motutapu.org.nz  celebrates first birthday

Back Row - Bridget, Nathalie, John and Andrew. Front Row - Maggie and Mary

When the Motutapu Restoration Trust communications team met early June 2010 for their regular meeting at the offices of long time sponsor, marketing software solutions company Ubiquity, a small celebration was definitely in order.

Back in 2009, the Trustees agreed that our existing site, which had served us well for 5-6 years, needed an upgrade. The communications committee recommended a completely new site was required in order to take advantage of new web technologies. Andrew had initially raised this suggestion with the technical committee several years earlier.

Department of Conservation News Release

 
These bellbird pics taken by MRT volunteers, Sunday 18 April 2010 

April 15, 2010

 
International experts welcome the return of bellbirds to Motutapu

Hot on the heels of two native bird species reappearing on Motutapu, one of New Zealand's best known songbirds - the bellbird - has also been rediscovered on the island. 

The return of the bellbird, after more than 100 years' absence, follows one of New Zealand's largest ever island pest eradication programmes on Motutapu and Rangitoto Islands last year.

Kakariki (parakeets) began breeding on Motutapu in December, and pateke (brown teal) were spotted on the island in early February.

The sighting of bellbirds comes as more than 80 international and national delegates gather in Auckland this week at a workshop led by the Department of Conservation on tackling threats to wildlife on islands around the world.

'Helping Islands Adapt' workshop Chair, Dr Spencer Thomas from Grenada, a councillor on the global conservation network, IUCN, said the return of the bellbird and other native species to Motutapu is hugely significant for all conservationists working with vulnerable island ecosystems.

"It is precisely these sorts of successes that show the importance of island nations sharing strategic and technical skills in the fight to keep their native species alive."

"New Zealand has had some great successes in breathing life back into some of its islands. The UN has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity - by working together we can improve the chances of survival for threatened wildlife and plants on islands around the world."

No rats, mice or stoats have been detected on Motutapu and Rangitoto since the last of three aerial drops of bait containing brodifacoum in August last year. Trapping, hunting and spotlighting to ensure the eradication of feral cats, hedgehogs and rabbits will continue for at least another year.

"It's likely that these bellbirds have come from rodent-free Rakino Island, as it's less than two kilometres from Motutapu," says Richard Griffiths, project manager for the Department of Conservation's pest-eradication project on Rangitoto and Motutapu.

Neil Lorimer, a volunteer for the Motutapu Restoration Trust, was the first to hear one of the bellbirds. He thought at first it might be a tui, but it didn't sound quite right. A few days later the mystery was solved.

"Three other volunteers and I were doing some weeding when the bellbird started singing. This time I managed a good sighting," he says.

Mr Lorimer says the members of the Trust are delighted that three native bird species have returned to Motutapu in just four months.

"It's a credit to all our volunteers who have planted the 500,000 trees that make Motutapu suitable for our native forest birds," he says.

The bellbird, or korimako, has been almost completely absent north of the Bombay Hills since the 1860s. In the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park they survived on offshore islands such as Tiritiri Matangi and Hauturu/Little Barrier. In 2005 they made their own way to Rakino Island and the Tawharanui Open Sanctuary - a predator-free mainland island.

"Now that bellbirds have been seen on Motutapu, there's a real prospect that they may soon start turning up in Aucklanders' backyards," says Mr Griffiths.

He says that visitors to the islands can help these new arrivals survive by checking their boats and gear for rodents before they depart.

"We want to make sure that pests aren't inadvertently reintroduced," he says.

ENDS

Background information

Bellbird/korimako

• The bellbird is unique to New Zealand, occurring on the three main islands and many offshore islands. Once common, their numbers declined sharply during the 1860s in the North Island and 1880s in the South Island, about the time that ship rats and stoats arrived.

 
pic by Simon Fordham - www.naturepix.co.nz

Rangitoto/Motutapu restoration programme

• With stoats, cats, hedgehogs, rabbits, mice and two species of rat targeted across 3,842ha, the ambitious Rangitoto/Motutapu restoration programme is one of the most complex pest eradications ever attempted.
• If the eradication is successful, Rangitoto and Motutapu will become the largest pest-free island sanctuary in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, and will increase the total area within New Zealand that is pest-free by 15%.
• While we won't know for sure whether the project has been successful until June 2011, the initial signs are very promising.

'Helping Islands Adapt' workshop

• The workshop is being held at the Hyatt Regency, Auckland from 11 - 16 April. Participants include representatives from a number of nations and island states along with government and international conservation groups.
• The workshop is designed to help strengthen and mobilise capacity on islands across the globe to address the threats posed by invasive species. 
• The primary focus is on institutional relations and collaboration among key stakeholders. 

Dr Spencer Thomas, 'Helping Islands Adapt' workshop Chair

• Dr Spencer Thomas has been appointed by the Government of Grenada as an Ambassador and Special Envoy for Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Deputy Chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States Negotiating Team under the UNFCCC.
• He is also the current Chairman of the SBSTTA of UNCBD and a Regional Councillor and Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee of the IUCN.

www.doc.govt.nz

www.motutapu.org.nz

http://www.conference.co.nz/index.cfm/ISW10

Never before seen in our lifetimes !
Kakariki, the New Zealand native red crowned parakeet,
breeding on Motutapu for the first time in 100 years

 We would like to acknowledge the NZ Herald, the Department of Conservation (Amy Cameron, Media Officer  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and Luis Ortiz-Catedral, parakeet specialist and Massey University PhD student for allowing us to use their astonishing content on our site.

This is absolutely HUGE news for the Motutapu Restoration Trust, the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, DOC and all conservation and restoration minded New Zealanders !

Our Trust chair and former Auckland mayor Chris Fletcher said the sighting is the best Christmas present she could have hoped for.
The trust has planted nearly half a million trees on the island and Chris said the presence of Kakariki will provide the 1000 regular volunteers with a "beacon". She said  it's only the beginning when you think of other species that will make Motutapu their home now the pests have been eradicated. 

Chris said that when Auckland artist Emily Karaka and her daughter planted the very first of the now 500,000 trees on Motutapu, they dreamed this might happen one day. "What better present for all the thousands of volunteers involved to have these kakariki breed on Motutapu just before Christmas."

A happy Luis Ortiz-Catedral, Mike Graham (OSNZ) and Trustee Bridget Winstone on the Fullers ferry heading home - Sunday 29th November (breeding Kakariki discovery day)

 Ornithological Society (OSNZ) bird surveyors first to discover Kakariki on island

The Ornitholgical Society (OSNZ) has been undertaking annual bird surveys on the island for a number of years. It was during their 3^rd annual survey in September 2009 that the birders first sighted kakariki in flight above Bush Remant 5 near Home Bay. A pair was recorded twice on a Saturday and again the following day in the same general location.

 These sightings and the behaviour of the birds strongly suggested that they had taken up residence on Motutapu. Mike Graham, leader of the group and his wife Sharen decided that they would return before Christmas and spend time observing the birds to see whether they were nesting and whether there were any fledglings.

 On Sunday 29th November, together with kakariki expert Luis Ortiz-Catedral, and long time Trust volunteer, Neil Lorimer, the Grahams were suitably rewarded.

They confirmed the presence of the red crowned parakeets including a family group of 5 with a very young recently fledged juvenile still being fed by its parents. This was exciting news indeed as it confirmed that red crowned parakeets were breeding on Motutapu. Only one of the adult birds was banded (identified as a male that had been released on Motutihe back in March 2009)

'...As a result of the recent pest eradication, these parakeets now have a 3000+ hectare (Motutapu plus Rangitoto) safe haven to breed and become an icon for conservation in the Hauraki Gulf..'   Luis Ortiz-Catedral, Monday 30^th November 2009

 We thank Luis Ortiz-Catedral for his brilliant Kakariki pics.

Press release from the Department of Conservation dated Thursday 3 December 2009

They've been gone for more than 100 years, but last week, a family of red-crowned parakeets was spotted flying down from the trees in a peaceful gully on Motutapu.

 Luis Ortiz-Catedral, parakeet specialist and Massey University PhD student, says one of the birds was clearly a recently fledged juvenile that must have hatched on the island. "I estimate it fledged about two weeks ago considering the size of the tail, the colouration of the beak and also because it was still being fed by its parents," he says.

 Red-crowned parakeets - one of five main species of kakariki - were recorded on Motutapu in September by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ). The OSNZ conducts bird surveys for the Motutapu Restoration Trust every year. Mr Ortiz-Catedral joined them last week to look for signs of breeding parakeets. Only the male of the pair was banded, and had been released on nearby pest-free Motuihe eight months ago.

 Motutapu and Rangitoto are on their way to becoming pest-free after the Department of Conservation began a two-year campaign to rid the islands of seven remaining mammalian pests in June this year. Richard Griffiths, project manager for the Rangitoto and Motutapu restoration project, says it's exciting to see kakariki back so soon - but says we must look after them. "Now that native birds are nesting on the islands, it's more important than ever before for visitors to ensure they don't accidentally bring any pests with them," he says.

 While parakeets like to forage in open areas with bush close by to provide cover, the one factor that influences their survival the most is the presence or absence of predators, says Mr Ortiz-Catedral. He says the fact that parakeets have made their own way to Motutapu so quickly after most of the pests were removed will attract international attention. "Natural colonisations of islands by parrots are not common. The Hauraki Gulf is becoming a worldwide example of how restoring key sites can help surrounding islands too - it happens so often here that we tend to lose perspective." 

ENDS

Background information

The red-crowned parakeet was widespread on the mainland last century, but today is very rare on the mainland and only common on pest-free islands. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently classified parakeets as a species vulnerable to extinction.

In the Auckland region, red-crowned parakeets are found on Tiritiri Matangi, Little Barrier, Great Barrier, Motuihe, Tawharanui Regional Park and now Motutapu. They are also found on the Mercury Islands, the Hen and Chickens Islands and the Poor Knights Islands.

'Best of the best' recognised at 2009 Event Industry Awards

Presented annually by the New Zealand Association of Event Professionals (NZAEP), the Event Industry Awards are designed to recognise excellence in event management disciplines, with events presented in four categories - Best Environmentally Sustainable Event, Best Emerging Event, Best Established Event and Best Partnership of an Event.

The awards are judged by a panel of industry specialists from throughout New Zealand who have been selected across various event disciplines.

Board member and the awards co-ordinator Karen Watkins said "the awards are an opportunity to recognise the 'crème de la crème of the country's event industry".

BEST EMERGING EVENT

Finalists: The DUAL; Louis Vuitton Pacific Series
Winner: The DUAL

Taking out the Best Emerging Event award was The DUAL (Motutapu - Rangitoto Traverse), run by Total Sport Ltd. With profits from this mountain bike/off-road run event going towards the replanting of native trees in large sections of Motutapu, the judging panel felt The DUAL set a 'benchmark' for other events and indicated a bright future for New Zealand's event industry.

The DUAL  (Motutapu - Rangitoto Traverse)
Total Sport Ltd

Developed in conjunction with Total Sport and the Motutapu Restoration Trust, The Dual is a mountain bike/off road run event, utilising territory completely new to an event of this type. 

The bigger picture - conservation.  The key objective, a vision to replant large sections of Motutapu in native trees over the next  20 - 30 years using the majority of the profits generated from The Dual to help meet this objective.

Press release dated 7th August 2009 from Karen Watkins, Board member NZAEP

Click on our links:
Read about DUAL2009
Find out about DUAL2010

It's been a year since the first aerial rodent bait drop!

Where are we at with the Pest eradication?
click here

The massive $3million Pest Eradication programme currently taking place on the islands is the most complex island pest eradication ever attempted any where in the world according to the Department of Conservation

It is being carried out to rid Rangitoto and Motutapu of animal pests that eat birds and insects. The forest will flourish as a result.