwi - it’s essential to keep dogs under control in kiwi areas. Cars - another big threat to kiwi. Please drive carefully in kiwi areas. Possums - they have been known to take kiwi eggs and chicks and can also devastate the forest, which affects a kiwi’s food supply. 2. Weka with a walking stick (referring to the kiwi’s long beak). 3. Kiwi are quite versatile and can live in most types of habitat. These include lowland, in coastal native forest, flax, mixed scrub and sand dunes; Sub-alpine forested areas up to 1500 metres – tussock grasslands, beech forests, podocarp forests, scrub. Kiwi can even dig burrows in the snow; pine forests; and rough farmland. 4. Female kiwi. They’re generally 20 - 30% heavier than their male counterparts. 5. Bat. The long-tailed bat and the lesser short-tailed bat. We did have another species - the greater short-tailed bat, but this is now thought to be extinct. It’s quite ironic that our most famous native bird, the kiwi, can’t fly and our only native mammals can! 6. 10. This is quite a simplistic calculation, but is used for illustration. Only 5% of kiwi chicks survive to breeding age in areas that aren’t under predator control. In contrast, around 65% survive where predator control is in place. That means that using these calculations, the 10 pairs of kiwi would have had 130 surviving chicks in a predator controlled area, which is a considerable difference! 7. An omnivore. Carnivores eat just meat and herbivores eat just plants. 8. There are lots! Kākā, kākāpō, kea, kōtare (or kingfisher), kereru (New Zealand pigeon, also known as kūkū and kūkupa), kōkako, korimako (bellbird), kārearea (New Zealand falcon), kākāriki (New Zealand parakeet), kōtuku (white heron) as well as some less well- known ones: kāmana (Australasian crested grebe), kakī (black stilt), Kaikōura tītī (Hutton’s shearwater), koitareke (marsh crake). 9. About 70 days. 10. There are five species of kiwi: brown kiwi, great spotted kiwi, little spotted kiwi, tokoeka and rowi. www.kiwisforkiwi.org [email protected] (09) 307 4878 Registered Charity #CC47976.
Recommended publications
  • Translocation of Great Spotted Kiwi/Roa to Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project
    Translocation of great spotted kiwi/roa (Apteryx haasti) to Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project Gasson P.A. DECEMBER 2005 Published by Department of Conservation Private Bag 5 Nelson, New Zealand (PM2005/9035) Publ.info. Occasional Publication No. 67 ISSN 0113-3853 ISBN 0-478-14086-X CONTENTS Executive Summary 5 1. Introduction 6 2. Background 8 2.1 Great spotted kiwi biology and conservation 8 2.2 Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project 10 2.3 Purpose of the translocation 11 2.4 Previous attempts at establishing mainland kiwi populations 12 3. Development of the translocation proposal 14 3.1 Choice of kiwi species 14 3.2 Development of the operational plan 14 3.3 Choice of a source population 15 3.4 Consultation with iwi 16 3.5 Health assessment of the source population 17 3.6 Translocation approval 18 4. Transfer methods 19 4.1 Kiwi collection methods 19 4.2 Measuring, marking and health sampling 20 4.3 Holding and transportation methods 21 4.4 Release method 22 5. Transfer results 24 5.1 Collection results 24 5.2 Holding and transportation results 26 5.3 Release results 27 5.4 Health sampling results 29 6. Discussion of transfer methods and results 33 7. Post-release monitoring methods 35 7.1 Distribution monitoring 35 7.2 Breeding monitoring 36 7.3 Recapture and physical examination methods 36 8. Post-release monitoring results 38 8.1 Dispersal 38 8.2 Pair bond survival 41 8.3 Habitat usage 41 8.4 Breeding 43 8.5 Physical examinations 45 9. Post-release kiwi management 47 9.1 Management approach 47 9.2 Dispersal management 47 9.3 Road signs 48 9.4 Dog management 48 9.5 Possum control 49 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Apteryx Haastii)
    Genetic variability, distribution and abundance of great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) John McLennan and Tony McCann ABSTRACT Recent information on the genetic composition, morphological features, distri- bution and abundance of great spotted kiwi is collated, analysed and used to evaluate the species’ conservation status. The species exhibits high levels of genetic variability but with no consistent geographical patterns. Some morphological variability is present along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. Further study is warranted to determine if genetically and/ or morphologically distinct populations are present. There are currently about 22 000 great spotted kiwi spread over 6000 km2 in the northwest of the South Island. Most great spotted kiwi now live in high rainfall mountainous regions. There are three principal populations: in Northwest Nelson, the Paparoa Range, and the Arthur’s Pass–Hurunui district. Since European settlement, the species has become extirpated in eastern Nelson, part of North Westland, and the central Westland mountain valleys. Overall, the species’ range has contracted by at least 30%. The principal cause of decline is probably predation by stoats (Mustela erminea). Conservation of the intra-specific genetic and morphological diversity of great spotted kiwi is best achieved by protecting the range of extant populations, although this may be logistically difficult. The focus will probably settle on the three main population groups. We expect further declines to take place, particularly in southern Northwest Nelson and in Arthur’s Pass–Hurunui. The large populations in upland areas of Northwest Nelson and the Paparoa Range are probably stable but this needs to be monitored. The species should be classified as ‘vulnerable’ according to IUCN threat definitions.
    [Show full text]
  • New Zealand Comprehensive III 16Th November – 2Nd December 2017 Trip Report
    New Zealand Comprehensive III 16th November – 2nd December 2017 Trip Report Gibson’s Wandering Albatross off Kaikoura by Erik Forsyth Trip Report compiled by Tour Leader Erik Forsyth Rockjumper Birding Tours | New Zealand www.rockjumperbirding.com Trip Report – RBL New Zealand - Comprehensive III 2017 2 Daily Diary New Zealand is a must for the serious seabird enthusiast. Not only will you see a variety of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, but there are good chances of getting out on the high seas and finding something unusual. Seabirds dominate this tour, and views of most birds are right alongside the boat. There are also several land birds which are unique to these islands: the kiwis – terrestrial nocturnal inhabitants; the huge swamp-hen like takahe – prehistoric in its looks and movements; and then the wattlebirds (the saddlebacks and kokako) – poor flyers with short wings, which bound along the branches and on the ground. We had so many highlights on this tour, including close encounters with Little Spotted Kiwi, walk-away views of a pair of North Island Kokako, both North and South Island Saddlebacks and a pair of the impressive South Island Takahe. With many boat trips, the pelagic list was long, with Wandering, Northern and Southern Royal, Salvin’s, Black-browed, Campbell and White-capped Albatrosses, Westland, Cook’s and White- chinned Petrels, Buller’s, Flesh-footed and New Zealand (Red-breasted) Plover by Erik Forsyth Hutton’s Shearwaters, and Common Diving Petrel being a few of the highlights. Other major highlights included twelve New Zealand King Shag, a pair of Blue Duck with one chick, nine of the critically endangered Black Stilt, the rare Stitchbird, New Zealand Kaka, the entertaining Kea, range- restricted New Zealand Rockwren, the tiny Rifleman and lastly the striking Yellowhead, to name a few.
    [Show full text]
  • Grounded Birds in New Zealand
    Flightless Grounded Birds in New Zealand An 8th Grade Research Paper By Nathaniel Roth Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School June 2014 1 More than half of the birds in New Zealand either can’t fly, can only partially fly, or don’t like to fly. (Te Ara) This is a fact. Although only sixteen species in New Zealand are technically flightless, with another sixteen that are extinct (TerraNature), a majority of more than 170 bird species will not fly unless their lives are threatened, or not even then. This is surprising, since birds are usually known for flying. A flightless bird is a bird that cannot fly, such as the well­known ostrich and emu, not to mention penguins. The two main islands southeast of Australia that make up New Zealand have an unusually diverse population of these birds. I am personally very interested in New Zealand and know a lot about it because my mother was born there, and I still have family there. I was very intrigued by these birds in particular, and how different they are from most of the world’s birds. I asked myself, why New Zealand? What made this tiny little country have so many birds that can’t fly, while in the rest of the world, hardly any live in one place? My research has informed me that the population and diversity of flightless birds here is so large because it has been isolated for so long from other land masses. Almost no mammals, and no land predators, lived there in the millions of years after it split from the Australian continent, so flying birds didn’t have as much of an advantage during this time.
    [Show full text]
  • Distributions of New Zealand Birds on Real and Virtual Islands
    JARED M. DIAMOND 37 Department of Physiology, University of California Medical School, Los Angeles, California 90024, USA DISTRIBUTIONS OF NEW ZEALAND BIRDS ON REAL AND VIRTUAL ISLANDS Summary: This paper considers how habitat geometry affects New Zealand bird distributions on land-bridge islands, oceanic islands, and forest patches. The data base consists of distributions of 60 native land and freshwater bird species on 31 islands. A theoretical section examines how species incidences should vary with factors such as population density, island area, and dispersal ability, in two cases: immigration possible or impossible. New Zealand bird species are divided into water-crossers and non-crossers on the basis of six types of evidence. Overwater colonists of New Zealand from Australia tend to evolve into non-crossers through becoming flightless or else acquiring a fear of flying over water. The number of land-bridge islands occupied per species increases with abundance and is greater for water-crossers than for non-crossers, as expected theoretically. Non-crossers are virtually restricted to large land-bridge islands. The ability to occupy small islands correlates with abundance. Some absences of species from particular islands are due to man- caused extinctions, unfulfilled habitat requirements, or lack of foster hosts. However, many absences have no such explanation and simply represent extinctions that could not be (or have not yet been) reversed by immigrations. Extinctions of native forest species due to forest fragmentation on Banks Peninsula have especially befallen non-crossers, uncommon species, and species with large area requirements. In forest fragments throughout New Zealand the distributions and area requirements of species reflect their population density and dispersal ability.
    [Show full text]
  • The Maintenance and Reproductive Behaviour of Black Stilts
    Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the pennission of the Author. The Maintenance and Reproductive Behaviour of Black Stilts (Himantopus novaezealandiae) in Captivity, and Implications for the Management of this Rare Species. A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University Christine Elva Margaret Reed February 1986 ii ABSTRACT In an effort to conserve New Zealand's rarest endemic wading species, the black stilt (Himantopus novaezealandiae), eggs were removed from the wild in October 1979 for establishment of a captive breeding population. Eight chicks fledged following artificial incubation and hand-rearing at the National Wildlife Centre near Masterton. At two years of age, these tentatively sexed stilts were formed into pairs and housed in large outdoor enclosures. I studied their behaviour from December 1982 until February 1986, aiming to i) collate an ethogram for the species under the restrictions of a captive environment ii) describe and quantify behavioural activity, especially that of reproductive behaviour and breeding biology iii) describe vocalisations and iv) on the basis of observed behaviour, examine captive breeding as a management option for black stilts. A repertoire of 38 context-specific behavioural patterns were observed throughout the year and a further 15 stereo-typed species-typical nest-building, copulatory, incubation and chick-rearing patterns occurred during the breeding season. Time-budget analysis of a focal pair of stilts showed foraging and immobility to be the predominant daily activities, peaking during the pre-nesting period.
    [Show full text]
  • Detecting Inbreeding Depression in a Severely Bottlenecked, Recovering Species: the Little Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx Owenii)
    Detecting inbreeding depression in a severely bottlenecked, recovering species: the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) Helen R. Taylor A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology and Biodiversity Victoria University of Wellington Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui 2014 This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Kristina Ramstad1, AProf. Nicola Nelson1, Prof. Fred Allendorf2 & Dr. Hugh Robertson3 1Allan Wilson Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand 2Montana Conservation Genetics Lab, University of Montana, Missoula, USA 3New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand All images featured in this thesis were created or taken by the author unless otherwise stated. Abstract Population bottlenecks reduce genetic variation and population size. Small populations are at greater risk of inbreeding, which further erodes genetic diversity and can lead to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression is known to increase extinction risk. Thus, detecting inbreeding depression is important for population viability assessment and conservation management. However, identifying inbreeding depression in wild populations is challenging due to the difficulty of obtaining long-term measures of fitness and error-free measures of individual inbreeding coefficients. I investigated inbreeding depression and our power to detect it in species that have very low genetic variation, using little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) (LSK) as a case study. This endemic New Zealand ratite experienced a bottleneck of, at most, five individuals ~100 years ago and has since been subjected to secondary bottlenecks as a result of introductions to new predator-free locations.
    [Show full text]
  • New Zealand North Island Endemics 16Th November to 24Th November 2021 (9 Days) South Island Endemics 24Th November to 3Rd December 2021 (10 Days)
    New Zealand North Island Endemics 16th November to 24th November 2021 (9 days) South Island Endemics 24th November to 3rd December 2021 (10 days) Whitehead by Adam Riley New Zealand supports a host of unusual endemic land birds and a rich assemblage of marine birds and mammals. Our North Island tour is designed to seek almost every possible endemic and take full RBL New Zealand – South Island Endemics & Extension Itinerary 2 advantage of fabulous scenery. Beginning in Auckland, we target North Island Brown Kiwi, Whitehead and North Island Saddleback as well as a visit to the fabled Tiritiri Matangi Island where we will bird this predator-free reserve for the prehistoric South Island Takahe, strange North Island Kokako and Stitchbird, before combing the Miranda shoreline for the bizarre Wrybill and numerous waders. A pelagic excursion then takes place in the Hauraki Gulf in search of the Black and Cook’s Petrel, Buller’s Flesh-footed and Fluttering Shearwater. From here we visit the scenic Tongariro National Park in the centre of the North Island where we check fast-flowing streams for the rare Blue Duck while nearby forests hold Rifleman and Tomtit. We finish our time on the North Island visiting the famous Zealandia Reserve searching for the endangered Little Spotted Kiwi, New Zealand Falcon, Red-crowned Parakeet, New Zealand Kaka and Stitchbird We start our South Island tour in the beautiful grasslands of the Mackenzie region of the South Island where we will take in the beauty of the Southern Alpine rang, while looking for the critically endangered Black Stilt, before hiking through pristine Red Beech forest surrounded by breath-taking glacier-lined mountains, where the massive Kea (an Alpine parrot) can be found.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wrybill Newsletter of the Canterbury Region, Ornithological Society of New Zealand
    The Wrybill Newsletter of the Canterbury Region, Ornithological Society of New Zealand Regional representative: Jan Walker 305 Kennedys Bush Road, Christchurch 8025 Ph 03 322 7187. Email: [email protected] January 2010 Droppings from the Regional Rep him anyway. It was richly deserved. The Ashley/Rakahuri Group also won the Wondering where to start, why not the partiest Canterbury/Aoraki Conservation Award for 2009. party of the bird calendar for OSNZ Canterbury? This is of course the Xmas BBQ at Colin and There are some good outings planned for this Cherry’s Fenland House farm. Around 15 folk year, so do come along even if you haven’t done rose to the occasion. Five teams went out so in the past. We are a friendly lot and not at all around the lake before lunch and two later on, competitive, well perhaps a little…… much later on, to mop up the left-overs. Nothing exceptional was seen except 3 Bitterns and a Some excellent evening meetings took place at small colony of nesting Caspian Terns, neither of the end of last year. Sara Kross, studying which are waders, unfortunately. The event Falcons in a Marlborough vineyard, had a continues to be one of Canterbury’s finest, fascinating video record of the birds to show rivaling the Show, Cup Week and an All-Black their lives in detail. She asked for small-bird Test, put together. If that didn’t get you reading experts to help her identify the prey items shown this, I give up. in the film, not that there was much left to see.
    [Show full text]
  • BLACK STILT RECOVERY PLAN (Himantopus Novaezealandiae)
    THREATENED SPECIES RECOVERY PLAN SERIES NO.4 BLACK STILT RECOVERY PLAN (Himantopus novaezealandiae) Prepared by C.E.M. Reed & D.P. Murray Department of Conservation, Twizel Field Centre Private Bag, Twizel D. J. Butler Department of Conservation, Threatened Species Unit P.O. Box 10-420, Wellington for the Threatened Species Unit Threatened Species Unit Department of Conservation P.O. Box 10-420 Wellington NEW ZEALAND February 1993 ISSN 1170-3806 ISBN 0-478-01459-7 Threatened Species Recovery Plan Series No.4 Keywords: recovery plan, black stilt, Himantopus novaezealandiae, Mackenzie Basin, South Canterbury Frontispiece: Black stilt at the nest. Photo: Dave Murray. CONTENTS 1 ABSTRACT The black stilt is one of the world's rarest wading birds. There has been active management by the NZ Wildlife Service and Department of Conservation since 1984 when the winter population comprised 32 adults. The most recent winter count recorded 52 adults in the wild (July 1992) and there were then a further 32 in captivity. The birds breed only on the braided riverbeds of the Mackenzie Basin, South Canterbury, though last century they bred in both the North and South Islands. The decline of the species was probably largely the result of predation by introduced mammals, but habitat loss and hybridisation with pied stilt have been contributing factors. Management of black stilt has and will continue to centre on the protection of eggs and chicks from loss due to predation or river flooding. Trapping of predators will be carried out in priority areas, and all eggs will be taken for artificial incubation and returned to adults at hatching.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation Status of New Zealand Birds, 2008
    Notornis, 2008, Vol. 55: 117-135 117 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Inc. Conservation status of New Zealand birds, 2008 Colin M. Miskelly* Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 6145, New Zealand [email protected] JOHN E. DOWDING DM Consultants, P.O. Box 36274, Merivale, Christchurch 8146, New Zealand GRAEME P. ELLIOTT Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, Private Bag 5, Nelson 7042, New Zealand RODNEY A. HITCHMOUGH RALPH G. POWLESLAND HUGH A. ROBERTSON Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand PAUL M. SAGAR National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand R. PAUL SCOFIELD Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Ave, Christchurch 8001, New Zealand GRAEME A. TAYLOR Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand Abstract An appraisal of the conservation status of the post-1800 New Zealand avifauna is presented. The list comprises 428 taxa in the following categories: ‘Extinct’ 20, ‘Threatened’ 77 (comprising 24 ‘Nationally Critical’, 15 ‘Nationally Endangered’, 38 ‘Nationally Vulnerable’), ‘At Risk’ 93 (comprising 18 ‘Declining’, 10 ‘Recovering’, 17 ‘Relict’, 48 ‘Naturally Uncommon’), ‘Not Threatened’ (native and resident) 36, ‘Coloniser’ 8, ‘Migrant’ 27, ‘Vagrant’ 130, and ‘Introduced and Naturalised’ 36. One species was assessed as ‘Data Deficient’. The list uses the New Zealand Threat Classification System, which provides greater resolution of naturally uncommon taxa typical of insular environments than the IUCN threat ranking system. New Zealand taxa are here ranked at subspecies level, and in some cases population level, when populations are judged to be potentially taxonomically distinct on the basis of genetic data or morphological observations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Endangered Kiwi: a Review
    REVIEW ARTICLE Folia Zool. – 54(1–2): 1–20 (2005) The endangered kiwi: a review James SALES Bosman street 39, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa; e-mail: [email protected] Received 13 December 2004; Accepted 1 May 2005 A b s t r a c t . Interest in ratites has necessitated a review of available information on the unique endangered kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Five different species of kiwis, endemic to the three islands of New Zealand, are recognized by the Department of Conservation, New Zealand, according to genetic and biological differences: the North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), Okarito Brown Kiwi/Rowi (A. rowi), Tokoeka (A. australis), Great Spotted Kiwi/Roroa (A. haastii), and Little Spotted Kiwi (A owenii). As predators were found to be the main reason for declining kiwi numbers, predator control is a main objective of management techniques to prevent kiwis becoming extinct in New Zealand. Further considerations include captive breeding and release, and establishment of kiwi sanctuaries. Body size and bill measurements are different between species and genders within species. Kiwis have the lowest basal rates of metabolism compared with all avian standards. A relative low body temperature (38 ºC), burrowing, a highly developed sense of smell, paired ovaries in females, and a low growth rate, separate kiwis from other avian species. Kiwis have long-term partnerships. Females lay an egg that is approximately 400 % above the allometrically expected value, with an incubation period of 75–85 days. Kiwis mainly feed on soil invertebrate, with the main constituent being earthworms, and are prone to parasites and diseases found in other avian species.
    [Show full text]