Environment – Welcome wētā

Over summer, the dotterel team of rangers and SOSSI volunteers has been very busy monitoring this season’s chicks and giving them their uniquely coded very small flags (attached to a leg) to help keep track of them wherever they go once they fledge. It was such a good thing too, to observe how the many visitors on our beaches responded very responsibly to the small birds’ presence, and gave them the space they need.

The chicks of the New Zealand dotterel/tūturiwhatu are not only very cute, but as an endangered species, it was a boost to everyone’s morale to see how the ongoing predator control resulted in at least six surviving fledglings by the end of summer. A further joyful sight for volunteers and visitors alike was the banded rail/moho pererū parent and chicks that could sometimes be spotted crossing the road in the Okoromai Bay wetlands.

The first week of autumn saw another highlight, when the team made a special trip to Butterfly Creek in South Auckland. Their captive Rear-and-Release Programme for wētāpunga has played a vital role in securing a safe future for this endangered invertebrate species, and we were able to collect just over 600 of them to bring to Shakespear Sanctuary. When the van arrived at the sanctuary, a small group of rangers and volunteers transferred the many small containers in carrier bags, and then walked to a spot where these precious giant wētā were released. This took several hours, because to keep them safe, each individual needed to be given time to crawl into a suitable hiding space, either a natural one or a hollow bamboo stick that is then placed into a suitable tree. 

Adult wētāpunga can weigh as much as a mouse or a sparrow, but it can take up to two years for them to go through the 11 “instar” stages between egg and adult, each time shedding their skin and growing a new one. The biggest ones at our release were only halfway there, at about sixth “instar” stage, so it will be at least six months before these new arrivals will start to breed in our sanctuary.

Also, at short notice after that release, four more wētāpunga arrived and there was a brief show and tell for SOSSI members. About 20 members were able to see three males and a female before they were also released.

Meanwhile, the nursery is a hive of activity in preparation for the upcoming planting season, and planning is underway for future bird translocations. 

We encourage all to enjoy the sanctuary and, now that the summer heat has passed, it is an excellent time for a visit and a great time to explore and enjoy nature and the expansive views. There are various options for longer walks, but there is also plenty of bird watching and landscape gazing that can be done from the beach, or even from the car. 

Meet Maj
Maj De Poorter is our new SOSSI columnist. She grew up in Belgium where she graduated as an ecologist. She has been living in Okura for almost 35 years, and loves the Kiwi approach of “getting off your bum and doing something about it”. Maj says she considers it a privilege to have been able to organise the first kōkako translocations back into the Waitākere Ranges as Ark in the Park manager. She has also been manager at the Rotokare Sanctuary in Taranaki and, until recently, was the operations manager for the Forest Bridge Trust in North Rodney. Now retired, she continues her conservation efforts as a volunteer. She joined the SOSSI committee at the end of last year.