Rangers Report March 2015

The hot weather continues, and with the regular patches of rain we have received the bush habitat in the reserve appears in really good condition for this time of year. Fortunately cyclone Pam did not cause too much damage at all, unlike the salt spray damage to the foliage around the southern coast of the reserve as a result of some of last winter’s storms. Our restoration operation is humming along quite nicely still with low numbers of pests and predators being caught or seen in March.

The trap data does however give any indication of a possible start of the annual increase in Mice within the reserve from about now into approximately mid winter. The really wonderful news is the continued increase in birdsong throughout the reserve, with the Bellbirds back in town to feast alongside their Tui mates in the tops of the Rewarewa trees as well as regular sightings of more North Island Tomtit pairs – often in parts of the reserve they have not been seen in before!

Bernie Buhler with Twilight the kiwi

Bernie Buhler with Twilight the kiwi

It was a very special release of two new young Kiwi into the Urquhart Bay End of Bream Head Scenic Reserve on the 16th March. One of birds was named Nova after a wonderful young local girl who unfortunately died recently. Nova’s classmates from Whangarei Heads School thought it would be a great name for a new Kiwi to the area and a special tribute to her and we totally agreed! We had a great turn out again of a mixture of locals and their friends and family with about 90 people attending the release.

Read the March 2015 Rangers Report (1MB pdf) for more details on this and other stories.