Need an excuse to get outside during winter? Come kiwi listening with us between the 21 May & 7 June
Do you fancy sitting outside at the back of beyond for two hours, in the dark and cold, silently waiting for a bird that may or may not call? If you answered yes, you may like to join our volunteers in May when we conduct our kiwi call count monitoring. If you would like to come along, call Lettecia on (07) 8666 626 to arrange a trip.
Winter is when our volunteers undertake annual kiwi listening surveys at designated sites within our Kiwi Sanctuary. We will also be remotely monitoring four sites in our Coromandel Kiwi Project using bioacoustic recorders. The data collected gives us a picture of how our local kiwi populations are faring. Only the adult kiwi call, so kiwi call count monitoring picks up population growth a couple of years after it has occurred.
Kiwi are up against a lot of hurdles, and face a suite of predators including dogs, stoats and cats. Luckily, these predators can be addressed, and when they are, Coromandel kiwi do well. Thanks to the efforts of our trappers, Coromandel kiwi chicks have a much better chance of making it to breeding age. If you have heard kiwi near your place, we’d love to hear from you.
Kiwi call at night to mark their territory and stay in touch with their mate. The best time to listen is on a moonless night, up to two hours after dark, and just before dawn. That’s when kiwi stir from their burrows and call to make contact with their partner or family, and to mark their territory.