Volunteering with Kākāpō on Whenua Hou Island

A blog post by Emma

Parenthood, work and life have been keeping us very busy. So much so that it has taken a pandemic and a countrywide lockdown to get Tom and I back in front of the computer again! We hope that everyone is keeping safe. We are well, but it looks like we’ll be spending the next year here in New Zealand and missing this year’s UK ecology season, but that is for the best. How are you all doing?

This next series of posts will be about our time as kākāpō supplementary feed-out volunteers on Whenua Hou Island during their last breeding season. We’ll write about our trip, as well as about some of the flora and fauna we encountered.

Volunteering with Kākāpō

We have always wanted to work with kākāpō, but the opportunity doesn’t come along often as the birds only breed during a mast year when there is an abundance of food. These mast years come around approximately every three to four years. The breeding season is the time when this critically endangered species needs the most help to insure the highest number of their chicks survive, hence the need for volunteers.

The summer of 2018/2019 was a mega mast year, so the Department of Conservation were calling for volunteers on the Kākāpō Recovery Programme. As I was pregnant that summer, we decided to stay local making it the perfect time for us to apply. We applied through their website here. Whilst there aren’t always volunteering positions open, you can still check out their site for other ways to get involved.

We applied to volunteer to help with the supplementary feed-out. During the two weeks we were on Whenua Hou, we tramped around the island each day cleaning and refilling feed stations to ensure that all the birds were getting suitable nutrition for breeding.

Whenua Hou

Whenua Hou, also known as Codfish Island, is a small island off the coast of Rakiura/Stewart Island, New Zealand. It is 1396 hectares in size and rises to a height of 250 metres above sea level. The island is a predator-free sanctuary for many native New Zealand species, and holds the majority of the kākāpō breeding population.

There is no public access to Whenua Hou. As predators have been eradicated on the island, the quarantine procedure is very strict to ensure no stowaways are transported accidentally. Getting there is also a challenge and requires either a helicopter flight or a journey on a small plane or both!

Being so isolated, you really sensed a feeling of what New Zealand may have been like before humans began altering the environment. Once the busy day had come to an end, this was the time when we noticed it most: The island silhouetted at dusk; the inky-black night sky and stars; the cacophonous birdsong chorus of dawn.

SPECIES ENCOUNTERED

During our feed-out runs, we had many encounters with a range of amazing species. The following photos are of just some of the species that we managed to capture on camera. Our next blog posts will cover a few of these in more detail – links to come!

Flora

Fauna

Birds

Read more about kākāpō in our blog post here.

Mammals

Reptiles

Insects

I am still reeling with excitement as I recount this experience. This was definitely one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

As we write our Whenua Hou species-centric blog posts over the coming days, we will link to them in this blog.

References and Further Reading

Department of Conservation – 2.3 Codfish Island/Whenua Hou Place https://www.doc.govt.nz/about-us/our-policies-and-plans/statutory-plans/statutory-plan-publications/conservation-management-strategies/stewart-island-rakiura/section-one/part-two-places/2_3-codfish-island-whenua-hou-place/
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

Department of Conservation – Get involved with Kākāpō Recovery – https://www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/kakapo-recovery/get-involved/
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

Department of Conservation – Mega mast confirmed for New Zealand forests – https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2019/mega-mast-confirmed-for-new-zealand-forests/
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

IUCN Red List – Kakapo (Strigops habroptila) – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22685245A129751169.en
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

New Zealand Birds Online – Kakapo – http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao – Mast year – https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2776-mast-years
(Retrieved 9 May, 2020)

Notornis – The timing of breeding in the kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) –https://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_53_1_153.pdf