Francis the kiwi gets the once-over.
Each kiwi has its own frequency which can be tracked.
The burrows are well hidden. Trackers have to be careful not to stand on them.
We form a circle around where the kiwi is expected and carefully search the ground.
Mahurangi Matters reporter Jonathan Killick goes in search of kiwi at Mataia Homestead near Glorit as part of a conservation effort.
Climbing through thickets of gorse, pampas and tea tree, we part branches to form a path.
The Kaipara Kiwi Group, part of the Mataia Restoration Project, has three male brown kiwi that it tracks with radio tags.
Two radio units with big blue antenna are used to pinpoint their location.
The receiver gives off a constant beep, which gets louder when the antenna is pointing in the right direction.
When both radio operators are pointing their antenna at each other, it is agreed the kiwi must be located somewhere in the middle.
Everyone is instructed to be at the ready in case a kiwi rushes out from its hiding place.
We are told that kiwi must be caught by the legs as they have no sternum breast bone and are easily crushed.
A new recruit, Robert, is on his first kiwi hunt and is being trained how to track them.
Rob’s arm is shoulder deep into a thick tuft of kikuyu grass when he shouts, “I’ve got a leg”.
The kiwi is carefully extracted from his burrow and a catch bag is placed over his head to shield him from the light.
During the capture, the trackers are careful to make sure that the bird does not become overwhelmed.
If a kiwi feels threatened when it is pulled from the nest, it will suddenly eject the feathers around its tail in an effort to leave a predator in a puff of fluff while it escapes.
A stressed bird will click its beak to make a loud snapping noise. If it begins blowing bubbles from its nostrils, the capture is aborted.
After a successful capture, a pair of surgical scissors are used to snip off the old radio transmitter.
A new one is attached using a hospital baby tag and reinforced with eight rounds of green gaffer tape.
This reporter had the opportunity to cradle a kiwi while volunteers undertook their work.
Its feathers are soft, and it has a musky smell – part of the reason they are so easily found by dogs.
Each year, a survey of kiwi calls in the night is used to estimate numbers, and tracker Sue Cameron believes in the last year the population at Mataia has grown from 80 to 100 kiwi.
Kaipara Kiwi is looking for volunteers to help maintain trap lines and learn to track kiwi.
Later this year, the project will introduce kiwi to Mt Tamahunga with the help of the Tamahunga Trappers group.
Info: Contact Kevin or Gill Adshead at kgadshead@xtra.co.nz
