March it is and marching on we do. Great month and the weather finally settled a bit. Good stretches of sunshine and no rain. Good for trapping and outings. In fact, we had 18 of them. The good weather enabled me to finish two new lines: Top Fairway and Lower Fairway! And hard work it was too cutting a path through dense undergrowth.

These lines are just below the golf course and go through some beautiful native bush full of broadleaves and fuchsia. In between lots of ferns and pittosporums. Unfortunately, there are also quite a few sycamores. But Ecan seem to be taking care of that. There were some patches of brambles too. Very hard to get through. But now all sorted. The traps will go in shortly. They might not yield many possums but certainly the rats will get wakening up!

There are rather a lot of birds in there too. Usually, bellbirds and grey warblers but also many fantails. At some point, when cutting through the undergrowth, I was surrounded by about ten fantails all going on in crazy acrobatics and very excitedly as if welcoming my intrusion or disapproving. Almost a telling off! I just love these little birds. Cheeky, trusting, noisy and nosey. What’s going on Trapman?!

Well, we are trapping as never before. And getting those critters in big numbers. Watch out we are going to get you! And here are the numbers: 23 possums, 35 rats, 3 stoats and 3 hedgehogs. The possums are a bit of a mystery. They are well up on our average catch for March and way more than the average of the last few months. It is sort of disappointing. It is almost a record number!

Most of them were caught on the edge of the forest where we have traps as a sort of virtual predator fence. So maybe these are attempted re-invasions caught just before entering the forest. The rats are a bit all over the place, but the catches are very much lower on Piccadilly Line, which is the first line we established. That is good news. The stoats are just unpredictable as they have such a large range of territory.

The birds are certainly there. Plenty of bellbirds, silvereyes and grey warblers. The fantails are prolific too and so are the kereru. Mind you not hundreds of them, but enough to be able to observe them almost every day.
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Then we had two special outings to the Totara Tree! One with Marcel, chief trapper, and Jon and Sue, also chief trappers, plus Christine, chief trapper wife, who managed to get there without too much complaint albeit with a little drama. Now that is exactly five people who have seen the Totara, a five hundred year old tree in the Rakaia Gorge! It does not get much better than that in my world!

Talking about trees we have also discovered a stand of old narrow-leaved lacebarks. At first, I was not sure what it was, but when I put a photo onto iNaturalist, it was confirmed as being a lacebark. It is endemic to New Zealand and officially named Hoheria angustifolia from the family Malvaceae. Late in summer or early autumn it is full of lovely white flowers. It is evergreen although some trees might lose part of their leaves in winter.

I always thought that it was a bush or a shrub rather than a tree, but when I came upon this specimen it had very smooth straight trunk, dividing further up, with weeping branches hanging low down. The bark was sometimes used by Maori to make traditional textiles. The Latin name derives from the Maori name: houhere.
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Hugh Wilson, biologist over on Banks Peninsula, and guardian of the Hinewai Reserve, found a lacebark with a diameter of 130 centimetres, which is very unusual as they normally are only about 30 centimetres thick. However, ‘our’ tree is at least 60 centimetres in diameter making it also older than the average. Just wait a few years and we are going to beat Hugh Wilson! 

The shop performed exceptionally well too during March. In fact, we run out of things to sell! Anybody out there keen in producing little tokens or souvenirs for sale in the shop? Jon cannot keep up with painting the stones. Christine has not enough clay to make more souvenirs and Juliana is stressed with printing more cards! Maybe we should make the shop bigger too. Who would have thought of that.

A Swiss couple were so impressed by the shop and our work that they donated a substantial amount to the cause and wrote this email: ‘During our holiday in New Zealand we experienced so many beautiful things, above all in nature, that we would like to leave something behind… we hope that thanks to you many more birds and other animals will find their way back into the Rakaia Gorge’. It makes for a fuzzy brain or heart.

The visitors’ book too is full of encouraging comments and makes very inspired reading. I usually open the book when passing and just have a look as to who has been visiting. People from New Zealand and from all over the world. And the post box is amazing. I pick up every time a few cards to be sent to Australia, America, England, all over. We even had to order more stamps. The Fantail Trust stamps of $2.90.

So, it is all good news about the Fantail Trust. But other people have been at it as well. All working to the common goal of making New Zealand predator free or as I would prefer to call it, making New Zealand a paradise for birds and all native species. The movement, if it can be called a movement, seems to be getting traction.
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There was the good news that Otago Peninsula near Dunedin has been declared possum free! What a milestone and what an achievement. It took a huge effort with many organisations involved, like the Halo Trust, City Sanctuary, Predator Free Dunedin and many others. They removed more than 26000 possums in an area of over 9000 ha. It took 15 years of sustained effort to get to this point, more than a 1000 volunteers and Scout, the possum dog. It proves that with support from industry and the public that it is possible to clear large-scale areas of possums. 

Another good news story is that near Stewart Island, on Anchor Island, the first kakapo chick hatched on Valentine’s day! Remarkable as they only breed every two to four years and then face many challenges of survival.
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According to Predator Free 2050 this season there are 187 eggs of which 74 are fertile. Not all of them will hatch but it is a good number and brings a lot of hope of having one day a sizable colony of kakapo on Stewart Island. You can watch the chick growing up on the webcam:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB00JW39528

Yet one more little uplifting story, if you are in the business of trapping, is one also from Otago, but this one among the mountains in the Rees Valley. The one I walked last year where I spotted four takahe. Well, staff from the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, while putting in a new trap line, saw a pair of Whio in the Rees River!
These birds have not been seen in the river for more than 50 years! What a return on effort and investment! It is a significant milestone and of great importance to Ngai Tahu. A Taonga is returning to a stunning river valley deep in the mountains of New Zealand. Important surely for all of us. We must keep going and as Paul Kavanagh, of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, says:  “Our conservation efforts, it just has to keep going. You can't take your foot off the gas so hopefully this pair of whio stay in the area, others naturally return and we get a breeding population of whio soon”. Here in the gorge, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Tuis!

So, a lot is happening all over New Zealand. But so much more needs to be done. If the goal of Predator Free 2050 is going to be achieved we need more efficiency, better traps, better lures and maybe better poisons too. We should not completely disregard humane poisons that kill effectively, fast and are not a burden on the environment. Because how otherwise are we going to get large, rugged areas, say Fiordland, predator free?

There are many people and organisations working on that, to develop a next generation of tools and technologies to achieve the goal. We use some of these tools like the AT220 automatic traps and the A24 traps for rats. Our network has now grown to just about 600 traps all along the walkway and further into the bush as well. We also use cameras to monitor different areas of the forest just to see what is happening and what predators are still around.
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But as clever as new technology is, it will not be enough to become predator free by 2050. It needs people. It needs you! Therefore, thank you all who have contributed in some way to the future native bird and plant sanctuary in the Rakaia Gorge. And a special thank you to the Chief Trappers! Sue and Jon, Marcel and Mel, Paul and Jo. 

February started a bit like January ended, lots of rain and bad weather. But it got better in the end. At least we had many more days out there trapping and looking after our trap lines. In fact, we had 21 days out there. And good results which ever way you look at it.

There were seven possums, 47 rats! one stoat, four weasels, eight hedgehogs and rather unusually two ferrets. It is pleasing to have a possum number below ten, and two of these possums were caught in my vegetable garden! The rat number is pleasing too for a different reason. We are making some progress in eliminating them as well. Or at least suppressing them a bit. The stoat was close to the golf course as also three of the weasels and one of the ferrets. The other ferret was down on Circle Line in D61.

I just wonder where the ferrets come from. Were they released by someone who has them as pets? Are there more around than I think? Previously we only had four ferrets and all of them in the bush. Theoretically we should not even get them as the DOC150 traps are not designed to catch ferrets and we hardly, if ever, put fresh meat into the traps. Nevertheless, it is good that we get them but how many more are out there?!

Also, we have never actively tried to catch the stoats and weasels. They are almost a by-catch. Do we just get the easy ones? Everybody says how hard they are to get. It is most likely the egg we have in the DOC traps rather than the peanut butter that lures them in! But I also noticed that the golf balls attract them. One stoat got caught in a DOC trap just with a golf ball inside!

Below is a graph showing the difference between a stoat and a weasel. They are quite different and the easiest give-away is the bushy tail of the stoat with a black tip. Weasels were introduced to control rabbits and in greater numbers than stoats because in England there are more weasels than stoats.
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Here that changed over time. Weasels naturally go for smaller prey such as mice, skinks, frogs and birds. But as these smaller prey declined the stoats were better placed to survive because they went for bigger prey and out-competed the weasels. Now we have more stoats than weasels! 

Weasels also breed super-fast. Almost impossible to eradicate as they produce offspring faster than we can catch them. Like a female weasel born in spring can already give birth in late summer! Another difficulty is that most weasels caught are males. They are just a bit less shy in entering a trap plus they also roam much further so the chances that they stumble upon a trap is much greater.

That is the frustrating thing that stoats, weasels and rats reproduce so fast that we can hardly keep up with eliminating them. They are always a step ahead of us or so it seems. My theory is that at least where we have traps, below a tree say, then that tree is kind of protected, or the birds in it are a bit safer. So, each trap creates a sort of safe haven of around a 25 metre radius. That is how far a rat might forage for food each night. Plus, here in the Rakaia Gorge we also have the problem of re-invasion. Especially the possums thrive on the surrounding farms.
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The good thing is that our efforts are paying off! There are more birds, there is more bird song and the sound of the kereru flying in and out of the bush can be heard on a daily basis. They are hard to spot sometimes and on occasion, when I am looking for them, they are perched right above my head. Just sitting there, without a sound, looking out over the gorge. Beautiful to see and to me the most obvious proof that the reduction in predators has worked as two or three years ago there were hardly any kereru around. 

Isn’t it a magnificent bird! And right in our backyard in the Rakaia Gorge! The other day, when we installed a panel not far from the bridge, we looked up and saw four of them in the same tree! How wonderful! And most people I talk to on the walkway tell me they saw one or two of these birds.

While they are not threatened, they still need our support to thrive and survive. They are important birds for our forests as they are the only bird left now who is able to swallow large seeds of miro or karaka trees which they disperse over long distances. A very important function of forest renewal!

Kereru were traditionally hunted for meat and feathers, but that activity is now prohibited. But sad to say in Northland the kereru is threatened with local extinction due to predation, competition and would you believe  it, hunting!

The biggest threat for kereru is predation by rats, stoats, cats and possums. They all eat the eggs and attack the fledglings. Stoats will even go for adult kereru! The possums also compete with the birds by eating the preferred food of kereru, leaves, flowers and fruit especially of the kowhai.

As mentioned above we had 21 outings this month. It was mainly checking traps, it was also stocking the shop. For a while we ran out of stock! No more postcards, no more pottery trinkets, no more painted stones. I had to put an apology into the shop saying that we just have no more things to display! It is one of my great pleasures when down there and then I open the post box and find a handful of cards in there. Sent to all corners of the world! Then taking them home, putting our own stamp onto them and sending them off!

Then we get lovely messages in the visitors’ book. Pages are sometimes not big enough for all the comments. But this week I received a very special one from Melanie, who had sent four post cards to America. She wrote:

‘P.S. the fantail shop brought me such an immense amount of joy while on the hike - it is whimsical and sweet and thoughtful and an invitation to slow down in nature (all incredible things the world needs more of) so thank you!!’

How could I not be happy. And thank you Melanie for writing to us! The postcards are well on their way and will delight the recipients.

Other things we did was the removal of two wilding pine trees. They had annoyed me for a while growing bigger all the time. One was just down from the stile and the other near the coalmine. Jon and Sue helped with the removal of these trees. For safety reasons we also used a rope to get down to them and then carefully cut them with our little chainsaw and very sharp handsaw.

Here is a link to the felling:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2diuykou8swmqag1wks78/20260205_114313_1_1_1.mp4?rlkey=38l98e01kwzzqtdfvm3ehs2hx&dl=0

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​Then at last we installed two panels on the walkway. One down close to the bridge and one at the stile and seat where we cross over from Terrace Downs onto the walkway. They are information panels on the work of the fantail trust, warning walkers that trapping is being undertaken all along the path. In a way they also alert to the trouble the forest is in and that something is being done about it. 
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In last ‘Trapper Monthly’ I boasted about ‘our’ Totara and about a very large lancewood. Now for this month it will be about a massive broadleaf I found some time ago. It is well hidden in the forest on the line called ‘Route 66’. That name comes about because the last trap I installed down there has the number A66!

Broadleaf, or Grisellina littoralis, Kapuka in Maori, is quite a hardy tree. It grows from the coast right up to maybe 1000 metres above sea level. It can tolerate sea breezes and strong winds and is therefore ideal for shelter. It can also be clipped into shape and will easily regrow. They are susceptible to possum predation and in my observations the seedlings often disappear from the forest floor where possums are present. So, when there are lots of seedlings coming up it means there are not that many possums about.

Anyway ‘my’ broadleaf has survived a lot of predation judging by its size. It did not grow straight like the totara. In that way it is a bit messy. No straight trunk, not useful for much at all. No ships’ masts or waka to be made of it. A bit useless really for human use. But the good thing is that branches go everywhere and when there are no possums around new shoots appear all over the old tree trunk. It must harbour a lot of life and provide shelter for birds and insects. Maori used it to treat infections of the skin. 
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I put a trap right underneath this broadleaf to protect its inhabitants from rats. It is an A24 trap. Fully automatic. A rat goes in, gets taken care of, falls out and another rat can go in. Very effective and it does not need clearing out. On this particular trap you see my mascot. He comes with me everywhere and is called ‘Swissie’. The colours might have faded a bit, but it was red and white. Like the Swiss flag. There you go. My big broadleaf. I challenge anybody to come up with a larger one! 

Ah, what is it all about? Mucking around in the forest day after day. Getting rats, and stoats and cats and possums. Who would have thought of it. Not something we do in the Swiss Alps, I can tell you. They would call me crazy! And maybe that’s what it is, a bit of madness. The song of John Lennon ‘Imagine’ comes to my mind. Imagine a New Zealand free of predators and full of native birds, and insects and lizards and creepy crawlies and forests all thriving and growing and all kind of a Gondwanaland.

Whoever came up with the idea of predator free 2050 New Zealand has had the idea of an almost impossible goal. Yet more and more people jump onto the bandwagon and a whole industry has developed leading towards this outcome. To me it is also an idea far more broad and wide, almost like my broadleaf, encompassing so much more, like caring for the environment, caring for this earth and caring for everything that lives and thrives on it. An idea of treading more gently, more considerate and more lovingly.
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Therefore, thank you all very much for your help, for your interest and no doubt for your care and love.
Robert and Christine 

​The Trapper Monthly has its first birthday! It seems much longer than twelve months but then the months and years just go by in a flash. A Fantail Flash! I would love to grow the audience or the readership somehow. So, if you have a friend or somebody interested in nature and maybe a slight inclination towards the gory business of trapping then please forward the letter and send me their email address!

The month of January has been a wet one to say the least. The constant rain thwarted many outings and delayed many projects some of which are now scheduled for February or even March. The good thing is that the birdies are now almost over their breeding season and the young ones leave their nests filling the forest with more bird song!

The whereabouts of some of the birds is sometimes hard to understand. Where are they all? I know they are there somewhere but on some days the forest is not as full of birds as I would expect and as I have seen it. Especially the fantails seem to disappear and some days I see none of them at all although they have come back again in these last few days of January.

The lack of trapping days shows in the catch rate. We had 10 outings and caught 11 possums, 14 rats, 2 stoats, 1 hedgehog and 1 weasel. The possum number is somewhat large considering the last few months. And most of them were caught on the lower part of the track towards the bridge on District Line. Along that line there is a huge re-invasion problem as behind it a gully leads up to almost Terrace Downs and there is no trapping undertaken. There are some strategically placed traps along that line, like T98, which form a kind of virtual fence, to prevent too much of re-invasion.

Due to the bad weather not much maintenance of traps has been done. I just managed to visit twenty of our AT220 traps which all needed the batteries re-charged and fresh lure bags. The batteries last about six months after which the trap just won’t work. The traps often also need cleaning as a dead rat might be stuck in there disabling the trap.

It is astonishing how well the shop has done in January despite the rain. People sometimes still walk the track in the wildest weather as I can see when they sign the visitor’s book and then buy a token from the shop. The mailbox too is used much more often than I anticipated. The post cards that Juliana produces are irresistible. She has also created a special edition stamp, an official New Zealand post stamp. A $2.90 stamp which covers postcards all over the world. 

Furthermore, we have now also ‘Adopt a Bird’ certificates for people who donate $50.00 into the trust and specify that they want to ‘adopt’ a bird. It comes with limited edition art print which is a hand finished artwork by Juliana. She describes the process like this: 

A/P = Before ‘The Edition’ begins, the ‘Artists’ Proofs’ are made. It allows the artist to try different inks and papers and to hand finish and hand colour those prints, before an Edition begins. These artists’ proofs are few and far between, thus adding to their value.

11/200 = this number shows how many copies of this artwork are ever printed ( eg. 200 prints is the absolute limit) and where in ‘The Edition’ your artwork was printed (eg 11th). Records of this are kept. The embossed stamp proves this is an original print from that artist’s studio – not a copy.

So far, we had five adoptions! The prints which Juliana produces are really special, very beautiful and collectable and very suitable to be put into a frame. If you like to see more of Juliana’s work then go to Methven, where she sells it in the information centre shop.

And now there is the Totara tree. Previously I wrote about this totara tree I found in the depth of the Rakaia Gorge unknown to everybody. Even the Botanical Society in Christchurch was not aware of it. So naturally I am quite elated having found it. A magnificent tree it is too.

Two weeks ago, I passed it again and measured it! The circumference of the tree is 3.3 metres which gives a diameter of just over one metre. From here we can estimate a possible age of the tree, and it seems that most experts agree on around 500 years! Imagine 500 years ago a small sapling emerged in the forest and kept on growing until today! It is a marvel. No Europeans had ever been to these islands before and the Maori population would have been minimal. It just shows that nature does not need us. That it evolves, grows, mutates and just is on its own. I declare the Totara tree in the Rakaia Gorge a Taonga!

For Maori the totara is a chiefly tree. A chief of the forest! So much so that when a chief of a tribe died, a great chief, a venerated chief, then the saying was that a mighty totara had fallen! I am not sure how they reconciliated that sentiment with their cutting down totara for building canoes. For the wood of the totara is suitable above all other trees to construct canoes, to build houses, tools and weapons and for carving. 

A single tree for instance could be carved into a war canoe capable of carrying a hundred warriors. That is a big tree! But that is not all. Researchers have extracted from the core of the totara a compound they named Totarol, It is effective against many bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

On the funny side, and bear with me, it is also said in Maori lore that the totara is a windy tree. There was once a contest between trees who met in a forest and argued as to which one was the tallest of them all. Totara tried first and he stretched and stretched towards heaven, straining and heaving, with all his strength, and then he popped. The other trees started laughing and for shame the totara disappeared into the thick of the forest. Maybe that is why ‘my’ totara is so well hidden in the gorge.

There are other massive trees in the gorge that probably nobody has seen before. There is a huge broadleaf hidden away and there are a few really large mature lancewoods around. I was in Akaroa this week where our friends Jack and Charlotte establish their own predator free reserves and when we did a walk around the farm Jack pointed out a huge very old looking lancewood and declared it to be the oldest of its kind in the world! No, no I said. There is a bigger one in my patch! It’s a good rivalry and one I lose on the account of Jack having more Tuis! We have no Tuis. But our neighbour, Cathie, has seen one in her garden quite recently. So maybe they are not far away and then Jack will have a problem!

Another investment in nature is being done by Landcorp. The people who import agricultural equipment, like harvesters, Claas machinery. They have supported for years now the initiative by Mike Fisk, a retired eye surgeon, of the ‘Valleys Project’. It covers an extensive area in remotest Fiordland, the Cozette, Iris, Irene and Pandora valleys with over a thousand traps.

The Valleys Project

These traps need servicing at least twice a year. And it is on one of these servicing trips that I had an accident severing my ligaments in my biceps and being rescued by helicopter. Never mind I survived but probably will not be going back to Fiordland.

It is initiatives like this one that gives hope than maybe one day the goal of predator free New Zealand 2050 will come true. The example of Claas company should be publicised much more to get other large corporations on board the predator free movement. It’s got to become fashionable! Because somehow the funds available by the government are not going to do it. The main thrust of the predator free 2050 movement, its finance, its research and implementation must come from private interests and philanthropic organizations.

For that to happen we need success stories. Stories that entice people to come on board and do their bit. Like the ISAAC Conservation and Wildlife Trust in Christchurch. They just managed to hatch 30 shore plovers who are now looking for safe wild place to live. Somebody needs to love them; somebody needs to care for them. Only around 250 of them survive! None on the mainland, only on predator free island and in captivity. 

What a world we live in! Full of wonders, full of beauty, full of life. Things we need to protect, to care for, to love. I am constantly amazed on my walks down the Rakaia Gorge of all the forms of life, of all the thriving mass of nature and its various manifestations.
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So, thank you all for caring and be part of the project of making the Rakaia Gorge a safe haven for native flora and fauna. It is a very special place. And a special thank you to Juliana Child, the artist.
Nga mihi.

Robbie and Christine 

Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends 

Last report of the year! It’s been a good year on all sides. For the birds and for the forest and for the predators. Maybe not so much for the predators but you get my gist. That is simply amazing. When I get to the gorge from on high up, I hear a veritable chorus of birdsong. An explosion of chirping, chittering, chattering, twittering. It makes me happy. And I hear it again and again from walkers how many birds they can hear and observe in the canopy. To me the best moments are when I see the kereru! Just the other day I saw three of them sitting in a cabbage tree and one after the other took off, flew high into the sky, then dived steeply and lifted themselves back on to the cabbage tree, landing somewhat clumsily. But fly then can! Just for fun I would have thought. Birds having fun in the Rakaia Gorge. And so am I.
 
I dedicate this trapper monthly to the birds. But first some statistics. We caught during the month of December 11 possums, 19 rats, 1 hedgehog and 1 weasel. The possum number is a bit on the high side but almost half the average for December. Quite some more than the last few months but it might be due that about four of the dead possies should be allocated to November. There were four very old and decomposed possums on Central Line, which had not been checked for some time. 

Now the yearly statistics are interesting as well. The possum numbers are half from last year. They are in fact steadily in decline. The main problem we have is that they are always coming back into the area. Just the other day we drove a short distance from Middle Rock Station to Terrace Downs and saw two possums wanting to cross over the road. In the end they will get to the Rakaia Gorge. Funnily enough, I took evasive action to avoid killing one of those possums! How silly is that! 
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The overall numbers look impressive too. We got 1216 possums so far, 1832 rats, 306 hedgehogs, 169 mustelids and 175 others. For reasons of charity I cannot divulge what the ‘others’ might be. The total number since the start of the project is 3698 predators removed. To this number I should add the catches recorded on the A24 traps which would add more than 500 to the tally! The reason is that not very often I come across a dead animal underneath these traps. There are rats on occasion or a mouse. Hard to know what effect these traps are having on predator numbers but I have to believe that the numbers I get from the traps are real catches that just quickly disappear, removed by other predators, birds maybe, cats or even pigs. 
 We have nearly 600 traps out there and just this last week I deployed 15 more DOC150 traps down Penny Lane. That area is going to be a lovely new native forest from what I can judge by the growth of natives coming up all over the place in between the gorse and broom, which are getting old and are opening up for the light to get in and stimulate the pittosporums, the broadleaf, the cabbage trees and even the kowhai. Care needs to be taken because sycamore trees are sprouting up as well even though Ecan has undertaken a lot of weeding of these and the pine trees. We must be vigilant as our gains could very quickly be lost again. 

I give you a little impression as to how it is to ‘deploy’ 15 DOC traps down Penny Lane. And sorry about the convoluted description. I cut this track last year and it goes in a semi-circle around a peninsula jutting out into the river. On one side is the walkway, so there is one entrance and one exit. Barry from next door helped me to get the traps down to the walkway with his four wheel drive buggy. We deposited eight traps on one end and seven at the other. And there I left it all.

But that is no good. So, one day I get to the top end and deploy five traps. D170 to D174. It means carrying two traps at a time and then instal them, getting a little platform so they are even and stable. Rats do not like wobbly traps! And then I left it at that. Bad weather. 

The drama starts when I took up deployment again a few days later. It’s got to be done! Nice morning it was even if a bit windy. Now there were three traps left at the depot at the top end of the lane and of course they had to go past all the traps I already had in place. I can only carry two of these traps. They are heavy and clumsy. 

I take two of them and get to the first one I placed a few days earlier, D170. Drop them there and walk back up to get the third one. Then from there I take two again and get to second trap already in position, D171, drop them and make my way up again to get the other one. And so on until I had all three traps at D174. Which to my astonishment had already a rat in it! A brand new trap and a rat in it! Maybe there are a lot of rats around here!

From this spot I have to measure the distance to next deployment which is forty metres. I have a blue tape twenty metres long. I stick one end, which has a kind of needle attachment, into the ground and go my way. After the twenty metres are out I have to pull the tape towards me to continue. And you think that you could just pull it, but no, it always snags somewhere which means I have to go back and disentangle the thing. Then stick the end again into the ground and walk another twenty metres. And that is the spot where the next trap will go!

For that to happen I need to walk back again to my depot of traps, get two of them and get to this location, make a flat area with my hammer, put the trap on to it, put an egg into it and peanut butter, close the thing, label it and put it on my GPS on trap.nz. 

From here I measure another twenty metres,  and then come back, pick up the tape, and then measure another twenty metres. Go back pick up the other traps and install one, then measure again and back to pick up the last trap. It is amazing how in this forest the tape can snag anywhere and everywhere. A little branch or a log. And then it goes all into knots and it takes ages to undo. Me in the forest undoing knots and entanglements of the tape or rope which I use. Hard work!

Finally, I walk towards the end of Penny Lane, where there are seven more traps to do. Arrrgh! In between I use chain saw to cut the track again because in high winds it all got blown over with trees and branches. Then I put in more blue marker ribbons so that other people can find their way through this maze of bush. 
 
I manage three more traps to put further down the lane but not to activate them. Just too much. Then I realise that I got the numbering wrong somewhere! The last trap I installed should have been D177 but it was D178. One too many! Which means I have to go back and sort it all out. What a nuisance. On top of it I lost the little wrench to open the traps with. I am exhausted. Still have to walk home. Made it in five hours! A day in the life of a trapper!

The other pleasing thing is that the shop down by the coalmine has done exceptionally well in December. We sold Christmas cards and other festive things and we can hardly keep up stocking the shelves! The post box is used quite a lot too. It always puts a smile on my face when I open the box and see three or four letters or postcards in there to be posted. With the help of Juliana Child, our friend next door, we have ordered special stamps from the post office with a fantail on it and the words: ’The Fantail Trust’. It looks beautiful. If you like to receive a post card with the stamp on it, please give us your address, donate ten dollars to the fantails and we send you one. The Fantails account number: BNZ, 02 0868 011730 25. Reference: Post Stamp. Thank you. Make my day!

​We will retrieve the visitor’s book for 2025 and put the new one into the box. I must say the 2025 book is amazing with all the entries and comments. Sue Whitty, another friend, has indicated that she might transcribe the book and give us another statistic as to how many persons signed, where they came from and what they might have written.

To the birdies now: 

The Fantail or Piwakawaka: 
















Song of a fantail:

www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/south-island-fantail.mp3

The fantail has done reasonably well in New Zealand despite a greatly altered environment. It has adapted to feeding in exotic forests, gardens and orchards. Part of the reason is that fantails have a very broad range of insects to live on, but they also produce lots of eggs and so it is likely that a few will always survive. Having said that they are still vulnerable to predation by rats, cats and stoats. 
They are able to move quickly in all directions with their wide tail to catch insects either by flying directly into a swarm of insects, or by disturbing them in bushes or catching them by following walkers or other larger birds like silvereyes.  
They surely are one of the most beloved birds in New Zealand.


The Bellbird or Korimako

Song of a bellbird

https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/bellbird-06.mp3

Bellbirds are usually recognised by their song which Captain Cook likened to the sound of ‘small bells exquisitely tuned’. The song can vary a lot from one place to another. Bellbirds were very common when Europeans arrived but then declined sharply and were even thought of being in danger of disappearing completely. 

They have recovered somewhat but are still missing north of Hamilton, are rare in Wellington, Wairarapa, and inland of Canterbury and Otago. Not so in the Rakaia Gorge where there seems to be a healthy population of bellbirds. 

They like to feed on the kowhai flowers in spring which flower along the walkway from early June to the end of October providing delicious nectar during the breeding season. Then they also like the fuchsia flowers, again for their sweet nectar. 


The Grey Warbler or Riroriro












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Song of a Grey Warbler

https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/grey-warbler-song.mp3

Grey Warblers are tiny birds and are found throughout New Zealand. They are not threatened but still, trapping helps them to survive in larger numbers. They fly in and out of trees and bushes and are hardly ever seen but their song gives them away, a song which is amazing considering the size of these birds, about the third of a mouse, making them one of New Zealand’s lightest birds!
 
The nest of the Grey Warbler is prey to the shining cuckoo which removes an egg from the clutch of up to five Grey Warbler eggs and replaces it with its own. It is not rejected but when the cuckoo chick hatches it throws all the other eggs or nestlings out of the nest! Strange what nature does! 

It is only the male that sings the long melodious song during the breeding season. That is why they seem to disappear from the forest at other times. 


The New Zealand Pigeon or Kereru

Sound of Kereru

https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/nz-pigeon-song.mp3

The Kereru is not threatened but still the numbers are in decline where there is no predation control or where they are still illegally hunted as in Northland. The threat also comes from rats, cats, stoats and possums which eat their eggs or fledglings. Possums also compete for seeds, flowers and leaves. Kereru are an important species for the native forests as they can swallow large nuts and disperse them to other sites. 
They lay a single egg usually between September and April and when fruit is abundant, they might lay twice in a season. It takes almost two months from egg to young fledgling. Both, male and female, sharing in the brooding and feeding of the chicks. 

While their preferred food is ripe fruit from native trees, they also eat the leaves of kowhai, the flowers and buds and they love tree lucerne! In Akaroa I have seen flocks of kereru feeding in stands of tree lucerne. 

The kereru in the Rakaia Gorge are to me a very special sight and very dear as they are a good indication that the trapping has an effect on their numbers. I hardly ever saw one at the beginning of the project but now almost every day I can observe them in trees, just sitting there looking out over the forest. 


The Silvereye or Tauhou














The song of a Silvereye

https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/birds/bird-song/silvereye-song-22sy.mp3

Silvereye are considered to be a native species but have only been recorded since 1832. The Maori name means new arrival. They are not threatened and are often seen in large flocks among the matagouri or gorse making quite a lot of noise with their chirping! Real busy bodies among the branches!

During the breeding season, August, September and February, they raise two to three clutches each one of about three eggs. A population therefore can increase rapidly especially if there is no predation by rats or stoats. 

They are an omnivorous bird eating insects, worms, caterpillars and flies but they also like fruit, native fruit and exotic, often to the dismay of orchardists for whom they might be considered a pest devastating plantations of cherries, apples, peaches and all other fruits as well. 

In the winter they are readily attracted to bird feeders liking fat and lard and especially sugar water. We have such a bird feeder at the back of our house and some days there are up to twenty silvereyes fighting for a spot on the feeder. Occasionally bellbirds visit as well. 


These are some of the birds down in the Rakaia Gorge. Other species which I see sometimes are the New Zealand falcon, robins, tomtits, chaffinches, blackbirds, redpolls, yellowhammers and song thrushes. Not all of them natives but all are adding up to the bird chorus filling our little sanctuary with their song. My hope is that we will get over time other species as well like Tuis maybe, parakeets and the ultimate goal: kiwis!

As a Maori proverb says:

Tamina nga manu, ka ora te ngahere. Ka ora te ngahere, ka ora nga manu. Or in English:
Look after the birds and the forest flourishes. If the forest flourishes, the birds flourish.
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To that I would like to say that if we look after the forest  and the birds then we save a little bit of our planet earth, a flourishing Earth, for future generations to enjoy. Enough incentive to keep on going. Thank you all for being such a big part of it. 

Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends

Back in the saddle again after a long sojourn to Switzerland. No possums over there! And soon no possums in the Rakaia Gorge too! Again, a very low number was caught. Only four for the whole month of November! It is almost a miracle that in the last three months we only got 11 possums whereas in the years before it was always over 50 and one year even a 100! And just last August it was still 21.

The rats are a different story. They just keep coming and for November we had 20 of them plus there were two weasels and one hedgehog. They are few and far between as well. A good thing really. This was all done in nine outings. Only nine?! Well, coming back from Switzerland I did not feel all that good and had to stay indoors!

Basically, I did only Piccadilly Line a few times, once I did the Grand Tour, which is Northern Line, Circle Line and Piccadilly line in one day. Then I went down Waterloo Line and inspected Penny Lane, which had suffered quite a lot from that big storm back in October. Lots of trees came down and obstructed the track. Lucky, I had my little chainsaw with me and opened it all up again, but it is still not finished. The battery did not last that long.

But it is very pleasing to see so much regrowth of all sorts of plants among the broom and gorse. There are lots of broadleaves, cabbage trees, pittosporums and now and then a kowhai. The ferns are back too and one area is all covered in a large leaved ivy. Delightful to see but of course not a native. Unfortunately, there are also sycamore trees sprouting up. They really need to be controlled otherwise the whole area will just become a sycamore forest.

If you are going through there and see a sycamore seedling just pull it out. It is also pleasing to hear a lot of grey warblers in that part of the bush and usually fantails are around. I believe that fauna and flora are doing quite well in the gorge. More needs to be done and to keep it all going as re-invasion lurks just around the corner.  







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All is going well then on the trapping front. A few traps are missing or are damaged. We will replace them or repair them. There are also some new traps going in especially on Penny Lane which has no rat specific traps at all. I allocated about twelve to fifteen DOC150 traps all along the path, say every 40 m a trap.

Another pleasing thing is the Fantail Shop. It really has surpassed all my expectations and while I am sure sometimes things go missing, most of the time the items taken are paid online and often there is an extra donation included. The post box is also a great success like in November we had twelve letters or cards to send off into all directions of the world! It seems it is more popular with tourists than New Zealanders.

And then there is the visitor’s book. Amazing how many entries per day we get. Sometimes the page is not large enough! And the comments are delightful to read. It will be a big project to transcribe it all and maybe produce a statistic of how many visits and from where. Alas, I feel that the Fantail Shop one day will go viral and then we might think we should never have done it! Luckily the long way in is a bit of a deterrent. 

​The shop is now well-stocked with even some Christmas things. My sister back home made us some angels and Christmas cards of which already a few have sold. Then there are the lovely post cards Juliana Child makes. They are a best-seller and then we have the talismans, small tokens with a fantail imprint, made of clay by Christine, also selling like hot buns. Jewellery items are there and painted stones.

This month I also had an interview with the environmental reporter from The Press, the daily newspaper in Christchurch. It was all about the trapping but also he was very interested in the shop. You might see the article soon with a picture of the Fantail Shop! Let me know if you come across it.
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To broaden the interest and appeal of this newsletter, as you might have noticed, I try to include some information of a different kind and slightly different content but  naturally always about trapping and conservation. And today it is the remarkable story of the survival of the Black Robin on the Chatham Islands.

The Black Robin was on the brink of extinction back in the 1980’s when only five birds lived in a small area on Mangere Island. One of them was a female of breeding age and she was called Old Blue. The only hope of the species to survive.

The Department of Conservation under the leadership of Don Merton and his team devised a plan and a management strategy to save the birds. Their efforts and success are now part of the history of conservation and provide a model for other endangered species around the world.

The eggs of little Old Blue were fostered by Chatham Island tomtits which are related to the black robin. They raised the chicks to adulthood. A process over many years until the robins could sustain their own population. It needed tireless nest monitoring around the clock and banding to get the black robins back from extinction.












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A big problem was in-breeding as each of the surviving birds descended from Old Blue. The lack of genetic diversity leads to an increase in diseases and reduced fertility. To overcome this handicap the birds were moved between two groups living on two different islands, Rangatira Island and Mangere Island. Most birds live on Rangatira Island while the ones on Mangere Island are struggling. There is just not enough suitable habitat for them and while there are now over 450 birds alive, they might have reached a limit due to this lack of habitat.

The battle to save these birds is of course not over. They depend first and foremost on a  predator free environment, as an influx of rats or stoats could wipe them out in day or two. It is a powerful reminder of what trapping can do. Not just on the Chatham Islands but across New Zealand. It means that every trap line, every trap out there is important to keep our native bird populations alive and thriving.

Another project that caught my attention is what our friends are doing on Banks Peninsula, Jack and Charlotte. They have made their farm possum free. Thousands of the critters must have lived in the bush on their farm. Their efforts, together with the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust, has led to a recovery of native species not only of birds but also of plants such as tree fuchsia, which is a favourite for possums. 

















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​The fuchsia is also a favourite of native birds, like the nectar feeders bellbird and tui. While tui thrived on Banks Peninsula long ago, they disappeared in the 90’s completely. 70 tuis were re-introduced in 2009 and 2010 and are now thriving all over Akaroa and they are a frequent visitor on Jack’s and Charlotte’s backyard delighting them and all visitors with their magic song. What a bleeding heart story of conservation.

We have no tuis in the Rakaia Gorge. I have never seen one or heard one. But our neighbour says that she saw one in her garden. I am not sure whether there are some at Washpen Falls, but if so they might migrate to the Rakaia Gorge. There is a large colony in a little remnant of forest near Geraldine and tuis are known to fly long distances to find their favourite trees, the kowhais. Of which we have plenty. Maybe we could introduce some tuis?!

As Jack says we can do little bits, and we are doing little bits, and we get a benefit, everybody really gets a benefit, the flora and fauna get  a benefit. The planet earth gets a benefit and again as Jack says: ‘I’m quite positive amidst all the gloom in the world around us’.  So am I in the specific context of the Rakaia Gorge and of the wider one of the planet.

So, thank you yet again for your help and effort to make this positive change. Maybe all trappers are of a positive nature, surely of an optimistic disposition!

Have a fantailistic day! Thanks for reading. And lest we forget: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends, greeting from Switzerland!

It is sensational. In September we only caught two possums! Last year it was 29! It seems we are on top of the pest. Some will still be lurking around down there but not many. Cameras will be showing what and where. And then we can target those with more traps! It is very exciting and promising. The birds will love it.

Thank you all for doing the work and going out and looking after traps. The weather seems to have been quite bad in September too. But despite that the shop has been doing a roaring trade with lots of souvenirs taken and lots of postcards being posted.

Rats are of course still around too, and we caught twelve of them plus one stoat. That is a good result too. There are some hotspots for rats like around D15 on Piccadilly and D37 on Waterloo. That is very pleasing too.

There are mice as well. There is a phenomenon called mesopredator release which means that when one species like rats is eliminated another one like mice takes over and the population just explodes and causes real damage to ecosystems, like  stripping of seeds, predation of insects and skinks or geckos and ground nesting birds.

This month was also the New Zealand Bird of the Year competition which was won by the falcon or Karearea. There were 73 birds contesting the competition and the New Zealand Falcon won with 21% of the votes out of 75000 participants.

The falcons hunt at great speeds reaching up to 200 km an hour when diving for their prey. There are only about 5000 to 8000 of them left putting them at risk of extinction. Incidentally Sue and Jon on one of their trapping rounda saw a pair of them in the Rakaia Gorge. Hopefully they will be nesting somewhere in the cliffs above the river.  They are magnificent birds as the two pictures below show. 

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​

There are 38 species of falcons worldwide and the New Zealand falcon is the only one endemic to this country. It is found both in the North and South Islands even down to Auckland Island. There are three forms of which the bush falcon lives in the forest mainly in the North Island, an Eastern variety in the central South Island and a Southern one in Fiordland and Auckland Island.

They usually lay three to four eggs which take up to 33 days to hatch. The falcons do not build nests but lay their eggs in scrapes on the ground or under rock outcrops and sometimes in an emerging forest on an epiphyte.

That makes them very vulnerable to predators. Especially cats are a problem as even the falcon finds it difficult to defend the chicks against such a large predator. But rats, stoats and even hedgehogs are known to have attacked their nests. Another problem seems to be windfarms, shooting by people despite their protected status and electrocution on power poles.
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There are positive things too in this battle for a better world. There are areas where real success has been achieved in eliminated predators like the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington, Zealandia of course and other sanctuaries. That is great motivation to continue the fantail project and turn the Rakaia Gorge into one of those sanctuaries. So, thank you again for your support and trapping efforts. 

Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends
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August is usually the best months for possums. It did not disappoint. While not as many as in past years it was nevertheless 21 possums compared to 31 last year. It was also 20 rats and one weasel. The rats were due maybe because we re-furbished all D traps along Piccadilly Line. There was a spite of catches after that. Now it has all gone quiet along that line. It seems to be very low in predators although one camera still picked up a possum. The hunt is on. By the way we also had 20 outings between Marcel, Jon&Sue, Paul&Jo and myself. Which is a fair good number. So thank you all very much.
The title trapper of the month has to go to Marcel for his discovery of a weta. Yes he has seen a weta and taken a picture!





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This one is apparently of the genus Pleioplectron, a cave weta. There are ten species endemic to New Zealand and all but one live in the South Island and are fairly common. Not in the Rakaia Gorge I think because I have never noticed one and the Weta Condo down by the coalmine still has no resident weta in it.

They live in darker places of the forest, in caves and under rotting vegetation. All are flightless with long antennae and legs and are nocturnal. (maybe that is why I have never seen one) Marcel must have disturbed this one in its sleep so it is a very lucking sighting. It is very exciting to know that there are wetas in the forest and that not all of them have been eaten by the possums and rats. I think we call it Pleioplectron Marcelinus!

The other discovery made down in the bush was discovered on camera. I could hardly believe it, but you can judge for yourself.

As you can see right by the fantail shop which incidentally has been doing a roaring trade and we sold a record number of tokens and souvenirs. Unfortunately, some people from overseas find it hard to pay online and I have now added a Wise account number to make it easier. A number of postcards have also been put into the mail box which always puts a smile on my dial. The oddest and remotest post box in New Zealand for sure!
But it also impressed one of the walkers and he sent us this email:
Just a quick email to say how impressed I was to see the amazing work that you guys are doing in the Rakaia Gorge, with both the trapping work, explanatory artwork, and of course the brilliant Fantail Shop!  This was my first time ever walking in this area, and it was brilliant to see the level of trapping occurring hereand, more importantly, hearing the birdlife. It was a very different experience to the normally silent bush that unfortunately we have all become used to. And the idea behind the Fantail shop is amazing - its so nice to see that you have placed such a level of trust in people that they will take merchandise from the shelves and pay you later.  Its reminiscent of a time when everyone trusted each other, and so I truly hope that most people who partake in this do indeed support your work.
 
I have deposited the $15 for the lovely fly broach into your account, which in itself was a very cheap price to pay for something so anatomically correct - I could even see the halteres behind the main set of wings!!  I was also happy to donate some more money to help you guys out on this brilliant initiative - it was a highlight of my weekend in the area.
 
All the best for your future work.
 
Is that not a nice email and such an incentive to continue the work. Not that I have any thoughts of stopping the project. It is always such a pleasure to walk in the forest, see the plant growth and hear the birds. Plenty of bellbirds, grey warblers, silvereyes and fantails and again, as I said before, quite a number of kereru. 

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​Most of these birds feed now in the kowhai trees. The whole forest is yellow with the blooms many of which fall onto the path giving away the locations of the trees. It is such a distinctive and beautiful flower used as an emblem on New Zealand coins, stamps and banknotes and has even featured on Megan Markle’s wedding veil! So if you want to see a profusion of kowhai flowers you should go for a walk down in the Rakaia Gorge these next two weeks.
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They seem to flower over a long period of time. The first ones I usually see in early June, the 5th June this year, and they will continue to flower until the end of October providing nectar for almost half a year! For the Maori the first flowers were a sign of spring and that it was time to plant kumara. But obviously this would not work with our kowhai. 

​Maori also used the kowhai flowers to produce a yellow dye. The tree itself was a source for remedies of a lot of ailments having strong antiseptic properties. They made an infusion of tree bark and used it to treat skin diseases, cuts and bruises and even broken bones were bathed in ‘wai kowhai’.
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Two little stories will illuminate the lore and fascination with the kowhai: ‘A young Maori semi-god, a Tohunga, was sitting under a bare kowhai tree with a beautiful young maiden and he asked her to marry him. But she resisted saying that she would only marry a man who could perform a miracle. The Maori Tohunga summoned all his magical power projecting it onto the kowhai tree which burst out into a splendid spectacle of yellow flowers. He reached up, took some flowers and made them into a golden crown and put it on the head of the girl. Of course she said yes!

There was a pub in Bluff and the owner made beer usually with cabbage tree roots. One day a group of sailors broke into his premises and helped themselves to the beer, smashed his shop to pieces and stole all the grog as well. When the ship returned the old man was all in for revenge and he added kowhai leaves and flowers to his normal brew and left it ready for the sailors. Naturally they came again and drank themselves silly. But they did not make it back to the ship being very sick and vomiting for twelve hours!1

A last paragraph about the Kaki or Black Stilt:

‘The kakī (black stilt) is one of the world’s rarest birds — and it’s uniquely ours.

Once widespread across Aotearoa’s wetlands, rivers, and estuaries, this striking, jet-black wader has been pushed to the brink, now clinging to survival in just a few isolated braided riverbeds of the South Island. With fewer than 150 adults remaining in the wild, every single bird matters.

Its story is one of beauty, resilience — and heartbreak. Despite decades of tireless work by conservationists through captive breeding and release programmes, the kakī continues to face a deadly and persistent threat: introduced predators. Stoats, feral cats, hedgehogs, and rats don’t just pose a nuisance — they decimate nests, devour eggs, and kill fledglings before they ever have a chance to fly. Even adult kakī aren’t safe.

This iconic species, a taonga of Aotearoa, is battling extinction not because it failed to adapt — but because it’s up against enemies it never evolved to face. And without serious intervention, we risk losing it forever’.2
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It is not only that every single kaki bird matters it is that all birds matter. So, thank you all for reading and trapping and caring. We are getting there and it has occurred to me that we might soon have to change from being trappers to being bird watchers! Twitchers!


















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1 The meaning of trees, Robert Vennell, 2019
2 Connovation, 08.2025

​Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends
​
Breaking News: At the Selwyn Awards Ceremony yesterday on the 2nd August the Fantail Trust became a finalist out of 14 nominations. It was a great honour to be up on stage and to receive the certificate on behalf of all of you. Thank you for your support. 

The Award!

​​July was a cracker of a month. We had a long spell of good weather and I could work on the newest trap line called Penny Lane. It is an off-shoot of Waterloo Line and if you look at the map there is about halfway down the walkway a kind of peninsula jutting out into the river. The name Penny Lane comes from the first three letters and the last two letters of peninsula!  All a bit of fun. You might think it is kind of Swiss fun. Never mind.

This peninsula is all overgrown with gorse. I think it was at one stage grassed over and used as a paddock by the farm just behind. Then it was let go and the gorse and broom took over. But now, to my big surprise, when I cut a path through this jungle there is vigorous growth of native bush and trees throughout the area. Cabbage trees, pittosporums, lancewoods and even kowhai. They are all pushing through the gorse canopy. In a few years it will all be native forest again! It is also full of native birds especially grey warblers. Quite exciting to see it all.

Now being a cracker of a month, we had 24 outings in July! That is a lot of checking traps and a lot of hours spent in the forest. The results were not so spectacular in one way but of course very spectacular in another! Less predators caught but more birds seen and heard. So, we had 20 possums, which is a bit more than average for July but far less from last year when we had 37 possums in July! Then we had 17 rats, a few more than last month but a lot less than the 49 we got in May. On top of it we had two stoats and one weasel. It brings the total of predator catches to well over 3500!

It is getting more common now that I come home with nothing caught at all. Which is of course what we want. The big highlight is that almost every day I see kereru, one, sometimes two or even more. A pair is hanging around the coalmine and the shop area. And the bellbirds are still feeding in the kowhai trees which are full of flowers and the fantails frolic about and the waxeyes are tweeting in the bushes and the grey warblers warble their lovely song throughout the forest.  
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As I outlined in last newsletter, we have three cameras operating in the forest to see what is happening and what might still need to be trapped. With footage and knowing what is around we can better target the predators. Like now I use sometimes dried rabbit meat and down by the coalmine we installed a ramp leading up the tree straight into an AT220 trap! See below. 

Our installation near the coalmine. On the tree you see an AT220 with the ramp underneath. This is an automatic trap. What goes in falls out and the trap sets itself again.  In the middle is a DOC150 trap with an egg in it, plus peanut butter and in the lower right corner you see the camera recording all the action!

Talking about birds have a look at this one: It is a Pukunui!

It is the world’s rarest wading bird and only breeds down on Stewart Island. As of 2025 there are 105 birds left, up from 101 last year. At one stage they were even down to 62. Lots of traps and the efforts of may people helped to stabilise the population. DOC has a dedicated team of rangers looking after these birds.

The danger is ever present in the form of rats, stoats and sadly feral cats. The New Zealand Nature Fund has partnered with DOC and raised more than $400,000 for the campaign to safe this bird from extinction. A lot of money really, more than $4000.00 per bird!

It is great to know that a lot of people care about a little bird and are willing to contribute financially to the efforts of saving it from forever gone. I really believe that collectively we have a responsibility and a duty to prevent the disappearance of these birds.

On the other hand, I have seen in the news that Peter Jackson wants to bring the Moa back to life through genetic engineering. The proposal is to extract DNA from Moa bones containing well preserved DNA which can be extracted and manipulated and then grafted on to DNA of Emu to give birth to the Moa.

The company behind it, ‘Colossal Biosciences’ gives it a good chance of success and Peter Jackson has invested twenty three million dollars into the project. I have already contacted Peter and asked that the Fantail Trust will get the first two birds to be released in the Rakaia Gorge! By the time the birds are born the Rakaia Gorge will be predator free and the Moa will be safe! Really what a waste of money!
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Some other exciting news this week is that I have rediscovered deep in the bush a Horopito or peppertree. Maori used it to alleviate toothache and skin infections, and it is no wonder as the plant has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. The early settlers used it as a pain killer and a cure for stomach aches. Chefs use it nowadays to give dishes a distinctive New Zealand twist and flavour. There  are also many companies selling horopito sauces, oils and even teas.

But to top it all I have found another plant down on the new Penny Lane. When I was cutting my way through the bush I came across some golden jelly type thing on a tree branch. At first I thought it might be a worm or snail or something like that. It was very unusual and prompted me to take a picture and put it on iNaturalist. A great website for anything flora or fauna wise. Just put a picture of it onto iNaturalist and somebody will in a short while tell you what it is.
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So, it turns out that my yellow jelly thing is a fungus ‘Tremella mesenterica’! In common language it is called ‘Witches Butter’! It has its uses as it is not poisonous. The Chinese put it into soups such as an immunomodulating cooling soup with lotus seeds or lily bulbs as the rubbery and gelatinous consistency of the mushroom gives texture to these soups.[1]

But far more interesting than this culinary usage is the origin of the name ‘Witches’ Butter’. I was really intrigued and found out an unlikely story. It is in a book from 1814 titled and written by Mr. George Sinclair, the ‘Late Professor of Philosophy in the College of Glasgow’:

‘Satan’s Invisible World Discovered; or a choice collection of modern relations, proving evidently, against the atheist of this present age that there are devils, spirits, witches, and apparitions, from authentic Records, and Attestations of Witnesses of undoubted veracity’. This is what he wrote:
“They confessed also, that the devil gives them a beast, about the shape and bigness of a cat, which they call a carrier ; and he gives them a bird, too, as big as a raven, but white : And these creatures they can send any where and wherever they come, they take away all sorts of victuals they can get, as butter, cheese, milk, bacon, and all sorts of seeds, whatever they can find, and carry it to the witches. What the bird brings, they may keep for themselves : but what the carrier brings, they must reserve for the devil, and that is brought to Blockula, where he gives them of it as much as he thinks fit. —They added, that the carriers filled themselves so full oftentimes, that they are forced to spew by the way, which spewing is found in several gardens, where colworts grow, and not far from the houses of the witches. It is of a yellow colour like gold, and is called the butter of the witches”. [1]
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The records and attestations he refers to come from a trial of witches of the 17th century in Sweden. Astonishing really that even in the 19th century this believe in witches was still alive and believed. Anyway, to satisfy your curiosity below is the picture I took of the Witches Butter.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremella_mesenterica

[1]  https://wellcomecollection.org

Witches Butter below:

Now on a lighter side this month also, on the 22nd July was the Day of the Ratcatcher. Not kidding. You must have heard of the story of the Pied Piper. It dates from the Middle Ages. The town of Hemelin in Germany had a problem with rats. The mayor put out a prize of 1000 guilders for anybody to claim, if they could get rid of the rats. That was in 1284.

The piper accepted and used his magical flute to lure all the rats into the nearby river where they all drowned. But the mayor reneged on his promise and now the piper played the pipe and lured all the children away from the town.  Be that as it may, but I wish I had a flute like that.  
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TrapNZ, the app where we record all our catches, asked for stories on catching rats from all organisations such as the Fantail Trust to celebrate the Day of the Ratcatcher and offered as a prize one of their hats with the TrapNZ logo on it. Naturally I entered a story and submitted all the names of our volunteers. My story came first and your names went into a draw and Jon Whitty won the prize! Congratulations Jon!  (TrapNZ did not renege on the promise) Below some pictures.
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Thank you all again for caring and helping to get those Moa back!
Robbie and Christine

 Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends

June was a bit more quiet. In the number of outings and in the catches. We had 16 outings which is not bad considering the weather. There are just not the conditions to get me out there. It is cold and wet and miserable. But despite that we caught 12 possums, 10 rats, 2 stoats, 1 hedgehog and 3 mice. And the shop has kept me busy too!

The possum number is almost about average for June, but the rats are way down from May when we had 49! Two stoats are great, and the low hedgehog number is normal as they are now hibernating and the mice are coincidental.

The trap, T111, which I put near the spot where I had the camera, and which picked up three possums, has now had the third possum. That might be the last. Who knows. I will use the camera again to make sure. No more rats caught in that spot either.

On the other hand, the other camera near the coalmine, which also showed a possum, a rat and a cat, and where nearby I deployed an AT220 and a DOC150, has not been so successful. No possum caught so far.

There is also the mystery of the possums seen on camera at the beginning of Piccadilly Line near A2, one of my first traps ever. I put a Timms trap right there in the path of the possum but so far it has eluded capture. It is a slow process. Slowly catch the monkey.

It is also nice to report that the Fantail Shop is doing a roaring trade. Never expected that many sales but I have been re-stocking the shop four times this month and considering the many wet days we had it is just astonishing how much stuff gets taken. And as far as we can tell all of it has been paid for! Anything with a fantail on it just flies off the shelves. So, if you have any ideas of what we could sell down there please let us know. Maybe you could even produce something yourselves. Some handicrafts? Items should be priced at around five dollars. Also, the visitors book is used almost every day. Sometimes the page is not large enough for all the comments and wishes. The post box has been used as well to our great joy. It is all beyond expectations and we just hope it will continue without any problem. It makes me ask: why did I not think of it before?

I am thinking now of installing a bench in that area for people to sit down and take it all in: the bubbling brook, the shady glade and the birds all about. Usually, kererus can be seen nearby and sometimes fantails flit about and bellbirds can be heard. It is just a magic little spot in the middle of the bush. Go and have a look yourselves!

Then on top of it the local paper in Methven has published this little cute article on the shop:














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I just hope this fun activity is not putting too much strain onto the shop. We are running out of things to sell! It is of course good in that it takes people out into the forest and onto some activity which they might not do otherwise. It gives a purpose to the walk and maybe it makes people aware of the sad state of much of our environment. It also should give them some pleasure being in a lovely forest full of native birds and thereby make them aware of the importance of looking after it all.

Paul, one of our trappers, has made me aware of an article in The Press. It states that annually there are an estimated 25 million birds killed every year which makes it 68000 a day! Among these birds are many kiwis and only 5% of all kiwi chicks reach adulthood because of predation. This is a sad statistic especially concerning our national bird, the kiwi.

Of course, back home in Switzerland birds get killed every day as well by natural predators so the numbers above might be a bit alarmist. But here the problem is that the native birds get killed by predators which are not natural to the environment and are not part of a natural food chain that has evolved over centuries.  Most of our native birds have not adapted to the killers out there and are very easy prey.

The aim of the Fantail Trust is to change the habitat in the Rakaia Gorge back again to its former glory with no predators. A haven for birds and plants!

Thank you all for taking part in it and making it happen.
Robbie and Christine 

Dear Trappers and Fantail Friends

May has been an interesting month. Until the middle of the month we had only three possums and I thought great we are getting on top of it. But then suddenly it changed. Marcel got seven possums in one day all on Waterloo and District Lines. Then I doubled up with another three on Piccadilly Line! That is ten possums in a week. Has not happened for a very long time. Now the total for May is 17 possums! How many more can there be!

Then we had 49 rats, 5 stoats and 3 weasels. The rats too just keep on coming. Relentless really. Also, quite unpredictable. Most are on Piccadilly Line which is the first line where we deployed traps for rats and stoats. One would expect an end to it someday. But there can be a series of catches in a particular trap, say four or five rats within a few days, then nothing for a month or so and then it starts again.

At the beginning of the month, I had a camera out near trap T45 just to see whether there is still vermin around. And well enough it picked up three possums, two rats, a cat and a hare. Interesting to see what is happening in the dark of the night. Because of these sightings I doubled up on traps at that location. Like I installed a trapinator trap, an extra Timms trap and a DOC150 trap! Plus added a lot of lure.

A few days  later I got a rat. Then another day later I got one of the possums and another rat. A week after that it was the second possum and now we are still trying to get the last possum. The camera is worth having because we can adjust the traps and lures. There are now three cameras in operation.

The same technique I am applying to a spot near the coalmine where a camera again picked up a possum, rats and also a cat. They are everywhere. So, I moved some heavy equipment into the area like an AT220 and another DOC150. First result was two rats caught in the AT220. Still waiting for the possum.

It’s been a busy month as we had 21 outings! That is a lot of hours spent down in the forest. I was also busy installing about ten more A24 automatic traps for rats in various parts of the forest. Plus three I had to repair as pigs had wrenched them off the tree! During this work I discovered deep in the forest an old totara tree! I have never come across a totara before and am not aware of any others. Very unusual but a lovely surprise.

Then of course the birds were a delight as well. Lots of fantails. They are everywhere and often in small groups of three or even four. Bellbirds seem abundant and loads of silvereyes. The grey warblers have disappeared a bit. Probably gone to warmer areas as also the shining cuckoos have done. But the biggest thrill is to see so many kereru! Hardly a day goes by when I do not see or hear one of them. Or people on the track tell me that they have seen them. Very exciting to see that happening.

The other big news is that the Fantail Shop is finally open and stocked. It opened on the 15th of May and while not many believed it would work it has proven to be a sounding success! The souvenirs just disappear, and we had to re-stock every second day! What we have there are painted stones by Juliana, small pottery plates by Christine, painted paperweights by Jon, some kiwi fridge magnets, postcards and small water bottles. All selling between five and ten dollars. And all gets paid online!









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​The Fantail Shop!
 
Then in the same week we installed the Fantail Bird Gallery! This is a bit further up towards the lookout point. There are ten panels, each bird depicted in a painting by Juliana and a text describing the birds. It will hopefully get people interested in conservation and the importance of protecting these birds. The panels are all in the same area and mounted on trees.
 
So please come and see for yourselves! The shop and the visitor’s book are about 30 minutes’ walk from the stile at Terrace Downs. You can drive down past the driving range to a four wheel track which gets you to the stile.

Thank you again for your interest and support. Special thanks to the trappers too. It’s all quite fantailistic!

Robbie and Christine