NZ praying mantis hatching out

In the urban area of Rototuna, Hamilton, the South African praying mantis species dominates. It is so dominant in fact, that our indigenous one is hardly seen, so it was with surprise and a great deal of satisfaction that our NZ species was observed hatching out down in Mangaiti Gully. This shows that our Gully system is being managed in such a way as to protect our native and indigenous species which is the outcome we are striving for.

Kingfisher nesting tree

The call of the kingfisher is heard throughout the gully at this time of the year. They have very particular nesting requirements, boring holes into either clay banks or rotten tree trunks. As clay banks are rare in the gully, rotten tree trunks are the prime source of nesting. It is therefore important that these are left standing and are not “tidied up” as a perceived eyesore. An old dead twisted willow with a known (by a gully neighbour) active kingfisher nesting hole was cut down recently by a contractor.

Hedgehogs!

Yes, they are cute aren’t they. While we do not have ground nesting birds like on the braided rivers and sea shore, they do put pressure on the invertebrate population, which include tree weta and stick insects and things like our native skinks. From the bi-annual tracking tunnel monitoring they show up in considerable numbers. One Gully neighbour has trapped over eight in only a few months. Check out this link

. to an article by Chelsea McGaw from the Forest and Bird magazine. To quote Tom Goodman in this article: ”Hedgehogs are the lawnmowers of invertebrate life. Probably the worst thing about hedgehogs is they pick a patch of real estate and spend their entire life walking around in circles mowing up bugs.” (photo- Predator Free NZ)

Eel infrastructure

Did you know that the longfin eel / tuna is in a significant population decline? If you understand the life cycle, then you can better understand why this is the case. The adults are long lived (60 to 80 years). With species that have such long life spans, the risk is that if the population does not have natural renewal, then the population decline can be very dramatic at the end as the older ones come to the end of their natural life. The days of “lets go eeling kids” are over. Yet another of our indigenous species is at risk. Education is one way of approaching this problem. Our Trust has invested a considerable amount of time and money to support an education programme. A sign showing the life cycle of the tuna has been erected at the feeding area. The popularity of feeding the eels was putting pressure on the muddy stream bank and our plantings around the area have been trampled into the ground. To resolve this we have built a substantial feeding platform and fenced off the surrounding area of planting.

Natural regrowth is what restoration is all about

There should be a time when planting in a restoration area comes to an end and natural regeneration takes over. It is interesting to see this regeneration occurring in a small area in Mangaiti Gully. The plants identified were: • Swamp C. tenuicaulis • Wineberry • C. Robusta - Karamu • Mahoe • Astelia Grandus • Carex (species unidentified) • Cabbage tree

Good results from the spring rat monitoring

November saw the bi-annual monitoring of the rat population using tracking tunnels. We have 32 tunnels over the thirty hectares. This is just a snapshot of how things are looking. We recorded only one rat print. However, that does not mean there was only one rat in the whole thirty hectares of Mangaiti, but it does show that the overall population is very low, and we are achieving our stated aim of eradicating all resident rats and controlling reinvasion. Clip on image to enlarge.

Admiral update – first release

Our red admiral breed and release programme is going from strength to strength. We have been working with the Moths & Butterflies of NZ Trust, based in Auckland. They have been extremely supportive supplying two lots of nettle plants with eggs and caterpillars on and loads of information. We are both feeling our way through how to manage a captive breeding programme. The nettle that we brought back from the King Country had a small number of eggs. They have since developed into butterflies and have been released. We are unsure at this stage whether the hatched butterflies are mating within the tunnel house and laying eggs. Everything slows down over the winter months but does not stop. The New Zealand admirals are quite a hardy species. The small video is of our first release and the photo shows the feeding station. Click on any photo on this blog to enlarge.

Whitebait – would you eat a kiwi?

Do you know that in New Zealand, there are many regulations around fishing – such as restriction of fishing hours for white baiting. Longfin and shortfin eels have commercial catch limits. However, no native freshwater fish is protected by commercial, sport fishing or government regulations – other than the extinct grayling. This is a shocking state of affairs. We have to get a permit to translocate our native mudfish not because the species has any protection but because DOC wish to control the movement of species, to ensure species that are unique to one area are not translocated to an area where they have never existed or could mix with a sub species. This does not go far enough. We need to move to give full protection to our fresh water fish species, all of which have declining populations, protection similar to that of our native birds.

Swamp Maire aerial roots

We have some outstanding specimens of swamp maire (Syzygium maire) that have been planted in our gully. The oldest would be about twenty years old. The one thing unique about these are their aerial roots which have evolved to handle the wet conditions they can grow in – see the photo. One tree growing close to the main track has looked poorly for a number of years. This track has had frequent weed spraying to keep it clear, so it is highly probable that spray has got onto the aerial roots and, with repeated spraying over time, is gradually killing the tree. Something anyone doing weed spraying should be aware of around the base of a swamp maire.

Rototuna Primary School embraces their name

Rototuna can be loosely translated to “the lake of eels.” The school has been very active in embracing the eel within their school identity by educating all the classes in the unique life cycle the eels have. This has been done in a number of ways. They negotiated with Hamilton City Council to get street art about eels painted on the path to the foot bridge. All classes have, or are, being taken down to the feeding spot in the gully to see the eels. They asked us to design a sign to be erected at the eel feeding spot that explains the life cycle of the eel. This sign will also help to protect the eels from poachers (fishing) which is always a risk, by educating the public how unique eels are and that they need protection. The sign has been made and the timber bought for the posts and frame, but it is yet to be installed.

Problem weeds in our city

Alligator weed, woolly nightshade, old man’s beard, moth plant. There are many weeds in our natural areas in Hamilton, but these are the ones to focus on because of their high reproductive rate. You should all be familiar with these weed species and not let any of them get to the flowering stage. In Mangaiti Gully the most prevalent is woolly nightshade (see photo). This is a fast growing shrub / small tree with broad furry leaves and has a strong obnoxious smell when handling the plant. The berry like pods house hundreds of seeds that are distributed by birds. Small groves of woolly nightshade can develop underneath where birds roost at night. Alligator weed is a notifiable weed. You should not attempt to control it yourself. Notify Waikato Regional Council. Good reference documents are: Weedbusters managing weeds and Waikato Regional Council pest plant identification

Epiphytes & orchids

We have been growing epiphytes and native orchids in our shade house for a number of years (see photo). They have all grown exceedingly well in this environment. Because of this, we have been reluctant to translocate then into trees within our gully, which will expose them to climatic variances they may not be able to cope with. Often these epiphytes grow high up in trees in bush areas heavy in mist and dew which is different to Mangaiti Gully. However, healthy epiphytes growing in a coastal location in an open farmland type landscape was recently observed at Tutukaka, north of Whangarei (see photo). This has encouraged us to move some out of the shade house. The challenge will be to find a suitable location as we do not have large canopy trees. From observation, they need to be in shade, or semi shade, sheltered from the full blast of the sun and ideally on the south face of any tree.

Healthy epiphytes growing in a coastal location

Black Mudfish translocation

An area in Mangaiti Gully has been identified as an ideal habitat for black mudfish (see map image). They do not live in flowing streams but inhabit slow moving small ponds, swamp and even bogs. In the past they have inhabited farm drains among other natural wetland areas, but due to drainage programmes habitat loss has become quite a problem, putting pressure on these quite remarkable little creatures. Their conservation status is “At Risk – Declining.” The thing of significance is their ability to survive dry periods by burying themselves down into mud (known as to aestivate in mud). They are not large rarely exceeding 90mm. We have done all the significant amount of paperwork which has been submitted to DOC to obtain a permit for this translocation. Once approved the next step will be to locate a source of the mudfish. This could well be challenging.

Landcare’s fantail research

Landcare Research are doing a research programme on fantails in a number of gullies in Hamilton, including Mangaiti, to see if they can ascertain how long they live and to what extent they travel around. Although fantails are one of our most common native species there is not a lot of basic knowledge on their life style or their longevity particularly in an urban setting. There are two parts to this research. The first part is Landcare staff seeking out fledglings and putting coloured leg bands on each, with different colour combinations that individually identifies each bird. The second part is that some of these fledglings will also have a tiny radio tag (about the size of a grain of rice) glued temporarily to their back feathers. These radio tags will be monitored by up to ten aerials in Mangaiti Gully that have been installed around the gully edge (see photo). While the programme got off to a late start this breeding season some birds have already been banded. The programme will go through the full 24/25 breeding season. And this is where the community can participate, particularly those that live on the gully. If you see a fantail with coloured leg bands, record the colour combination on each leg (a photo or video would be great) and send to John Innes text 027-846-7344 or email innesj@landcareresearch.co.nz

Hedgehog number are too high

Sorry hedgehog lovers but their numbers are getting just too high. We are not looking at exterminating them just reducing their numbers. In the last tracking tunnel monitoring, twelve of the thirty nine tracking tunnels showed the presence of hedgehogs. We have purchased three DOC 150 traps which we will move around the gully system. These traps give a good instant kill and are registered as humane. Hedgehogs are particularly damaging in coastal regions where there are a high number of ground nesting birds like dotterels, terns, oyster catchers etc. Because we don’t have the ground nesting birds to the same extent they are not quite as damaging in our gully, but they still forage for our ground fauna like weta and copper skinks.

Fledgling bird season time

To see fledgling birds about in the gully at this time of the year sure makes our work that much more worthwhile. A fledgling tui is a regular at the feeding station at our depot. Tony Grey sent in these two recordings from his place. One is of a fledgling tui at his feeding station and the other a video of a pair of fledgling fantails. If you are in or live on the gully keep a look out for them. Young tui don’t have the white throat feathers.