MIRO

A beleaguered shorebird colony on Wellington Harbour has had a turn of fortune thanks to understanding cat owners, a monitoring group says. stuff.co.nz/national/12450…

Things were going well until the nights of December 20th and 21st.  Our flagged female banded dotterel PCC's nest was predated by a tabby cat, you can see PCC clearing her nest of her broken shells on the 22nd.

Balancing cat ownership and protecting our native species is something NZ needs to address, and it shouldn't be difficult. Internationally keeping cats happy and healthy at home is the norm. nzgeo.com/stories/our-lo…

Dogs are a major threat to adult kiwi. If you live or play in places where wild kiwi live, Kiwis for kiwi encourages dog owners to enrol their dogs in kiwi avoidance training. Find out more >>> ow.ly/36JY50BTSx7 Photo credit: Jenny Feaver #savekiwimonth2020 #kiwisforkiwi

Our hearts go out to those on the front line of this battle both avian and human.

Pair bonding in #shorebirds often starts with the male making several "scrapes" in his territory, from which a female will carefully inspect one-by-one until she finds the one that suits her best for egg laying. Note the graceful bowing posture of the male @WaderStudy @docgovtnz

Oliver Seiler and Bruce Spedding erect a temporary radio antenna as part of a test of signal coverage for Gollans Valley and Butterfly Creek. The aim is to see whether we can efficiently service rat traps by just visiting those with catches.

A chance meeting led to spending Sunday arvo helping with banded #dotterel nest monitoring around #Hutt beaches thanks to @MiroPfp. We were ecstatic that a female (partner of PAP who flew from New Caledonia) was sitting on 3 chicks. #nzbirds #nature #BOTY2020 @VoteBandie

Five acoustic recorders were deployed in the Northern Forest today for our annual recording of the dawn chorus. This year we are also getting overlap with the 5-minute bird counts undertaken each year by our skilled and dedicated volunteers.

Tui are beginning to flock in York Bay at the first Kowhai begin to bloom.

PAP is a male banded dotterel This year when the nesting season was over, he made an epic 2,240km journey to New Caledonia where he has become a bit of a star. He arrived back at Eastbourne August 1st after an epic 2,240km flight. sco.nc/articles/actua…

@jacqui_aotearoa @nakiboy2010 @stho002 @inaturalistnz @ArkintheParkNZ @PredatorFreeNZ @Pics_PB Perhaps the beetle clung in without being in the kill bar zone.

@nakiboy2010 @stho002 @inaturalistnz @ArkintheParkNZ @PredatorFreeNZ @Pics_PB Weeeee! Actually, the trap was already sprung for some reason, but no catch.

Beetle, the peanut butter is for the rats! Genus Holcaspis, thanks @stho002 for the ID on @inaturalistnz It's amazing how fast bush insects clean out PB on Victor traps. @ArkintheParkNZ @PredatorFreeNZ @Pics_PB

Banded dotterels have the same Nationally Vulnerable status as whio and great spotted kiwi - but they don't get nearly as much help. Thankfully volunteer groups like Wellington's MIRO are stepping up...predatorfreenz.org/miro-banded-do…

Our new Regional Pest Management Plan 2019-39 has just been published. This 96 page document details 17 pest plants and 12 pest animals for exclusion from the region, eradication or management. You can check it out here bit.ly/30NKVFv

Our ranger Graeme Atkins has been nominated for the Tairawhiti Men of the Year Awards which are a celebration and acknowledgement of great men in our community. Graeme has been described as “a kaitiaki (guardian) of our natural environment.” Read more: bit.ly/2MXJVwz

MIRO Volunteers installing a deer exclusion plot within sight of the track in York Bay. Visual learning tools take everyone’s learning on a journey.

@birdsongnz Well that’s a depressing amount of visits without getting caught!

TRIAL UPDATE: RAT DETECTION RATES 10-50 TIMES BETTER THAN TRAIL CAMERAS We have continued the rat detection experiments recently described on this blog and have updated results to report. Read more here: cacophony.org.nz/trial-update-r… #CacophonyProject