Late in the NZ summer I spent a day with a local DOC worker Jo Waikari, we crashed through the bush for most of the day trying to find an adult male north island brown kiwi called “Mack”.
Only 30 minutes drive from home the Whinray reserve is home to a kiwi recovery project whose mission is to save the dwindling numbers of weka and kiwi in the area.
Equipped with aerial in hand we approached the northern boundary first as this was Mack’s last known location a week earlier.
For the first three hours we climbed and surveyed the rim of the reserve but could not pick up a signal.
Changing our tactics in the afternoon we searched along the river and managed to finally receive a faint beep from Mack about 2km away up in the middle of a steep rugged face. (transmitter can receive a birds signal 5km away line of site)
The river was in flood so we had to return to the swingbridge upstream and access the area where Mack was via a well worn bench track.
Jo suddenly veered off track we headed down a sharp ridge, across a creek over a few dead trees and up a steep bank. We paused on a small terrace briefly to check our signal strength before moving on. In and out of two more small gullies and then suddenly earlier than expected we were suddenly “right on top of him”
Once we located the burrow we moved much more cautiously, being careful not to startle Mack from the hole. We spent an hour digging him out, then replaced the transmitter which was about to fall off! Every twelve months the transmitters are replaced on the leg of the kiwi.
It was cool to be up close, holding a bird that not many people ever see in its natural environment. His beak was huge and feathers felt more like hair than the soft textured feathers they appear to be.
Definitely a good day out.
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