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Dawn ChorusBulletin 96

ISSN 1171-8595February 2014

BloomingwonderfulThe fabulous flora of Tiritiri Matangi

www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz 32 Dawn Chorus 96 February 2014

Cover photos by Martin Sanders

Since the previous Dawn Chorus I seem to have spent more time than I would prefer at the computer keyboard. Linda Worth and I have been revising our health and safety plans for guiding and for the Visi-tor Centre to meet the requirements of the Department of Conservation that they pass an external audit process. Also a small group has been working hard on plans for our 25th anniversary celebrations.

Biodiversity projectsOf course summer is a very busy time on the Island and I’m pleased to report that three new Supporters-led biodiversity projects have commenced, on saddlebacks, diving petrels and surface-nesting seabirds. The diving petrel and seabird projects aim to discover just how many birds are breeding on the Island and what success they are hav-ing. Several of our nesting seabirds fall into one of the ‘threatened’ or ‘at risk’ catego-ries. The saddleback project will compare the fortunes of our birds in three different habitats, original bush (Bush 21), planted bush (Stagnant Dam bush) and planted flax (north-east, near the Silvester wetlands). Look out for news on these projects as they progress. Work continues on our pohutu-kawa project and on the annual monitoring of kokako and saddlebacks.

Bunkhouse spruce-upFor those who stay on the Island, or plan to stay, the bunkhouse has been spruced-up with a renovated shower and toilet area, new carpets and a fresh coat of paint. Some time ago Jess Clark floated the idea of recruiting a ‘bunkhouse monitor’ from among the Sup-porters. This person would preferably be a regular overnighter and would liaise with the Rangers to keep the bunkhouse in good order. Please contact me if you think you could take on this role. Your first task might be to unravel the mystery of the disappear-ing mugs, cutlery and casserole lids!

FundraisingIn 2013 we set out to be more effective and creative in the way we raise funds to support

Tiritiri snippets

Historic glass jigsaw puzzle starting to take shape

the on-going work on the Island. Your com-mittee became more active in seeking funds for specific projects and a number of grant applications were made to various funding agencies. While not every application was successful, we received:•$10,700 from the Lion Foundation for the purchase of a powered wheelbarrow•$12,340 from the ASB Community Trust for the weeding programme•$11,500 from Lotto Community Grants towards the guiding and shop manager's sal-ary.

Mid-year we made an effort to re-engage lapsed Supporters. We wrote to all those people who had not renewed their member-ships over the last nine years and were de-lighted when more than 200 re-joined, with many also adding a donation. There was also a good renewal rate from existing Support-ers.

Also in 2013 we launched our SoTM Bequest Campaign. Anecdotally, it seems a number of people have responded to this by leaving a legacy in their wills to the Support-ers. Our thanks to Ray and Barbara Walter for agreeing to publicly endorse this project.

Recently there have been several gener-ous donations from Supporters and visitors, including donations towards our Growing Minds programme which funds the visits of children from lower-decile schools.

One project we struggled to fund was the analysis of invertebrate samples taken from test plots among the planted bush. We need to employ an expert to identify and quantify invertebrates collected in pit-fall traps situated in light wells created by felled pohutukawa trees. We estimate the cost of the project to be $2,700. If someone would like to fund this project please contact me.

The Committee is currently working on a number of major projects which will require significant levels of funding, includ-ing restoration of the signal mast (taller than the lighthouse!) and our maritime history interpretation building which will include display of the original Cuvier light. We will keep you informed in future editions of Dawn Chorus and any leads you can give us for potential donors or sponsors would be most welcome.

John Stewart

The lighthouse team is making good progress in sorting out the 17 crates of parts from the Cuvier Island light that were rescued from storage in Pureora Forest.

Over Christmas the hundreds of bits of machinery have been buffed up or, where nec-essary, sandblasted and painted to get them back into working order. Then the 13 crates of glass from the amazing Fresnel Lens – a work of art in glass which has to be seen to be believed – were unpacked, checked and the years of accumulated grime scrubbed off.

There’s a bit more work to do cleaning off a bit of concrete which had been spilled on to one of the bullseye lenses which focus the beam. Another lens came apart, because it was not packed properly, and will have to be reputtied. The team now has a container on-site and as each unit is restored it is packed away ready for shipment to the Island.

The plan is to re-assemble the light and put it on display in an extension to the old generator shed/workshop which is being gradually turned into a lighthouse museum.

Although that is still a little way off, thanks to the work on the lighthouse project this year’s Historic Day on Tiritiri Matangi will be better than ever.

As usual there will be an opportunity to climb to the top of the Tiritiri Lighthouse, the oldest working lighthouse in the country, which at the start of next year celebrates its 150th birthday. The 1935 diaphonic foghorn, the only working model in New Zealand, will be blasting out its amazing sound. The newly restored Watchtower, with its growing collec-tion of lighthouse paraphernalia, will be open to the public. Among the items on display will be a Marlin 1 radio, the same model as the one that was used by the keepers, recently ac-quired by Ray Walter for $30. 'We’ve cleaned and painted it,' said Ray, 'and now it’s as good as new. Now all we need is a speaker. Someone may have one of those hanging round.'

The Historic Day will be on Saturday March 29. Lighthouse tours must be pre-booked via [email protected] and if you want to be there it’s a good idea to book your ferry trip in advance too.

During one of her regular evening rambles round the Island, guiding and shop manager Mary-Ann Rowland had already seen a kiwi, tuatara and three ruru and was just on the home stretch at the bottom of Coronary Hill when ‘a very newly hatched kiwi tumbled out of the undergrowth onto the track at my feet, where it sat. Slowly it realised that there was this large and rather intimidating creature looming over it, so off it scrambled until just

From the chair

Seabirds, fundraising and the mystery of the missing bunkhouse mugs


Tiritiri snippets

Historic glass jigsaw puzzle starting to take shape

its head was buried in the long grass, little bottom poking up into the air. I could imag-ine it thinking, “you can’t see me now”, and there it stayed until I walked off . . . leaving it believing that through sheer cunning and bravery it had defeated the monster!’

Julie Cotterill took this photo of a cute young morepork at the Visitor Centre. ‘Lots of peo-ple had seen the morepork family at the visitor centre roosting during the day,’ she said, ‘and it was only by chance one night that I watched him follow one of his parents out of the tree they were roosting in. He would fly over to a post on one of the signs in the courtyard area before flying on to his parents who were con-stantly calling to him. On the second night (when I had my camera) he sat and watched me taking photos for several minutes before flying off into another tree. It was magic!’

Sofia and ranger Jason Campbell have had a wee girl: Klara was born at 8lbs 10oz and mum and baby are both well. Jason has a month off to be with them. When next you see him he will look less piratical. A long-awaited replacement front tooth has arrived and to celebrate he had a shave and a haircut!

360 Discovery is celebrating the 25th anniver-sary of SoTM by offering members a special deal. Buy a Four Seasons ticket and it will en-title you to make four trips to Tiritiri at prices up to 45 per cent less than usual: $152 for adult/senior and $80 for a child from Auck-land, or $88 adult/senior and $56 child from Gulf Harbour. The ticket will allow you to vis-it in each of the four seasons and also to enter a SoTM quiz competition to win an overnight stay for four with a guided night walk. Fur-ther details are on the SoTM website.

The Hihi Recovery Group has won a prestig-ious Practitioner Award from the Australa-sian Wildlife Management Society. Dr John Ewen, co-leader of the group, said, 'New Zea-landers should be very proud of the hihi con-servation success story. The award recognises the leading role the group plays in endangered species conservation. It is an endorsement of collaborative efforts between community,

scientists and government. Our approach has made a positive difference to hihi. It’s about using science to make informed decisions on how we manage hihi.’

The annual Tiritiri Concert is on March 8. This will involve over 20 musicians doing a 'sounding Tiritiri Matangi' along the paths from 2-4.30pm and then a more traditional Jazz and Blues concert at the lighthouse from 6-7.30pm. There will be two ferries, leav-ing Auckland, via Gulf Harbour, at 9am and noon. As well as the usual 3.30pm return trip, ferries will leave at 8pm just to Gulf Harbour and 8.45pm just to Auckland. (Photo by Martin Sanders.)

PUZZLING (from left): Margaret Chappell and Ray Walter clean one of the old Cuvier Island light's bullseye lenses; Ray with the freshly buffed-up governor. Photos / Jim Eagles


In 1985 my wife, Denise Howard, and I bought a 67ha property a few kilometres south of the West Coast Tourist Centre at Punakaiki, with the intentions of starting a nature tour operation, Paparoa Nature Tours, based on the soon-to-be-established Paparoa National Park.

Two years later we were surprised to discover a healthy sub-colony of Westland petrels inside our back boundary, and after three years of studying their behaviour we felt confident that a viewing facility could be con-structed and operated without impacting on their breeding success.

Construction took place over the summer of 1990/91, outside the petrels' winter breed-ing season. It consists of a series of stairways climbing through the forest to a viewing shel-ter with a major landing and launch site right in front.

The Westland petrel is the largest burrow-nesting petrel on mainland New Zealand, about 500mm from bill-tip to tail-tip, and the only place in the world where it touches land is on its breeding ground, in a six-square-kilo-metre area of forested hills just south of the Punakaiki River, mostly within the National Park. Indeed, it is one of only half-a-dozen petrel species to still survive on the mainland despite the impact of introduced predators and habitat loss.

The total breeding population of the Westland petrel is estimated to be 3000-4000 pairs. The breeding season starts in early March when the first arrivals, mostly males, start returning to claim their family burrows. By the end of April the breeding grounds are alive with noise and activity every night.

Typically of most smaller petrels, West-land petrels only enter and leave their bur-rows under the cover of darkness, to avoid aerial predators like the New Zealand falcon and harriers. During the day they remain out at sea or sit quietly underground.

Eggs are laid – just one per pair – over a two-week period from May 12 and incubated for 64 days. When it hatches in late July/early August parents take turns guarding the chick for up to three weeks. It is then left on its own with parents returning irregularly to feed it.

In late October chicks begin to emerge from their burrows for the first time. By then the parents are returning less and less often and soon cease returning altogether. Chicks are then left to find their own way out to sea and their next meal.

Peak fledging takes place during the sec-ond half of November and by late December there are few left on the breeding grounds. Young birds will spend five to seven years en-tirely out at sea before returning for the first time and may not begin breeding until they

are 12-14 years old.We offer two tours to view them. In the

Sunset Tour, visitors are guided to the viewing shelter at sunset just before the petrels start to return from the sea. The birds can be seen fly-ing past in the twilight as they circle around to locate their landing site and then, literally, crash land near their burrow.

People think I’m pulling their legs when I give them instructions on what to do if an adult petrel lands on them, but it happens from time to time. And later in the season, when the fledglings are testing their wings, it is not unusual for one to climb onto a handy shoulder for a practice flight.

As this indicates, close views are the norm when viewing Westland petrels, whether com-ing in to land, taking off or just noisily going about their domestic activities. They have no fear of discreet human presence and will use the viewing shelter seats to take off from once the humans have got out of the way.

In our other option, the Sunrise Tour, visi-tors must be early risers to get to the viewing shelter before the petrels’ mass exodus back to sea, but they are rewarded by a spectacu-lar scene. Sometimes 40 or more birds can be seen launching from a stump in front of the viewing shelter in the space of 30 minutes, accompanied by a cacophony of cackling and squawking.

NATURE TOURISM (from left): A Westland petrel preparing

to take off; a chick in its

burrow.Photos /

Bruce Menteath

The Big Picture

Watch out if a petrel lands on youBruce Menteath writes about an eco-tourism venture he and his wife have developed which helps protect the Westland petrel and allows visitors to see this remarkable bird close up.


Help celebrate our 25th Anniversary

We need your photos and stories

Roving photo exhibitionWe are planning a roving photo exhibition featuring images of Tiritiri over the years. But we can’t do this without your help. If you have suitable photos – digital or hard copy, old or recent, it doesn’t matter which – we'd love to share them with others. We would like as wide a variety as possible, showing what the Island used to look like, how it has changed, what it’s like now, the people involved, landscapes, fauna and flora, events, etc.

Please send them to John Stewart (digital copies to [email protected], hard copies to 64 Roberts Rd, Matakatia, Whangaparaoa, Auckland 0930, or leave them on the Island with Mary-Ann).

Tales of TiritiriCould you write a short essay about what Tiritiri means to you, some special experience you’d like to share with others. Something amusing, joyful, sad, or simply memorable. It doesn’t have to be dramatic or important - everyday memories are often the most special.

Please email your stories to John Stewart ([email protected]) or Kay Milton ([email protected]). Try to stick to 200 words. We’ll get back to you if we need to edit them.

Remember, any material you send may be used on our website and in Dawn Chorus, as well as the exhibition.

Barbara and Ray will probably recall the incident when we were digging out

a track and I returned to the bunkhouse to cook Gael's Scones. As I left

the house swinging the scones in a bag one of the takahe must have smelt

them. He flew at the bag, missed it and latched his beak onto my inside left

leg. Wow. He would not let go. I was swinging my body around trying to

fling him off. No luck. The pain. I thought to myself, 'Oh my gawd I am go-

ing to have to kill one of the first takahe to be on the Island. Worse, in my

thoughts between my yells was, 'What will Barbara say?' - Gael Arnold

Our tours seemed to have little or no nega-tive effect on the breeding success of the pe-trels. In 1990 we had about 39 fledglings leave the sub-colony and by 1999 that number had increased to about 55.

We have set stoat traps beside the walkway, which also serve as a handy interpretation de-vice for talking to visitors about the mammal predation problem. To guard against cats and dogs that may follow human scent and use our walkway, I built a large cage trap on the lower part of the walkway, activated by a pressure plate on the ground, that could catch anything the size of a cat or larger. It has occasionally caught possums and, surprisingly, the odd pe-trel, but no cats or dogs.

However, late in the 2000 breeding season two dogs owned by a neighbour went walk-about for a couple of weeks and killed at least a dozen petrels in our sub-colony, all of them established breeders, and wiped out 10 years of breeding productivity.

In 1993 Paparoa Nature Tours was highly commended in the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards for the sensitive manner in which we constructed and managed our pe-trel viewing facility.

In the same year we were co-winners of the New Zealand Eco-Tourism Awards for the general quality of our operation, which at that time also included caving, canoeing and gen-eral natural history tours within the National Park. Today we focus on the petrel colony tours and a recent addition, night sky tours, allowing visitors to view the night sky using a quality telescope.

Further information on Paparoa Nature Tours is available at www.petrelcolonytours.co.nz


Biodiversity plan

More plant species wanted on TiritiriSteps to improve Tiritiri's role as a haven for endangered plants are outlined in the vegetation section of the Biodiversity Plan for the Island, writes Jim Eagles, in the first of a series of articles on what is proposed for wetlands, freshwater habitation, birds, reptiles, bats, invertebrates and weeds.

threatened species not currently found on Tir-itiri with the aim of both increasing biodiver-sity and helping to preserve some of the 170 plants in the Auckland area considered to be endangered.

The species recommended for planting include: forest trees and shrubs, such as tawa, kaka beak, rimu, tree fuchsia, puka, native hibiscus, northern rata, tanekaha, matai and lancewood; climbers and epiphytes, includ-ing three species of rata, kiekie, bush lawyer, swamp lawyer and NZ passionfruit; herba-ceous species like wood rose, native carrot, Cook’s scurvy grass, NZ watercress, sea prim-rose, native fireweed, NZ spinach and scrub nettle; sedges, rushes and grasses, including forest sedge, coastal sedge, two species of gah-nia, giant rush, NZ iris, bush rice grass, bam-boo grass and fan-flowered rush.

Invasive exoticsAs well as the overall lack of species-diversity, the plan notes several other areas of concern and recommends specific strategies for dealing with them.

The major threat to Tiritiri’s native vegeta-tion is seen as the presence of invasive exotic plants. Since the 1970s, there has been a 64% gain in exotic species (from 153 to 251). It had been predicted that, as the woody forest cover increased, the number of exotic species would decline because they prefer open sites. This has not happened; instead, more than two-thirds of the additions to the flora are exotic species, and the situation would have been much worse were it not for the intensive weed management programme. As a result the plan wants to see the weed control programme further expand-ed.

The document also suggests using plant-ing to deal with the presence of gorse in some northern parts of the Island. It had been as-sumed that gorse would provide pioneer cover for naturally-regenerated species, and that it would eventually be shaded out by these plants. However, this is only happening very slowly, so it is recommended that hardy can-opy species be planted or seeded amongst the gorse in exposed areas to assist revegetation.

PohutukawaAnother issue needing attention is that many of the planted areas are dominated by pohutu-kawa. Around 90,000 pohutukawa were plant-ed in the 1980s, with an expectation that only

A wider range of plant species will be planted on Tiritiri Matangi – some of them in a des-ignated Endangered Plants Garden near the Visitor Centre – as a result of the recently de-veloped Biodiversity Plan for the Island.

The plan, which aims to chart the course for the Island over the next 10 years, was re-cently adopted by the committee of SoTM.

By way of background it notes that, while it is assumed that Tiritiri was originally covered by forest, a long period of human modification left it almost completely denuded of vegeta-tion. By 1975 grassland covered 52% of the Is-land, bracken fern 27%, manuka and kanuka stands 10%, pohutukawa trees 6%, kohekohe forest 3%, and mapou stands 1%.

This was transformed during the 1980s by the planting programme. During the main planting period some 280,000 shrubs and trees of 30 different species were planted. Today the bulk of the Island is covered by broad-leaved forest.

The latest flora surveys have shown that open pasture areas have been reduced to 10% (mainly mown tracks and rank grassland left to regenerate naturally); planted regenerating for-est now covers 64% of the Island; the remain-ing areas of natural forest, including scattered mature pohutukawa trees, have expanded, now

comprising up to 19% of the vegetation cover. Unfortunately the planted forest is lack-

ing in species richness, reflecting the limited number of species planted. Many of the earlier planted areas are dominated by pohutukawa. Localised species which are confined to mar-ginal areas (for example coastal mahoe) do not appear to be dispersing very quickly from their restricted localities.

Similarly, very few new native species have been introduced by wind or birds, largely be-cause there are few significant seed sources in close proximity to the Island. Indeed, only six native woody species are known to have been naturally introduced since 1981: putaputawe-ta, large-leaved coprosma, kahikatea, white maire, Pseudopanax crassifolius x P. lessonii and the native nikau palm.

The plan’s major recommendation for im-proving the health of the Island’s vegetation is for a significant on-going planting campaign.

It proposes additional planting of more than 50 species already found on the Island in limited numbers. These range from trees like kauri, miro, kahikatea, rewarewa and puriri to shrubs and grasses such as coastal toetoe, cutty grass, swamp sedge, hairy buttercup and violet harebell.

It also recommends planting nearly 70

GRAZING: Takahe and several species of reptiles need grassland area in order to succeed on Tiritiri. Photos / Jim Eagles


around 30% would survive, but in the event a much higher proportion thrived and have cre-ated a closed canopy under which other species fail to establish.

This problem is being addressed through the experimental Pohutukawa Project, which started in 2010 and will run for 15-20 years. The aim of this project is to determine whether thinning of pohutukawa has the potential to increase species diversity.

Selective felling of pohutukawa has created light wells in which the progress of other spe-cies is being monitored by students and SoTM volunteers. Control areas, where no felling has been carried out, are being monitored for com-parison. The monitoring covers not just native and exotic flora, but the use of these areas by birds, reptiles and invertebrates.

If the thinning of pohutukawa proves suc-cessful in increasing species diversity it is envis-aged that the programme could be expanded.

WetlandsThe Biodiversity Plan notes that the Island’s wetlands require special attention.

The recent vegetation survey has high-lighted the loss of wetland plants associated with open areas and swampy valley bottoms. Secondary succession forest plants are shad-ing out more light-dependent species such as raupo and Ranunculus urvilleanus. A number of species recorded earlier appear to have gone completely.

Most of the wetland habitat is provided by man-made dams, built as a means of water storage and to support certain endangered spe-cies such as the pateke. Not all these dams hold water effectively, particularly over the summer months. Three of the least effective dams, those at the Wharf Pond, Fisherman’s Bay Pond and the upper Silvester Pond, were restored in March 2013 but with only partial success. It is recommended that all the Island’s dams be monitored and their condition maintained and/or improved wherever practicable, ena-bling them to be brought into a wider wetland management programme.

The largest surviving natural wetland can be found north-east of Lighthouse Valley, below the two ponds at Emergency Landing. It is supported by three smaller creeks which feed into it via these two ponds. This area has a diverse mix of trees and shrubs, including tree ferns, sedges, rushes, ground ferns, grasses

and herbaceous species. Other wetland areas, both natural and artificially created, could be planted with a similar range of species. This would improve these habitats for pateke, spot-less crake and potentially some invertebrates, by providing protection and a greater diversity of seasonal food sources.

GrasslandsThe Island’s grassland areas are important for the ongoing support of takahe and a number of reptile species.

Historically, takahe on Tiritiri have been relatively successful in grazing exotic grasses in both mown and unmown areas. But it would be advantageous to broaden the range of native grasses on the Island by introducing additional species, including bamboo grass and bush rice grass, Cyperaceae species, and ferns with edible rhizomes.

Poaceae species, it is noted, are a favoured food of takahe and need to be planted more extensively across the Island. Poa anceps (pre-sent but localised) could be widely planted throughout rank pasture grass and track mar-gins, bush rice grass and bamboo grass in the forest and on track margins, and populations of Hypolepis ambigua (currently localised) could be scattered across the Island in open shrubby areas.

The strategy notes that if natural forest re-generation were to progress unchecked, open grasslands, which are vulnerable to invasion shrubs and by bracken and muehlenbeckia, would slowly diminish. To ensure sufficient open spaces for takahe and some reptile spe-cies, a programme is in place to mow open ar-eas and manage track margins.

Areas of bracken and muehlenbeckia are used by a range of species, including fernbird, kakariki, blue penguin, kiwi and moko skink.

Like grassland, areas of bracken and mue-hlenbeckia are vulnerable to invasion by regen-erating trees and shrubs. If this were allowed to happen without control, the bird species would lose an important part of their habitat and moko skinks would decline in numbers and be pushed to the outer, steeper slopes of the Island.

It is therefore recommended that the spread of forest-edge plants into these areas be monitored and that some shrubby, woody species already growing in areas of bracken and muehlenbeckia be removed.

Increased advocacyThe Biodiversity Plan calls for an expansion of Tiritiri’s role in advocacy and education for plants. In particular, it suggests establishing a Threatened Plant Garden around the Visitor Centre where endangered species would be easily accessible for public viewing.

The development of a threatened plant gar-den offers an opportunity to establish popula-tions of rare plants that are extremely vulner-able on the mainland (and other islands), and which may otherwise become extinct in the near future.

There is, the plan points out, an opportuni-ty to publicise the plight of these plants by in-cluding interpretation material that highlights their ecological history, current status, past and present distribution patterns, and habitat threats and requirements.

You can download a pdf of the Tiritiri Matangi Biodiversity Plan at: http://www.tiritirima-tangi.org.nz/biodiversity-plan

TOO SUCCESSFUL: Pohutukawa are among the most successful trees to have been planted on the Island but this has led to a lack of biodiversity.


Flora Notes

An island of beautifulflowers as well as birdsVisitors to Tiritiri usually come to see the birdlife but, as Warren Brewer explains, this summer in particular they have gone away marvelling at the beauty of the native flowers, many of which can only be seen in a possum-free environment like the Island.

This year has seen an especially splendid flow-ering from many of our native plants.

First there were fine displays from the usual crowd-pleasers, kowhai and kohekohe, the latter providing a special treat because the flowers are rarely seen in mainland bush due to possum damage.

Flax and cabbage tree then produced one of their best showings for several seasons, and the crimson blooms of the pohutukawa are always spectacular.

The small blossoms from the winter-flow-ering five-finger and the early-spring-flower-ing karo provide valuable nectar for many of our birds and are unexpectedly lovely if you take a closer look.

Often overlooked are three members of the convolvulus family, all natives, powhi-whi, pink bindweed and shore bindweed, their colourful trumpet-shaped flowers com-pensating for their lowly stature. Powhiwhi flowers are a rare sight on the mainland and Tiritiri Matangi is the southern limit for this native plant.

They are followed in spring by the vivid white flowers of the clematis vine, puawhananga, and the greenish-white tubu-lar flowers of the scrambling tecomanthe vine.

Kumarahou, which is also called 'gum-diggers' soap', has a profusion of tiny yellow blossoms in early spring. Kumarahou means 'kumara planting time', alerting Maori that the flowers' appearance meant it was safe to plant kumara. When the plant's leaves or flowers are rubbed with a little water a good lather is

produced.Haekaro (Pittosporum umbellatum) pro-

duces delicate pink flowers arranged in um-bels (like the ribs of an umbrella). Haekaro is endemic to coastal regions of the upper third of the North Island.

The Poor Knights lily doesn't flower every year but is spectacular when it does.

Horokaka, the native iceplant, has a good presence on Tiritiri but is very rare on the coastline around Auckland (where it has been supplanted by an introduced South African iceplant).

Tecomanthe vine brightens the fence beside the Visitor Centre when its greenish-white tubular flowers appear. Endemic to the Three Kings Islands, and discovered as recent-ly as 1948, it has no common or Maori name.

Then there is prickly hibiscus, with its white flowers, a native plant which is naturally restricted to the northern-most extremity of the North Island.

Those are some of my favourites but, as the spectacular display on the cover of this is-sue shows, there are plenty more.

The plants shown on the cover are (clock-wise, from top left): rewarewa (with closed sepals), puriri, ngaio, ripe manuka seed cap-sules, lichen colony, makaka or New Zealand broom, taupata female flowers, toropapa, karo female flower, kanuka, taurepo or New Zealand gloxinia, karo male flowers, manuka showing ovary which will ripen into a seed capsule, bellbird feeding on manuka flowers.

Tecomanthe vine

Powhiwhi

Prickly hibiscus

Poor Knights lily

Haekaro Horokaka, native iceplant Kumarahou


JUICY FRUIT (clockwise from above): Ripening nikau fruit; new palms flowering; nikau flower spike with male flowers opening and a fly (circled) checking up; nikau palms beside Wattle Track. All photos / Warren Brewer

In the 1980s a grove of nikau palms (Rhopalostylis sapida) was planted in a damp gully which is crossed by the Wattle Track boardwalk. One of the larger palms in the grove flowered in December 2012 and then went on to produce its first ripe fruit in October 2013.

Nikau’s tiny pink flowers are borne on a much-branched spike which can be up to 30 cm long. The tightly bunched flowers are unisexual, with one female sitting between two males. Small insects, especially flies, are attracted to the flowers and are the main pollinators. Geckos and hihi may also play a role.

The fruit formed from female flowers ripens from green to bright red over about 12 months. Each fruit (about 10 x 7mm in size) has a hard fleshy covering surrounding a single large seed. Kereru and kaka are the principal

foragers for the ripe fruit.Nikau is New Zealand’s only native palm

and is also the southern-most member of the palm family. Nikau fronds are up to 3m long and consist of numerous narrow, pointed leaflets up to 1m long.

Maori used the fronds for thatching on dwellings. The leaflets were used for lashing, as well as making mats and food baskets. The growing tip (bud) of nikau is edible, described as being 'juicy, succulent and nutty'. This is expressed in the species name sapida which means 'savoury, pleasant-tasting'. Sadly, removal of the growing tip causes the plant to die.

In December 2013 the first new flowers were produced from three other palms in the grove.

Rhopalostylis means 'club-shaped style'. describing part of the female flower.

Nikau grove produces its first flowers and fruitSome 30 years after being planted, some of the palms in the nikau grove alongside the Wattle Track have started producing flowers and fruit, reports Warren Brewer


Photo: Ian Southey

Fauna Notes

Cheesecake and Te Mingi produce the only takahe chick this seasonThe peak of the breeding season has now passed, with mixed results.

TakaheAfter various comings and goings in the early part of the season, things eventually settled down. Ranfurly and Nohoa took over the area south of the foghorn and nested, unfor-tunately without success. After the nest failed they moved back towards the centre of the Island and during have been seen quite fre-quently from Ridge Road.

Meanwhile, Mahuika, who was displaced from her territory while they nested, has been back around the buildings.

Edge sat on her nest until hatching was well overdue and was eventually persuaded to give up. She and Mungo, with their daughter Anatori, have been seen in their usual haunts in the northern part of the Island.

That leaves Te Mingi and Cheesecake as the only productive pair this season. They wisely kept their chick out of the way of the public until it was well grown. It now (early Februaryy) looks big and healthy and has be-gun to acquire adult colouring.

HihiThe breeding season is more or less over. Pairs that attempted second and even third clutch-

es were largely unsuccessful (as is often the case). Meanwhile, fledglings can be seen all over the Island and some have already learnt to use the sugar feeders.

Donal Smith caught and banded the last known unbanded hihi in December, so it’s quite likely that all the adult population are

now wearing bands, though there’s always the chance of a few fledglings from unknown natural nests turning up.

SaddlebackAs of early February, many birds are on their second nesting attempts and some have man-aged to fledge two broods of chicks. Young saddleback (recognisable from their very small or absent wattles) can be seen following their parents around the forest floor and flut-tering their wings as they beg for food.

KokakoFrom the first round of nests, Te Rae and Chatters fledged two chicks (look out for them on the Kawerau Track) and Lucky and Bariki fledged one. Lucky soon started build-ing a second nest, leaving Bariki to feed the first fledgling. Sadly, two of the early chicks (Rehu’s and Mawhero’s) were lost to predators (probably harriers) when they were already well-grown. Rehu’s second nest also failed.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for Pureora and Crown, who have managed to fledge a chick for the first time (their previous attempts have been infertile). Several pairs are now (early February) well into their second nesting attempts.

We again carried out an egg-swap with the

ONLY CHILD: Cheesecake

with her chick.

Photo / Geoff Beals

HUNGRY: Juvenile saddleback. Photo / Geoff Beals


It's time to send in your entries for the SoTM photographic competition (and photos for our 2015 calendar).

All photos must have been taken on Tiritiri and there are five categories: • Fauna • Flora• Landscape/Seascape• People on Tiritiri• Under 16 years old.

You can enter up to four photos in each category. Please email them to [email protected] before April 30.

We will have an independent judge from the NZ Photgraphic Society and all photos must be able to be used for promotion of Tiritiri.

Hunua Ranges Regional Park, but the success of last year was not repeated. Phantom incu-bated the eggs from a Hunua nest but they failed to hatch and were found to be infertile.

RiflemanFor the fifth consecutive year, rifleman num-bers are evidently on the increase. Of 23 known pairs, at least 15 have been confirmed as producing chicks, eight of those in nest boxes. For the first time, we have had two pairs breed in Sonya’s Valley. It is likely that many other birds are present in areas that are hard to access or not regularly visited. Fledg-lings are beginning to disperse and pairs have already formed in areas where rifleman have not been previously observed.

Other birdsMany young morepork fledged in December and January and have been seen by visitors. Donal examined two of the empty nests and found evidence of predation on tree weta, robin, hihi and saddleback.

The many white-fronted terns that have nested on the Island in previous years seem to have deserted us this season – it is not unusual for tern colonies to move to new sites.

A family of reef herons has been seen at the north end, where they have nested in pre-vious years. A more surprising report is of lit-tle shag, also nesting at the north end, which could be Tiritiri’s first breeding record for this species. On January 14, a New Zealand dotterel was seen flying low over Coronary Hill.

Other speciesChris Green saw a red admiral butterfly in the large open area north of the Du Pont sign on January 5. This is an interesting record, as these butterflies have become rare in this part of New Zealand. On January 13 a yellow ad-miral was seen at the edge of Ridge Road.

On December 19, one male and two fe-male orcas were seen from the viewpoint over-looking Pohutukawa Cove. Compiled by Kay Milton; information sup-plied by Morag Fordham, Simon Fordham, Donal Smith, Chris Green and Mike Dye.

ON PARADE: A red admiral butterfly. Photo / Wikimedia

Tiritiri Matangi Photographic Competition 2014

Simon Fordham's category-winning entry from last year.


Photo: John Dowding

A recent review of the conservation status of New Zealand’s birds provides details on 473 taxa (species or sub-species) recorded in New Zealand since first human contact.

While such reviews can be rather dry reading, they are an important reminder of how many species have been lost and how we are failing to protect many of those that remain. We can also use them to judge how best to concentrate our conservation and education efforts on Tiritiri Matangi.

Of the 473 taxa listed, 56 are extinct and two possibly extinct, 77 are threatened (of which 25 are Nationally Critical), 92 are At Risk, 171 are non-resident (migrant, vagrant or a coloniser), 38 are not threatened and 37 are introduced and naturalised. Of the 56 extinct species, 37 disappeared before 1800, and 19 since that date.

There was a similar review published in 2008 and the changes in status of some taxa tell us something about recent changes in the fortunes of some of our birds. The 2008 review did not include extinctions prior to 1800.

Six new taxa have been added to the Nationally Critical category: Antipodean albatross, Gibson’s albatross, Salvin’s mollymawk, Chatham Island shag, Pitt Island shag and black-billed gull. Five taxa have been moved out of Nationally Critical: South Island brown teal is now considered data-deficient (and probably extinct), but Bounty Island shag, orange-fronted parakeet, grey-headed mollymawk and Chatham Island pigeon have all moved to less endangered categories. Five taxa have been moved to the threatened category for the first time: Antipodean albatross, flesh-footed shearwater, New Zealand storm petrel, lesser knot and kea. What does this mean for the species we have nesting on Tiritiri? The following table shows the status of Tiritiri taxa classed as Threatened or At Risk.

UNDER THREAT: Tiritiri birds listed as threatened include (from left) reef herons, Caspian terns, red-billed gulls and pied shags. Photos / Martin Sanders (heron, tern, gull), Simon Fordham (shag)

Review underlines Tiritiri's crucial roleAn updated review of the conservation status of New Zealand's birds confirms the contribution the Island is making towards the recovery of some species, writes John Stewart, but also points to other birds requiring our help.

Category Total 2008

Total 2012

Extinct 20 56 Data Deficient 1 2 Threatened Nationally Critical 24 25 Threatened Nationally Endangered 15 18 Threatened Nationally Vulnerable 38 34 At Risk Declining 18 17 At Risk Recovering 9 13 At Risk Relict 18 17 At Risk Naturally Uncommon 47 45 Non-resident native Migrant 27 24 Non-resident native Vagrant 130 138 Non-resident native Coloniser 8 9 Not Threatened 36 38 Introduced and Naturalised 36 37 Total 427 473

Taxa Status Takahe Threatened, Nationally critical Reef heron Threatened, Nationally endangered Caspian tern Threatened, Nationally vulnerable Red-billed gull Threatened, Nationally vulnerable Stitchbird Threatened, Nationally vulnerable Pied shag Threatened, Nationally vulnerable North Island rifleman At Risk, declining North Island fernbird At Risk, declining Northern blue penguin At Risk, declining White-fronted tern At Risk, declining Brown teal At Risk, recovering Little spotted kiwi At Risk, recovering North Island kokako At Risk, recovering Variable oystercatcher At Risk, recovering North Island saddleback At Risk, recovering Red-crowned parakeet At Risk, relict population Northern diving petrel At Risk, relict population Spotless crake At Risk, relict population Fluttering shearwater At Risk, relict population


Photo: John Dowding

Our most threatened species is the Nationally Critical takahe. The small breeding population on the Island is currently managed by the Department of Conservation’s takahe recovery team and is part of a larger group comprising captive and other managed populations. The total population in 2011-12 was estimated at 276 individuals. Over recent years there have been 3-4 breeding pairs on the Island which have produced 1-3 chicks per year, most of which have been moved to other sites.

Reef herons (Nationally Endangered) and Caspian terns (Nationally Vulnerable) are occasional breeders on Tiritiri, though we don’t have systematic records of their nesting attempts.

It won’t come as any surprise to Supporters to read that the hihi or stitchbird falls in the ‘Threatened, Nationally Vulnerable’ category, but it may be a surprise to find that pied shag and red-billed gull share that risk status, albeit at a less threatened level than hihi. There is a stark contrast between the strenuous efforts put into hihi conservation and the scant attention paid to pied shags and red-billed gulls. This year one of our guides, Mike Dye, has begun a new annual survey of breeding seabirds on the Island. Hopefully, this will make some contribution to understanding the status of these species. Look out for reports from the survey in a later edition of Dawn Chorus.

We have a further 13 taxa breeding on the Island which fall into the ‘At Risk’ category. Four of these, blue penguin, white-fronted tern, North Island fernbird and North Island rifleman, are classed as ‘At Risk, Declining’, all having large populations with low to moderate rates of decline. Rifleman and fernbird were translocated to Tiritiri. Fernbirds seem to be doing remarkably well on the Island, and can now be found almost everywhere. It’s still early days for our rifleman population, but they seem to be increasing slowly and are certainly dispersing right across the Island. Breeding success of blue penguin appears to vary widely from year to year, possibly depending on variable food supplies. White-fronted terns seem to be quite fickle in their presence on the Island with over 100 pairs in the summer of 2012-13, but apparently none at all this year.

We have five taxa in the ‘At Risk, Recovering’ group: saddleback, kokako, brown teal, little spotted kiwi and variable oystercatcher. The fortunes of the first four of these are regularly reported in Dawn Chorus. They seem to be breeding successfully and we are making a contribution to their recovery. Only a few pairs of variable oystercatchers breed each year on the Island. It’s unlikely that Tiritiri could support more pairs, but it is certainly worth fencing off a small patch of Hobb’s Beach

each year to protect the pair that persist in nesting close to our human summer visitors.

Our final four ‘At Risk’ taxa fall into the ‘Relict’ sub-category, indicating their populations are much smaller than in pre-human times. Red-crowned parakeet and northern diving petrel seem to be thriving on the Island, despite the impacts on the parakeets of parrot beak and feather disease and feather mites reported in earlier issues. We know much less about the population size and productivity of fluttering shearwater and spotless crake, though it is unlikely that our small populations of fluttering shearwaters and crakes are significant.

It is satisfying to note that we are making a worthwhile contribution to the conservation of some of our most endangered birds. One significant benefit of this review is in bringing to our notice the declining status of species to which we have been giving little or no attention. We should use this new awareness to add to our priorities where it is practical to do so.

The review may be downloaded from: http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/nztcs4entire.pdf

Those interested in the plight of seabirds in the Hauraki Gulf might like to read Seabirds of the Hauraki Gulf: Natural History, Research and Conservation published in 2013 by Chris Gaskin and Matt Rayner and available for download at: http://tinyurl.com/mnynj53

UNDER THREAT: Tiritiri birds listed as threatened include (from left) reef herons, Caspian terns, red-billed gulls and pied shags. Photos / Martin Sanders (heron, tern, gull), Simon Fordham (shag)

HELP: The takahe is Tiritiri's most endangered bird.Photo / Kay Milton


Hi guys, Did you know that all birds have at least 2 names? They have a common name, which we use most often. They also have a scientific name, which tells us about their place in the bird family tree and who they are related to. In New Zealand there are also many Māori names for the bird species. Fill the gaps in the name table and then find all the names below in the wordfind (1st scientific name only). If you need help check out the Tiri website. Have fun, Jo

Common name Māori name Scientific name (1st name only in wordfind) ? Korimako Anthornis melanura Brown teal Pāteke ? Fernbird Mātātā Bowdleria punctata Morepork ? Ninox novaeseelandiae North Is kōkako ? North Is robin Toutouwai Petroica longipes North Is saddleback Tīeke Philesturnus rufusater Red-‐crowned parakeet ? Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae ? Titipounamu Acanthisitta chloris Sacred kingfisher Kōtare Todiramphus sanctus South Is Takahē Porphyrio hochstetteri ? Hihi Notiomystis cincta Tūī Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae Whitehead Popokatea ? New Zealand pigeon ? Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

N O R T H I S S A D D L E B A C K M T I J R U M B

O K B E U K A K A R I K I S E K R O P E R O M O R

E A S C O N E W C I F E A O T B R O W N T E A L O

G M T A A F G I Y B R C Q U I I W N E R T Y N U N

I I I S C E R I F L E M A N E H T J K L S P U I K

P R T A G R Z F D L D S U H P M A R I D O T O S E

D O C K A N E Z V E C A L L A E A S E K U X P C R

N K H A H B A D U B R D I N I L P M A N T U I B E

A O B K V I L F K E O A A W A O X K A P H E T A R

L W I U M R A C A I W M H E M I O N T R I P I N U

A I R E L D W O B U N A R N H K W T T O S O T E P

E A D S O U K N O W E G E W S E G O I S T P T N A

Z G N U G D R T I M D S F I D G T D S E A U R U R

W L I N A D U N K Y P K H I T P T I I P K O T A E

E P Y R N O R O E R A T O K S W Q N H O A E E B D

N P A U T N I T E E R K T N A H N O T W H S M K A

X O N T M A P I T O A D D F G Y E T N K E I R O M

U P T S E P C O N Y K R C Y A N O R A M P H U S E

S O F E A K N M D B E L L O H E M I C I H U N A H

Q K D L D W E Y T I E L J W P I R A A M P E I B T

I A N I B O R S I H T R O N I D A N T H O R N I S

M T O H A P E T R O I C A R M O H O U A P T O N O

S E R P Y O M I S X L H B K E T A R A G K I X S R

M A T A T A J S B A O M I W H S O I R Y H P R O P

Hand this to your kids – or pass it on to someone else’s kids – to enjoy a range of activities about

Tiritiri Matangi Island


Day trips: 360 Discovery runs a return ferry service every Wednesday through Sunday from Downtown Auckland and the Gulf Harbour Marina. Bookings are essential. Phone 0800 360 347 or visit www.360discovery.co.nz. Call 09 916 2241 after 7am on the day to confirm the vessel is running.

School and tertiary institution visits: The Tiritiri education programme covers from level 1 (5-year-olds), to level 13 (17-18-year-olds), to tertiary students. The focus in the primary and secondary areas is on delivering the required Nature of Science and Living World objectives from the NZ Science Curriculum. At the senior biology level there are a number of NCEA Achievement Standards where support material and presentations are available. An exciting development in 2013 for senior students has been the implementation of the Draft Education for Sustainability (EFS) Achievement Standards that relate directly to Tiritiri. There is huge potential here in that these standards are cross-curricular and they may be used in various subject areas: science, economics, tourism, geography, religious education, marketing, health and physical education. The Island also provides a superb environment for creative writing and art

Supporters of Tiritiri MatangiDawn Chorus is the quarterly newsletter of the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi (SoTM). We are a volunteer incorporated society working closely with the Department of Conservation to make the most of the wonderful conservation restoration project that is Tiritiri Matangi. Every year volunteers put thousands of hours into the project and raise funds through membership, guiding and also through our Island-based gift shop.For further information, visit www.tiritirimatangi.org.nzor contact P O Box 90-814 Victoria St West, Auckland

SoTM CommitteeChairperson: John [email protected] 428 4541Secretary: Linda [email protected]: Kevin VaughanCommittee: Alison Bray, Roger Bray, Brian Chandler,Hester Cooper, Simon Fordham, Carl Hayson,Kay Milton, Ray Walter

Guiding and shop manager: Mary-Ann [email protected] 476 0010Membership: Zhea [email protected] 940 6739Educator: Barbara [email protected]: Vincent [email protected] Chorus editor: Jim [email protected] 445 2444

Island rangers: Dave Jenkins and Jason [email protected] 476 0920

workshops. For tertiary students there is an opportunity for a generalised presentation on the Island or to look at population genetics. Groups wishing to visit Tiritiri Matangi should go to www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/schoolvisits.htm or contact [email protected]. Bookings are essential.

Overnight visits: Although camping is not permitted on the Island, there is limited bunkhouse accommodation available. Bookings are essential. For information on booking overnight visits, go to: www.doc.govt.nz/tiritiribunkhouse. Bookings can also be made by phoning the Department of Conservation's Warkworth Area Office on 09 425 7812, though an additional booking fee will apply. Volunteers who are undertaking official SoTM work can obtain accommodation at no charge but this must be booked through the Guiding and Shop Manager at [email protected] or 09 476 0010.

Supporters' discount: SoTM members who wish to stay in a private capacity can get a discounted rate by booking through the Department of Conservation's Warkworth Area Office 09 425 7812.

Visiting Tiritiri Matangi

Coming Events 17 February

7.30pm Tiritiri Talk at UnitecSpeaker: Mel Galbraith on OSNZ bird survey results

since before Tiritiri became a sanctuary

8 MarchTiritiri Concert

16 MarchPhotographic Guided Walk on Tiritiri

17 March7.30pm Social at the Kohia Centre

Speaker: Matt Rayner on seabirds of the Hauraki Gulf and the NZ Storm Petrel

23 MarchOrnithological Guided Walk on Tiritiri

29 MarchTiritiri Historic Day - lighthouse open

30 MarchBotanical Guided Walk on Tiritiri

AprilOrnithological Guided Walk on Tiritiri

18-21 AprilEaster working weekend

10-11 MaySupporters' non-working weekend

12 May7.30pm Tiritiri Talk at Unitec

31 May-2 JuneQueen's Birthday working weekend

Non-working weekends are led by guides who will show off the Island's secrets. Special reduced price on the ferry and half price in

the bunkhouse. Children welcome.

Working weekends are your chance to give the Island a hand. Travel is free, as is accommodation in the bunkhouse.

Ornithological, photographic and botanic guided walks are guided by experts and cost $25.

Guided walks and Supporters’ Weekends must be booked through Mary-Ann at [email protected]

Supporters of Tiritiri MatangiPO Box 90 814Victoria Street WestAuckland 1142

New Zealand Permit No. 243683

Tiritiri tees in fantastic new designs

Kokako and Kakariki cotton tees both made in New Zealand especially for us

Only $36The two designs come in both

men's and women's styles

women's XS to XXL men's S to XXL

See the bird and buy the tee shirtCome and spend a day on Tiritiri Matangi Island, see the wonderful

birdlife and the unspoiled forest, enjoy free tea and coffee, buy treasures for yourself and gifts for family and friends, and know that

you have also supported an amazing conservation project

Our shop has something for everyone, including nature books, the delicious Tiritiri recipe book, ceramics, bags, puzzles, jewellery, soft

toys, works of art, natural beauty products and so much more

For more information see www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz ring 09 476 0010 or email [email protected]

Eftpos and credit cards accepted