ISLAND SANCTUARY
Team members gently remove mohua from trapping nets.
robins, mohua, kākāriki, tīeke and, during the night, kiwi and kākāpō. At first light we rolled out of our sleeping bags and started preparing for a busy day of catching mohua. But first we had to find them. Armed with speakers and a sound recording of mohua we set up speakers either side of the net and sat down and waited for mohua to fly in. We caught the first seven mohua pretty quickly and then, as sometimes happens, it was if there were no birds of any description anywhere on the island. We wandered through to our next catching site but it was tomb-like quiet. Our spirits sank as the hours went by without any more mohua being heard or sighted. A quick radio call to the other teams showed similar results. We blamed the wind and headed off to set up more sites in different locations. It wasn’t until a few hours before we were due to leave that suddenly mohua appeared from hiding and we caught a total of 37 for translocation to Coal Island that day. Each bird was processed, and banded with a different number stamped onto a metal ring, before being placed carefully into a bird box with a perch and some meal worms. The flight to Coal Island took only a few minutes, and we carried the birds a short way into the bush. They were
Predator-free Coal Island/Te Puka-Hereka has “open sanctuary” status, which means that any member of the public can visit at any time without a special permit. However, the remoteness of the island limits its accessibility, which is largely via helicopter or a lengthy boat trip. While Coal Island is administered by Department of Conservation, it’s been the focus of a restoration programme by the South West New Zealand Endangered Species Charitable Trust since 2004. The trust has raised money for pest eradication and public advocacy programmes on Coal Island, with the support of DOC and local iwi. Many of the trust are long-time Forest & Bird members keen to raise the profile nationally of the work being carried out on Coal Island, and of its success in pest eradication. Trust member Ian Buick says it relies heavily on sponsorship and fundraising to undertake restoration work, a large majority of which is predator control. At 1,189ha, the island is big enough to provide habitat for self-sustaining or managed populations of a wide range of threatened species. The relatively unmodified forest, as well as freshwater and coastal habitats, offer a range of possibilities for recovery and translocation of various species. Birds currently found on Coal Island include South Island kākā, Fiordland crested penguins and the NZ falcon.
released into their new home after a short karakia/prayer for their safe journey and good health. The future of mohua on Coal Island rests on the sustained pest control efforts. Finding fit and able volunteers to lay and monitor trapping lines is always a challenge. To volunteer or find out more see www.coalisland.co.nz.
MOHUA/YELLOWHEAD Mohua are a nationally vulnerable species and an integral part of the South Island beech forest ecosystem. They were relocated to Chalky Island from Breaksea Island in 2002 and the population is now deemed to be at – or close to – maximum capacity, allowing for the September translocation of 80 mohua to Coal Island. The translocation of species between islands such as Breaksea, Chalky and Coal helps reduce the risk of extinction and speeds the recovery of mohua populations.
Forest & Bird
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