Newsletter - September 2014

 

Rangers Report - August 2014

Pupurangi or Flax Snail

Pupurangi or Flax Snail

The rangers have now finished installing the predator control network in the valley up behind Wendy and Rupert Newbold’s property at Ocean Beach. This means we have a further 56 rodent bait stations, 9 possum and 2 mustelid traps and 1 feral cat trap in the predator control system.

We have also just completed the August tracking tunnel round for the rest of the reserve and it’s a similar story to our monitoring results back in May. The results are: rats 7.14%, Mice 32%, Hedgehog 0%, Weta 3%. The rat density is higher than the desired 5% or less.

Latest trap catch data shows we are recording exceptionally low numbers of pests, all thanks to the intensive pest management operation run by the Trust. For the months June through August trap catches were: Mouse 0.12%, Mustelid 0.19%, Possum 0.05%, Hedgehog, 0.04 (Based on the number of catches divided by the sum of the trap catch nights times the number of traps).

Rabbit Control and Bait – Please help us!!

The Bream Head Conservation Trust rangers normally shoot wild pest rabbits on the grazed areas of Bream Head Scenic Reserve and with permission, on private properties in the Ocean Beach to Urquhart Bay area. the regular control of these animals has led to such low numbers of rabbits that we find ourselves without enough to shoot and therefore not enough bait for our traps. If anyone in the Whangarei Heads area has/knows of a rabbit population that the owner of the property is happy for us to come and shoot, or if those who shoot rabbits want to donate to our cause, please let Adam know via our rangers email address: [email protected] or call/txt 021 155 7380.

Read the August 2014 Rangers Report (560kB pdf) for more details on this and other stories.