Kiwi aversion training day in Whanganui

Increasing kiwi numbers in and around Whanganui National Park is one of the many goals of Kia Wharite.

Department of Conservation staff are running an avian avoidance training day on Sunday July 22^nd 2012 at Gordon Park Scenic Reserve in Whanganui as part of their six monthly training days.

If you own a dog be it hunting, working or pet we encourage you to book them in. Particularly those dogs that are used in areas where kiwi are present.

Dog should be taught basic obedience techniques prior to the avian avoidance training. As part of the training each dog is walked through a short bush course where kiwi carcasses and props are set up.  The dog is walked through the course and if it shows interest in the props by approaching and making contact a quick static shock is delivered which teaches the dog to avoid the props.  The dog is then taken back past the props where it is observed and certified if avoidance behaviour is shown. The training takes approximately 15 minutes.

Points to remember

• Dogs can and do kill kiwi and other ground dwelling birds, it is natural instinctual behaviour
• Any breed of dog has the potential to kill kiwi, even the family pet
• Dog owners can help reduce the threat to kiwi by taking responsibility for their dogs and ensuring they are trained and obedient
• Dogs must return for retraining and testing annually for certification to remain current
• Avian aversion training is a good tool and reduces the risk to kiwi but there is no substitute for spending quality time training your dog.

More information on how to save kiwi can be found on the BNZ Save the Kiwi website.  Go into the draw to win a trip for you and a mate and four dogs by getting your dog avoidance trained before the 31^st August 2012 (full terms and conditions on website) 

www.savethekiwi.org.nz/dogsandkiwi

To book your dog in for the training day or for more information call the Whanganui Area Office 06 349 2100 or email whanganuiao@doc.govt.nz

Noisy birds in Kia Wharite project area

Contractors working in the Kia Wharite project area have been coming back with reports of increased bird numbers in recent years.

Independent contractor Jason Hart, manager of Back Country Contractors spends a lot of time in Whanganui National Park and surrounding reserves. Jason and his team have recently completed over 2000 hrs of goat hunting work in the northern part of the project area so have a good idea of the goings on in the back country.

Camping in pairs with tents they are flown into some of the most remote and rugged back country areas in NZ where they set up camp and base themselves for 10-12 days at a time.

“The work conditions can be extreme but the upside is you get to go into some very remote places and enjoy the great outdoors” says Jason.

Jason and his team have noticed an increase in birdlife throughout the Kia Wharite area. “We work all over New Zealand and feel that the bird life in here is better than or as good as anywhere else in New Zealand, it has really picked up in the time we have been completing our contract work and is similar to that of places like Pureora Forest Park which has been under pest control for many years showing the positive benefits of sustained pest management”

Other contractors are finding a different environment than that which they started working in many years ago. “The campsites are alive with kiwi screeching all night long, they’re keeping us up and that has never happened before” says Woody Reed, goat hunter.

This is great news for the future of Kia Wharite and these are just some of the positive results that the project is delivering.