All the news about conservation in the Abel Tasman over summer
Message from Bruce Vander Lee
As we approach the holiday season, I hope you enjoy this update on the work that Project Janszoon and others are undertaking to restore the Abel Tasman National Park. We’ve come through a challenging year with much success continuing, but also challenges to overcome. I would like to thank each of you for the support that you’ve given this year. It’s great to hear that locals and visitors to the park are seeing the changes underway and that so many are finding ways to contribute.
I plan to visit Bark Bay to see the kākā over the holidays and will be keeping my eyes out for pāteke and whio as well. I hope to see you out there!
Ngā mihi
Bruce
Juvenile kākā “off the boil”
While early indications were pointing to the Wairima/Bark Bay kākā breeding this year, it seems the teenage parrots have “gone off the boil”.
In beech forests like the Abel Tasman, kākā normally only breed in a mast year when they know there is plenty of food around. However because Project Janszoon and DOC have been providing supplementary food for the kākā that were released last year we were hoping they might breed. Project Janszoon ornithologist Ron Moorhouse has been visiting Bark Bay regularly to observe the kākā and initially thought he saw enough antics to make him think they might nest.
“There was a rush of hormones but it doesn’t look like it was sustained and we are now seeing females alone." Ron says the initial antics were a positive sign for breeding in years to come. Photo : Freya SantanaCubas
Challenges getting nature back in balance
Native snail populations are plummetting at a site where Project Janszoon monitors Powelliphanta hochstetteri and Rhytida oconneri snails, as the weka population booms.
The site in the upper Wainui valley, has been monitored for the last three years and has seen snail numbers fall from 450 in 2018 over a 70m x 70m plot, to only 73 in the latest round of monitoring. A large number of the snail shells show they have been predated by native weka.
There is the potential for the snail population in this area to go extinct within the next four years. Project Janszoon’s Director Bruce Vander Lee says it is a good example of the challenges of getting nature back in balance.
“The Abel Tasman National Park isn’t unique in having weka numbers increase so this is an issue that may be occuring in other sites in New Zealand. We are starting to talk to the Department of Conservation about how we can better protect the snails, and how what we are learning can be helpful to others around the country,” he says. Ruth Bollongino snail monitoring - photo Fred Overmans
Chances of visitors to the Abel Tasman National Park spotting a rare native duck have increased, with over 50 of the endangered species released in the last two weeks.
Project Janszoon and the Department of Conservation released 20 pāteke/brown teal at Totaranui – the largest number of pāteke ever released in the holiday hotspot. Another 35 were released at Hadfield Clearing near Awaroa Estuary. Two whio/blue duck were also freed in the Falls River, inland from Torrent Bay.
The ducks came from the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust facility in Christchurch. They were blessed by representatives from Ngāti Rarua, Ngāti Tama and Manawhenua ki Mohua. Motupipi School children helped release the pāteke into the Awapoto River.
Visitors to the park may see whio in the Wainui or Falls rivers during the day, while pāteke are more often spotted at dawn and dusk. However Project Janszoon ornithologist Ron Moorhouse says as pāteke numbers grow they will become more visible during the day. 337 pāteke have now been released into the Abel Tasman.
The ducks, their ducklings and eggs are very vulnerable to stoats so have only been able to be returned to the park because over 90% of the Abel Tasman is now stoat trapped. Air New Zealand funds traps around Totaranui which join up with Project Janszoon, DOC and the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust’s trapping networks. Photo Bradley Shields
2020 scholarship recipient
Congratulations to Hana Mason-Williams who is the 2020 Project Janszoon Conservation Education Scholarship recipient.
Her first hand look at pollution in China and Europe prompted the 19-year-old's studies. She will use the $1,000 scholarship to gain her National Certificate in Diving which is part of the New Zealand Diploma in Environmental Management. She plans to then study for a degree in Marine Biology.
Hana attended Golden Bay High School and was the Manawhenua ki Mohua and Onetahua Marae's Abel Tasman Youth Ambassador (ATYA) representative in 2016.
We welcomed the new cohort of Abel Tasman Youth ambassadors at Onetahua marae last Sunday while saying haere ra to 2020’s ATYA crew.
There is a big turnover this year with 7 ambassadors returning and 14 new ambassadors joining ATYA. Education co-ordinator Brooke Turner says over 10 students from some partner schools applied this year. “It’s great to see how keen the students are to take part in ATYA. They are seeing how others are enjoying it and growing in terms of leadership and want to be part which is fantastic.”
The reason for such a high turnover this year is we are encouraging the younger ambassadors to only spend one year so they have the opportunity to apply again when they are at high school. “We see incredible growth in our older students in terms of their leadership. They really step up at the retreats into mentoring and leadership roles, and are much more confident,” says Brooke.
Help us find mistletoe
It’s the time of year that mistletoe flower on our beech trees and we’d like your help to find where this beautiful and rare native might be growing.
Please keep an eye out for the flowers, or flower litter on the ground and then let us know where you saw it through the Have You Seen This section of the smartphone app - download it for free by searching Abel Tasman in the Google Play or App stores.
DOC ranger Steve Deverell has written this handy guide to mistletoe in the park to help you identify it.
Farewell to Barrie Brown who has retired from the Project Janszoon board. Barrie has been with the project since it began in 2012, and also chaired the NEXT Foundation board. Thanks very much for your mahi and support.
Welcome to Kim McGlashen who is joining the board. Many of you will know Kim from his time as Chair of the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust. We are delighted to welcome him and know he will bring a unique combination of skills to the board.
Wi Fi at Awaroa
For those of you heading to Awaroa over summer we are working with Groundtruth Ltd to improve internet speeds. Broadband use is experiencing unprecedented demand which is affecting the speed of the internet at Awaroa.
Groundtruth are working on improving the Awaroa link on two fronts. They have doubled the capacity of the broadband link in Takaka and that should be up and running before Christmas. They are also adding a new wireless link from Gibbs Hill to Pakawau and this should be done in January which should double capacity again. Thanks for your patience as we work with the internet providers in Golden Bay.
While you may have kayaked or even swum the kilometre to the two islands off Tata beach, did you know they’re part of the Abel Tasman National Park? The islands have a rich history – they shelter some rare species and were once home to a Norwegian hermit.
