HEB Construction moved the earth pile

Vehicle access to “The Pines” area from the school grounds through the double gates that were already there, has been restricted due to a large pile of dirt that had been put there quite some years ago. We approached HEB construction for help to remove it and they agreed to do the job as a community project. They brought in a digger during the school holidays and had the job all done by 10 o’clock. Getting commercial support from companies like HEB is important to volunteer groups and we thank them for recognising the good work we are doing and for giving us a hand.

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Admiral butterfly update - Nettle planting

For the last 10 years we have made numerous attempts to get a grove of ongaonga nettle established in the gully to support our admiral butterfly breeding programme. The nettle is what the caterpillars feed on. The adult butterflies are nectar feeders so any domestic or native flowers will support them. Establishing a nettle grove has been challenging with a number of failed attempts. The nettles are fussy as to what conditions they like. We have learnt: -They do not like full sun. -They do not like to dry out. -They do not like wet feet. -They do like filtered sunlight. -They like well drained, moist but not wet ground. Selecting a site that has restricted public access and fulfils all their growing requirements has not been easy, but we feel our latest plantings are showing very encouraging signs of success. Twenty-four nettle plants have been planted into ten tyres (as raised gardens) filled with one part compost to two-parts soil and a handful of blood and bone. The theory we are working to is that if the grove is big and thick enough the caterpillars will have a better chance of survival against all the predator wasps that they are exposed to. We will not be raising any red admirals in the tunnel house this year until the nettle grove is established.

Twenty-one crimson rata planted

Twenty-one crimson rata - Metrosideros carminea were planted around our gully this past winter. This is a climbing vine that is endemic to New Zealand and grows well on rock faces and walls as well as up tree ferns trunks. The flower is a small version of a pōhutukawa flower as they are in the same genus. They are a lot smaller than their northern rata cousins with smaller leaves and flowers but are still quite spectacular when in full flower. There is a well-established white species – Metrosideros perforate – at our Sexton Road entrance climbing up a dead tree fern.

Chinese knotweed

Chinese knotweed is yet another introduced invasive species https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/12582/direct. This invasive weed has been found in Mangaiti Gully up the Gordonton Road end. If you suspect you have identified some, please report it to: Waikato Regional Councill, Annemarie Robb, 021-284-9734

Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) – an invasive native?

There are a number of reports of karaka (karo) becoming a major problem in restoration projects. To quote Ken Pratt, caretaker of Ashhurst Domain, Manawatu ”Unless you want a karaka grove don’t plant them, as they seed profusely and eventually take over, especially in a bush area, changing the whole environment quite quickly.” Ken removes close to one thousand seedlings a year. The fruit is problematic as well as the kernel is highly toxic. See this photo of seedlings in Mangaiti Gully before they were weeded out by our volunteers and the parent tree drilled and poisoned.

Mangaiti’s very own Jurassic Park

The pine trees in the north end of Mangaiti Gully behind Rototuna Primary School have several pairs of white-faced herons nesting in them every season. Watching the activity of these three looked and sounded very prehistoric. Double click on the video to enlarge picture. This video was taken on an old iPhone. It would have be so much better if taken with a good video camera/phone with a zoom lens.

A duck nest in July

Our weeding team came across this mallard (or a hybrid variant) duck nest of fourteen eggs. Birds that have the most breeding success in a predator environment have evolved to have either large clutches or nest several times in a season or both. This ensures they maintain or increase their population. Because our New Zealand indigenous species did not evolve with predators, or very low predation, their nesting frequency and number of eggs per clutch tends to be smaller. This, with other environmental pressures, all to often puts our indigenous species into the “at - risk / declining” in the DoC category. The biggest threat to this duck brood would be hedgehogs, pukeko and domestic cats.