Northland community effort to protect kiwi swells from 80 to 400 households

The sounds of kiwi in and around Coopers Beach this year has prompted a huge community effort to eliminate predators. Photo / Oscar Dove

When a fellow Coopers Beach resident told Tim Fahy kiwi in the area were sometimes so loud at night it was hard to hear the TV, the former Christchurch man and newbie Northlander was so “wowed” he sprang into action to encourage more of the birds.

“I thought ‘blimming heck’ ... if we’ve got kiwi roaming wild, how extraordinary is that?

“I mean, I’ve seen other birds and weka and kea in the South Island but never a kiwi in the wild so the prospect of having kiwi in the wild up here, I thought, was just too much to turn down.”

When he mentioned the story to neighbour Erica Whyte, she was “ecstatic” as it was the same sort of situation that had prompted a community conservation group at Taupo Bay, in which she’d been involved for about 10 - 12 years, Fahy said.

He, Whyte, and others decided to get together to form a “wee group” locally.

A year on, interest in that “wee” group had swelled from 80 households around Coopers Beach to about 400 - down to Cable Bay, Fahy said.

Keen to keep its horizons wide, the group adopted its name and some leftover equipment from an old organisation that had lost its momentum Doubtless Bay Landcare (DBLC).

At least four kiwi had been officially identified through an annual monitoring survey but given all the nearby scrub, farmland and bush, there were bound to be plenty of others, co-ordinator Fahy said.

“But there’s also plenty of rats and plenty of possums that’s for sure.”

A female North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli).

A public meeting at which Kiwi Coast Far North co-ordinator Lesley Baigent gave an “inspiring” talk about predator control, helped cement community interest in the initiative, Fahy said.

The Taupo Bay conservation group’s success also inspired DBLC.

“They’ve had a huge uptake and a huge kill of rats and possums and stoats over there and the proliferation of their wildlife has just been through the roof and people really are onboard to the point where they have a paid, part-time predator control worker,” Fahy said.

“We said, ‘yeah let’s seize this initiative and do what we can to make this work’.”

Doubtless Bay Landcare conservation group has been awarded funding from Predator Free New Zealand Trust for traps like these to help protect four kiwi just discovered in the area and other vulnerable species.

Some of the people at the meeting formed a steering committee and went door-knocking in Cooper’s Beach, where they got an overwhelming uptake of residents willing to set traps to get rid of predators to bring birds back.

“It kind of grew organically from there”, Fahy said.

The newly formed group initially tried to secure sponsorship for traps from a hardware supplier but ended up self-funding and making about 70 traps themselves.

This year, they managed to secure funding from Predator Free NZ Trust to help source and roll out more traps and bait to more of the 800 households involved - just in time for breeding season, trust community funding adviser Janine Hearn said.

“Twice a year the Predator Free NZ Trust selects outstanding predator-free communities across the country and provides funding for humane trapping materials, ongoing support, information and advice,” Hearn said.

“We get hundreds of applications every year, it shows many people are passionate about removing predators from their neighbourhoods to give native birds, bugs, and lizards a chance to thrive.

“It’s not a one-person job. Applicants need strong community backing to make it happen, and Tim from Doubtless Bay Land Care already has some great neighbourhood buy-in.

“Nature and wildlife isn’t something that’s “over there” on offshore islands and big national parks.

“It’s right here in our towns, suburbs, parks and backyards.

“It’s up to us to help support it to thrive in the places we work and live.

“Doubtless Bay is home to incredible wildlife, including (these) newly discovered kiwi, so helping its residents protect these treasures from introduced predators is a perfect fit.”

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.