Nelson Nature Fix
10 May 2021
Welcome to the Nelson Nature Fix - a regular snippet about Nelson's natural environment, and what we can do to look after it. If you know anyone who you think might enjoy getting a regular nature fix, please pass this on and encourage them to sign up. You can read back issues here.
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Woo-hoo for whio
Council contractors recently spotted a rare blue buck or whio perched on a rock in the Roding River. The bird is most likely to be a young adult dispersed from the nearest whio stronghold - the Wangapeka River. A recent survey in the Wangapeka found 79 pairs of whio - almost double the national goal for this site.
Efforts to restore the whio population in the Wangapeka and Fyfe catchments began in 2003, when just three birds were recorded within an area of 30,000 ha of beech forest. By 2010, thanks to the Whio Forever project, a comprehensive predator control programme (stoat trapping and aerial 1080 in beech mast years), 65 whio were recorded. The population has grown from there and juveniles are now looking for new spots, like the Roding River, to set up territories. Whio need stoats and rats to be controlled across large areas to successfully breed, but the sighting indicates that if there was landscape-scale control of predators in Nelson’s backcountry and Richmond Ranges in the future, we may have our own healthy population of resident whio.
Facts about whio
The whio is endemic to New Zealand and has a conservation status of nationally vulnerable. You can hear its call here.
- The whio is only found in New Zealand’s fast flowing waters.
- Featured on New Zealand’s $10 note and with an estimated population of less than 3000 birds, whio are rarer than kiwi.
- Whio are adapted to live on fast-flowing rivers. Finding whio means you will also find fresh, fast-flowing water with a good supply of plants and underwater insects.
- Whio are important indicators of ecosystem health – they only exist where there is quality fresh water and an abundance of life.
- Whio are predated by stoats, ferrets and cats with the largest impact during nesting time when eggs, young and females are vulnerable, and also when females are in moult and can’t fly.
- Whio cannot be moved to predator-free islands like other species because of their reliance on fast-flowing rivers.
- Pairs occupy approximately 1km of water – so they need a lot of river to sustain a large population and they fiercely defend their territories, which makes it difficult to put them with other ducks in captivity.
- They are susceptible to flood events which, destroy nests, fragment broods and wash away their valued food source.
Find out more about the whio online here
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Fighting for the wild
Nelson City Council, along with other Regional Councils in New Zealand, has contributed to a documentary series called Fight for the Wild, about the desperate battle to protect our native species. It explores the idea of a Predator Free 2050 and asks whether this big, bold initiative is achievable and if so, how?
Fight for the Wild will be published as a series of four 45-minute documentaries, and four 25-minute podcasts, focusing on defining what we have lost, how we can remove the threat and protect what is left, the battle being fought by Predator Free 2050, and the hope that we hold for the future.
Watch the Trailer
The first episode of the four-part documentary will be released on rnz.co.nz/wild and RNZ's channel on Freeview On Demand today, Monday 10 May, with a new episode out every Monday. The series will also screen at 7.30 pm Saturday, May 15 on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ OnDemand.
The podcast will be released on rnz.co.nz/wild and the usual podcast platforms every Monday from 10 May, with full episodes broadcast on Our Changing World at 9:06 pm on Thursdays, and cutdown versions on Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan at 2:35 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
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Project Mahitahi Community Planting Programme
Project Mahitahi is a collaborative project aimed at restoring the health of the forest ecosystems of the Maitai / Mahitahi / Maitahi Valley.
Bring your family and friends and plant a tree to restore the mighty forests of the Maitai Valley.
This winter, we’ll be planting the first 28,000 trees (of the total 125,000), including a series of commemorative plantings funded through the Ministry for Primary Industries Matariki tu Rākau programme.
Saturday 29 May, 1.30-3.30 pm
Where: Maitai Mahitahi Wetland, adjacent to the Maitai Campground
What: In partnership with Multicultural Nelson Tasman and Friends of the Maitai, this planting will commemorate the journeys many people have made to a new home in Nelson Whakatū and celebrate the vibrant community that it is today.
Sunday 11 July, 1-3 pm
Where: Sunday Hole
What: Matariki Planting commemorating Kākati, the common ancestor of the iwi of Te Tau Ihu
Sunday 5 September 9am - 4pm
What: Community bus trip and planting, from the sea to the mountains. Travel by bus from the Nelson Haven to the Maitai Reserve and visit places of interest and importance in the Maitai Catchment along the way. As part of this event, 1200 trees will be planted along the river margins of Smiths Ford and Orchard Flat. This planting will commemorate the history of botanical science in the catchment, in collaboration with Friends of the Maitai. To reserve a place on the bus, please contact project.mahitahi@ncc.govt.nz
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