Habitat April 2015

NORTH SHORE BRANCH
Forest & Bird developed the North-west Wild Link (NWWL)
concept about ten years ago. The concept is a network of
protected green spaces which allow wildlife to flourish and
move about without fear of being slaughtered by predators.
NWWL links the predator-free Hauraki Gulf islands with the
Waitakere Ranges and its Forest & Bird-led Ark in the Park,
a 2000 ha area subject to intensive volunteer-based predator
control.
NWWL has had variable support over the years. Recently
the Auckland Council Biodiversity team has been more
supportive. Local board support is variable – Hibiscus and
Bays has written NWWL into its plans with real dollars. The
Upper Harbour Local Board plan does not mention it, despite
the board being right in the NWWL pathway. What really
matters is what is happening on the ground. We are working
actively to stop bush blocks from being destroyed and then
we need to ensure they are looked after.
On the North Shore, we’ve been working with Auckland
Council on a model of volunteer-run predator control in
council reserves, using secure stations for rat bait, Timms
traps for possums and DOC200 traps for stoats. Signage,
training, bait, safety and recording are standardised. Ideally,
care groups are using established monitoring techniques to
prove that what they are doing is working. I would like to see
wildlinks graded bronze, silver or gold, with bronze meaning
active pest-plant control, silver meaning active predator
control, and gold meaning proven low-predator numbers.
FROM THE
CHAIR
Greenhithe are looking at it. There is now talk of a southeast wild link from the Hunuas to the Waitakeres. In fact,
all over New Zealand, Forest & Bird and related volunteers
are killing predators to protect our threatened wildlife.
The big dream is to rid the whole of NZ of major predators
such as rats, possums and stoats. This concept has strong
support with the launch recently of the Predator Free New
Zealand Trust. With big names like Rob Fenwick and
Gareth Morgan involved, we can expect some real action
with this . The idea is to first achieve predator control on
large islands like Rakiura/Stewart Island and Aotea/Great
Barrier, followed by making large peninsulas like the
Coromandel predator free.
If you live next to a block of bush in need of work please
contact us as I am very keen to see more pieces of the
wild-link jigsaw puzzle protected.
Richard Hursthouse, Chair
Photo by Jason Serle (Facebook)
Wild Links
April 2015
Through the Kaipatiki Restoration Network, we’re working
with other groups taking on predator control in the reserves
they are active in. Le Roys Bush and Kauri Point Centennial
Park now have active volunteer-led predator control, as does
Tuff Crater and Centennial Park in Campbells Bay. Some
private landowners in Campbells Bay are getting on board
with the Campbells Bay Urban Sanctuary concept. Monitoring
at Tuff and Centennial shows a marked drop off in rat
numbers. I have seen small flocks of fantails in Centennial
Park, where previously we only ever saw one at a time.
A shining light in the wild link ‘business’ has been the
Hibiscus Coast branch with their Pest-Free Peninsula
concept. Inspired by Shakespear Regional Park being
predator free, and with an easy template to follow, the
branch has expanded predator control into several large
areas, and private properties are bringing the community
along with them. They have produced a google map called
’Paint the Peninsula Purple’ where predator-controlled
areas are coloured purple.
Other groups active in predator control include Stillwater,
Okura, Albany, and Paremoremo. Herald Island and
NEW START TIME FOR
BRANCH MEETINGS
FROM APRIL
Your committee has decided to begin our public
meetings 15 minutes earlier than in the past.
We look forward to seeing you there by 7.30 pm.
Trip report: Magic on a mountain
Forest & Bird North Shore branch (with others) stayed three
nights at Ruapehu Lodge in January. The weather was
fantastic. We had a smorgasbord of potluck dinners.
What prompted me to write this was the morning of day one
picking up rubbish up the hill! The summit of Ruapehu, with
its captured pockets of snow; the other peaks clearly visible
in a cloudless sky; a free ride in the Centennial Chairlift up
to Hut Flat. We spread out across the head of Tennants
Valley armed with rubbish bags. Slowly and methodically
we descended to the Top o’ the Bruce, picking our way
down the exposed detritus of te maunga’s many eruptions,
collecting rubbish that had been buried in snow. The stark
beauty of the rocks on a clear calm morning, the odd bird
or two, an occasional hare, the treasure of many and varied
alpine plants… this was the magic.
That evening Harry Keys, volcanologist for DoC, joined us
to talk about eruptions, lahars and managing the risks to
human activities in an active volcanic zone. The following
morning, he led our walk up the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
(TAC) track from the Ketetahi road-end to where the two
2012 Te Maari eruptions had made their mark. This was a
steady climb up through the enchanting kāmahi and mixed
podocarp bush (including Halls tōtara), and above into
sub-alpine vegetation. In places, both track and bush
have been blitzed by lahars resulting from debris built
up in the streams. Lahar bridges that can easily be
moved to new positions have been installed.
As we climbed out of the bush through the tussock and
scrub, Te Maari Craters and the steaming Ketetahi Springs
came into view. The now-ruined Ketetahi Hut could be seen
but was still tantalisingly distant. The scars of the lahars
were starkly visible. At this stage, cloud and rain came in,
reminding us of just how quickly weather can change on a
mountain. The writer descended with one other person but
hardier participants went a little further up with Harry. Off
track, they stood in the bomb holes made by huge rocks
tossed up by the eruptions.
In the rain, hundreds of people were descending, having
started the TAC at the Mangatepōpō road-end. Some were
still climbing up from the northern side where we had
Te Maari Craters, the most active vents on Tongariro maunga.
Photo: Neil Davies
started. A young Swiss couple, totally ill-equipped (T-shirt,
shorts and not much else) asked me how far was it to the
hut. No wonder ‘accidents’ happen.
Before leaving to go home on the final day, we admired
the wonderful red mistletoe in the Whakapapa Village
camping ground. But wait, there was more! On the way
home, Margi showed us a great bush reserve –
Ōhinetonga Forest – on the true left bank of the
Whakapapa River near Ōwhango. This walk took almost
three more hours. The bush has truly magnificent tall tawa,
rimu and mataī. The river and a serene pond are
surrounded by ferns and other native plants, which made
for another memorable occasion.
One further comment: Forest and Bird’s Ruapehu Lodge
is a great place to stay. It is extremely well equipped,
beautifully designed and well placed to see a fabulous
view of Mt Ruapehu.
Many thanks, Margi, for organising this, and to all fellow
travellers on this trip. We dined well and had lots of fun.
For the cost of $30 a night, plus our petrol and food, it
could not have been better.
Joe Greig
NORTHERN REGIONAL
MEETING
Our branch is hosting the annual Northern
Regional Meeting of Forest & Bird members on
Saturday May 2. This will be an all-day meeting
at the Senior Citizens Hall in Takapuna (where
our branch meetings are held), with interesting
speakers and, above all, a great opportunity to
mix and talk with F&B members from Franklin
to the far north. We will be catering the event
and would love your input with baking, on-site
hot drinks, preparing cold lunches etc. If you
would like to help and/or attend, please contact
our secretary, Jocelyn, on northshore.branch@
forestandbird.org.nz or 479 2107.
2 | April 2015
Forest & Birders in one of thousands of bomb holes produced
by the eruption on 6 August 2012 - within a radius of 2km
of Te Maari Craters. Photo: Philp Moll
Ecofest North: March 14 to April 12
Living sustainably for te ao, te whanau, ki ahau – for the world, the family and for me
Ecofest is an opportunity for all members – and non-members – to get involved in environmental activities in our patch.
This month-long autumn festival celebrating all things ecological and environmental is once again upon us. And once again
the North Shore branch of Forest & Bird is involved.
Our contribution in 2015 includes two Tuff Crater Saturday work days (March 14 and April 11). They are listed as Forest &
Bird Tuff Crater Volunteering Mornings.
Forest & Bird Tuff Crater Working Bees on Thursday mornings are also part of Ecofest.
Centennial Park Volunteer work days (Wednesdays) are listed too.
Our branch April meeting on Easter Monday (April 6) includes a DVD, Primeval Paradise. See page 7 for details.
Food foraging is a bush walk with a difference in Awaruku Reserve on Sunday March 22.
For all Ecofest events, see http://kaipatiki.org.nz/ecofest/
Community events
From time to time, our membership person, Helene Willis,
sets up a stall at local community events to promote Forest
& Bird. If you are a people person, enthusiastic about F&B
and free on occasional weekends, please contact Helene on
480 885 or [email protected]
Helene Willis, Anne Denny and Jocelyn Sanders
at one of our F&B promotions.
Photo Richard Hursthouse
Climate Change
Are you interested in linking up with other people
interested in climate change? There is a now a Facebook
Carbon Group. It is a closed group but you can simply
sign up and ask to be a member. They frequently post
interesting climate change information.
Rave
(NZ Herald, 24 Feb 2015, in response to a rant the
week before)
As frustrating as it may be to look at dead trees, my
praise goes to the organisers and volunteers at Tuff
Crater in Northcote, who have transformed this area
from a weed-infested area in 2000 to the developing
native forest it is today. Forest and Bird have put in
hundreds of hours of work, weeding and planting, and
raised much money for this volunteer project. Let us get
out and join them - good things can take some time.
Anne
Tuff Crater
Tuff continues to be our major restoration project with visible
dramatic progress lately at the western end either side of St
Peters St. Our big planting day this year is early on Saturday
May 9 at 9 am, with plant moving on Friday May 8. There are
1700 Kaipatiki Project-grown plants to install, and multiple
hands are needed so please diarise this date now. BBQ
supplied afterwards. The planting site is best accessed from
St Peters St.
Our regular working bees are on every Thursday morning from
9.30 and every second Saturday from 9 am. Working bee
dates are April 11, May 9, June 13 and July 11. We welcome
corporate or community group input. For more information,
please contact Anne Denny on 480 5570
or [email protected]
BTW, did you see the footage that was shown on Choice TV’s
Get Growing programme in December last year? If not, here it
is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forest-and-BirdAuckland/202932153086469
April 2015
|3
Autumn weed alert
As you enjoy Auckland over autumn, you can help keep
our region beautiful by reporting some of the less common,
but pesty, plants hiding in our midst.
One of these plants is Asiatic knotweed, a shrub-like plant
from Japan that grows rapidly. Once established, it can
form dense stands that shade and crowd out all other
vegetation, and it is easily spread by fragments.
What to look for? Leaves are 10 to 15 cm long and
triangular – oval-shaped, pointed at the tip, with a flattened
leaf base. A creamy-white flower appears from December
to March. It can grow up to 3 m high.
It is a Total Control plant in our Regional Pest Management
Strategy (RPMS), so Auckland Council will do the control
work, and wants to know where it is, on public and private
land.
Asiatic knotweed flower
Photo: Auckland City Council
Chinese knotweed is another one the council is on the
look-out for. It is not listed in the RPMS as it was
discovered after this was written, but it is a national
Unwanted Organism and is highly invasive. It can overrun
native plants and forests, particularly along forest fringes.
It can be distributed with garden rubbish and on
contaminated gardening tools, including lawnmowers.
This is one of the most recent discoveries, with the first
site in Auckland found in Glenfield in 2009.
What to look for? The stems are pinkish in colour and
leaves, 4 to 16 cm long, are generally soft textured with
serrated edges. It flowers in autumn with creamy-pink
flowers in clusters at the end of leafed stems.
Chinese knotweed flower
Photo: Auckland City Council
Autumn is also the season for cathedral bells to flower,
making them easier to spot. This plant, from Central and
South America, is also a Total Control pest plant that
Auckland Council will control. It is a vine that can smother
large native plants and suppress seedlings.
What to look for? It has large, bell-shaped, greeny-white
to purple flowers, light green oval leaves, and tendrils.
African feather grass, also known as veld grass, is spread
by seed which can cling to clothing, wool and the hair of
animals. It will move by water and wind. Broken rhizomes
can also form new colonies. This South African import is a
major weed of roadsides and dunelands. It is also in the
Total Control category.
What to look for? It’s a clump-forming grass that grows
up to 2 m high. A yellow-purplish, narrow, cylindrical flower
spike with bristly seeds appears from November to April.
Cathedral Bells flower
Photo: Auckland City Council
If you think you see any of these plants, please contact
Auckland Council biosecurity on 09 301 0101 or
[email protected] giving the location.
You can also visit www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/pest for
more information on pest plants in Auckland, and to view
the latest newsletters for the Auckland Weedspotters
Network.
African feather grass flower.
Photo: Auckland City Council
4 | April 2015
North Head
On a recent walk around North Head in Devonport
I noticed several significant pest plant infestations,
including rhamnus, Passiflora caerulia and privet.
On further enquiry to the Department of Conservation,
which manages North Head, I found out that the entire
budget for pest-plant control for DOC Auckland mainland
land has been halved from $6000 to $3000! Considering
we are spending about $30,000 pa at Tuff Crater alone,
this is a miserable figure. There is a small volunteer group
helping out with North Head. If you wish to assist, please
contact DOC at North Head.
Richard Hursthouse
Pest plant Passiflora caerulia flowering and fruiting on North Head.
Photo: Richard Hursthouse
Get involved
with Kauri Glen
Northcote Glenfield Rotary is working with us, and Helen
Ferguson of Friends of Kauri Glen, to formalise a society to
care for Kauri Glen Reserve in Northcote. Kauri Glen is a
fantastic asset. Issues there include encroachment by
subdivision, weed control, kauri dieback prevention and of
course potential for more predator control. If you would like
to be involved,please contact Richard who will put you in
touch with the group.
KCC Newsletter
sponsor required
For many years Brian Gannon kindly sponsored the
printing of our Kiwi Conservation Club newsletter. This
involved printing about 600 double-sided newsletters
onto green paper, three times a year. Brian can no
longer do this. If you would like to take this on, or
sponsor the printing of the KCC newsletter, please
contact Richard Hursthouse.
Welcome
Pterostylis agathicola - one of the treasures in Kauri
Glen Reserve. Photo Richard Hursthouse
Please think
about joining
our committee
The North Shore branch has an active committee of
dedicated Forest & Birders. We would dearly love a
few more, especially young and energetic people! In
particular, we would love some help with promoting
the wild-link concept on public and private land. If
you are interested, please contact Richard.
The Forest & Bird Face-to-Face recruitment team has
been working on the North Shore so we have had a
surge of new members. We extend a very sincere
welcome and thank you to all new members. There are
many ways to get involved with local projects, if you
want to. If the time is not right for that, we still greatly
value your financial support.
2015 AGM
Our AGM will be held before our speaker’s
presentation on Monday May 4. If you have any
business you would like specifically discussed, or if
you could like to join our committee, please contact
Richard by May 3.
April 2015
|5
New committee member: John Brown
‘I believe that everyone can contribute toward
the preservation of this planet.’
At our AGM in May 2014, we welcomed John Brown
(pictured) to the committee. He inherited the kauri
protection portfolio from Fiona Callen, who resigned in
2013.
John was a secondary school teacher in Christchurch and
Timaru, teaching science and biology with a focus on
ecology and evolution. One of the things he did was run
four-day ecology field trips for Year 12 (sixth form) students
at the Temple Basin ski field above Arthur’s Pass.
‘This was a challenge for many students as the lodge was
bolted to the rock halfway up a mountain and only
accessible via a steep track that took up to two hours to
reach,’ says John. ‘Nor’-west storms were most impressive.
The resident kea family was very entertaining.
‘Students still remember this trip 35 years later. Most
developed an understanding of, and respect for, the NZ
forest and montane ecosystems. For many, it was the start
of outdoor activities such as tramping and mountaineering.’
John prides himself on spending his working life
encouraging young people to treat the world with respect.
Becoming active in Forest & Bird upon retirement some six
years ago, John helped with the restoration of Kākahu Bush
near Geraldine.
‘Passionfruit vines are the main problem there, followed by
hawthorn, cotoneaster, and a few others, but nothing like
the number of pest plants in Auckland.’ John also got
involved with native planting, animal monitoring/trapping,
and regeneration monitoring.
He was involved with the setting up and monitoring of
bat boxes imported from Germany to provide nesting
sites for long-tailed bats found around Hanging Rock
near Geraldine.
In August 2013 John and his wife Alison moved to Auckland
for family reasons. It didn’t take long for John to start
coming to our branch meetings, participating in trips
and assisting at Tuff Crater.
‘I’ve been very impressed by the size, leadership and
organisation of the North Shore branch as well as the
NEW SHOAL BAY NATIVE BIRD SIGNS
Protection of Shoal Bay is a high priority for our branch. We
recently created two identical interpretive signs - one on the
eastern Shoal Bay walkway and the other at Charles St,
aiming to raise awareness of the special birdlife living there.
The signs were designed by Richard Hursthouse, Philip Moll
and Kate Hursthouse. Manufacture and installation was
funded by Auckland Council.
One of two signs installed at Shoal Bay.
Photo: Philip Moll
6 | April 2015
John Brown, enthusiastic about forest restoration.
Photo: Philip Moll
achievements at Tuff Crater,’ says John. ‘And I’ve been
encouraged by the friendly, welcoming members.’
The Browns’ property overlooks Wharepapa Reserve (near
Schnapper Rock) which John has adopted as a local
conservation project. He’s got most of the neighbours
involved. At a community planting day in August, 900 native
plants were put into an old illegal dump site that had been
cleared.
‘I’m impressed by the support from the officers of Auckland
Council and the input from local communities into reserves,
including our local one. Rather worrying, however, are the 13
possums I caught within three weeks – in our newly planted
area – and the damage they’ve done to the small
pōhutukawa.’
The Browns have three children and two grandchildren.
Margi Keys
WHAT'S ON...
meetings,trips & activities
Public Meetings
Public meetings take place on the first Monday each month
(excluding January) including public holidays.
Venue: Takapuna Senior Citizens’ Hall, The Strand,
Takapuna (behind Takapuna library).
Time: 7.30 pm, starting with ‘the Good, the Bad and the
Beautiful’ (native of the month, weed of the month, moth of
the month) and environmental updates.
Admission: A koha/donation is appreciated to cover costs.
Please give generously.
Non-members are welcome.
Do join us for supper afterwards.
For further information, phone Liz Anstey on 480 1545.
Speakers:
April to July 2015
April 6 (Easter Monday): DVD Primeval Paradise
A stunning one-hour video of rare wildlife on Ulva Island,
off Stewart Island, will be shown. This 270 ha island has
become a nationally significant open sanctuary, with the
translocation of mōhua (yellowhead), tīeke (saddleback),
Stewart Island robin and tititipounamu (rifleman). These
endangered species flourish on pest-free Ulva. Viewers will
witness the life on Ulva Island through the eyes of a local
robin. Attendees will not be disappointed.
May 4: Primer paint and tiny brushes – the wonderful
world of coralline algae
Have you ever looked at rocks near low tide at the beach
and thought they looked like someone has spilled pink
primer paint on them? You were looking at one of the
wonders of the algae world – seaweeds that protect
themselves from herbivory by ‘hardening up’ with calciumbased armour. There are many different kinds of these
algae. Recent work at NIWA, the University of Otago and the
University of Auckland has allowed us to better understand
the New Zealand species. Dr Judy Sutherland is a senior
research fellow at the School of Biological Sciences at the
University of Auckland. Her talk is about the diversity of
these amazing seaweeds and what roles they play in coastal
ecosystems, plus the overall research programme and some
of the other organisms being worked on.
June 1 (Queen’s Birthday Weekend): Seabird research in
the Hauraki Gulf, a global diversity hotspot
The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is a globally significant
seabird hotspot with 27 species breeding amongst a myriad
of offshore island and mainland sites. Research in this
natural laboratory is revealing the lifestyles of seabirds and
the birds’ importance as ecological links between marine
and terrestrial environments. However, in comparison
with terrestrial avifauna, our understanding of the biology
of seabirds remains poor – yet it is critical for effective
conservation management. This lack of understanding is
exemplified in the case of the New Zealand storm petrel
(NZSP), photographed in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park in
2003 following 108 years of presumed extinction. Ten years
on, in February 2013, this critically endangered species was
finally tracked to a breeding site on Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little
Barrier Island, only 50 km from Auckland. Dr Matt Rayner
is a senior biologist based at the Auckland War Memorial
Museum. He will present an overview of recent seabird
research in the Hauraki Gulf, including the highs and lows
of the search for the NZSP, and how lessons learned from
this project can be transferred to conservation biology in
general.
July 6: Batman!
Ben Paris, Senior Biodiversity Advisor with Auckland
Council, is Auckland’s one and only bat man. He’ll take you
on a journey of discovery about bats around the world, bats
in NZ, and our special bats in Auckland. Learn about the
research happening around Auckland and how you can be
involved to help save our bats. Long-tailed and short-tailed
bats are our only native land mammals; they are both highly
threatened by the loss of habitat and predation by pest
animals. If these bats become extinct, we will lose a large
part of our indigenous fauna forever.
Trips: April to July
BROWNS ISLAND/MOTUKOREA
Saturday April 11, 9 am to 3.30pm
Thirty passengers paying $70 each will depart from St
Heliers on Facilitator 5 at 9 am. We will be picked up from
the island at 3 pm. Dr Harry Keys (DoC technical adviser –
volcanology) will explain the geological features of this intact
little volcano. The plan is to climb to the summit (68 m) and
circumnavigate the island. NB: This trip is now full.
TUFF CRATER COMMUNITY PLANTING DAY
Saturday May 9, 9am
Access is via St Peters St. See Tuff Crater update, page 3.
PEACH HILL, RAMARAMA
Saturday June 27, 9.30 to 11.30 am
Visit another F&B restoration project, this time with Franklin
branch secretary Keith Gardner. The 6 ha block was first
planted in kanuka and manuka in the 1990s, creating a
nursery for the longer-lived species. The tallest of these are
now over 6 m. Take the Ramarama exit and turn left to meet
at Farrells Nursery. Please book with Margi Keys.
THREE STREAMS RESERVE, ALBANY
Saturday July 25, 9am
Join your chairman for a ramble through this Albany reserve
containing large kauri. We will move at a botanical pace
taking in all the plants and birds seen. The walk will probably
take about 2 hours.
Three Streams is at 343 Dairy Flat Highway, about 1km on
the left past Albany village. Drive into the reserve and park
near the buildings on the left. Please register with Richard
Hursthouse [email protected], 410 5339 or
021 216 1296.
April 2015
|7
Thanks to our supporters
Committee members and assistants 2015
NAME
Chair, Tuff Crater,
Trips co-ordinator
Richard Hursthouse
Secretary
Jocelyn Sanders
Treasurer
Ray Simpson
Deputy Chair
Claire Stevens
Membership,
Community promotions
Helene Willis
Publicity/media/web,
iwi liaison, speakers
Liz Anstey
Habitat editor/KCC
Margi Keys
Archiving, Naturespace,
technical support
Philip Moll
Kauri protection,
John Brown
EMAIL
[email protected]
[email protected]
PHONE
410 5339
021 216 1296
Fax 410 9213
479 2107
027 290 4826
[email protected]
486 6875
027 279 7497
[email protected]
419 1233
[email protected]
480 8851
[email protected]
480 1545
027 476 2732
[email protected]
443 6919
0274 481 581
philip@creativemomentsimages.
co.nz
489 9313
027 213 5873
[email protected]
415 2054
Calendars & diaries
Elaine Conway
[email protected]
Tuff Crater
Anne Denny
[email protected]
480 5770
021 121 4610
[email protected]
445 6734
027 281 420
[email protected]
413 9851
RMA
Peter Hassell
Habitat Mailing
Linda Johnson
HABITAT EDITOR: Margi Keys 443 6919, [email protected]
BIRD RESCUE:
Sylvia Durrant 478 8819
CONTACT:
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Tiaki Taiao,
North Shore Branch PO Box 33-873, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 New Zealand
www.forestandbird.org.nz [email protected]
ROBIN
PURLLANT
GRAPHIC DESIGN
www.robinpurllant.co.nz
We are sincerely grateful for sponsorship
from ASB Community Trust for Tuff Crater.
We are grateful to Robin Purllant for design
([email protected]) and Garry Browne
and Sharon Peebles of Print Advisor
([email protected]) for sponsoring
this newsletter, and also KalePrint and
Actionmail. Please support our sponsors.
If you are concerned about conservation
issues in your area please contact
Richard Hursthouse
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