Kākāpō ranger diary April 2009
Food preparation for the kākāpō
Well, things have definitely slowed up on the island since I went off for my two week break, most importantly there are a whole lot less chicks here now as they were relocated to Invercargill for hand raising. It's amazing how different the island feels with 15 less people on it too!
There are now just 11 people on the island and only one nest still being 'minded' full time. Now would be a good time to say a whopping great 'thanks' to all our volunteer nest-minders, feedout people and cooks who, without your undying enthusiasm and efforts the current success of this season just wouldn't have been possible. I know a lot of you are probably keeping an eye on the website for updates so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU from all of us here and from the kākāpō, you guys have been awesome!
We are down to just one nest-minder now as I said and this place feels quite different without the buzz of 30 people around the hut swapping stories, showing photos, playing beach soccer and generally just making Whenua Hou a great place to work. But that doesn't mean the hard work is over, its really only just beginning. The focus has now shifted to the mainland chick-wise as now we have 20 plus chicks there for hand raising and people working round the clock to care for them.
On the island Phil, Jason, Ruth and I are still monitoring 7 chicks in 6 nests, we are checking most of them every two nights and some every night for good weight gains and general health. The oldest (in Cyndy's nest) are now 57 days old and getting huge, the largest weighing 1.74 kg! Poor Cyndy probably doesn't weigh that much herself at the moment! She has done an awesome job this season and truly deserves the nickname of 'Supermum" that we have given her. Also, she is the only one to have raised two chicks all the way through. We can expect these to fledge in the next two or so weeks perhaps. Another exciting milestone for the season coming up.
As the nests come to an end it is time to start pulling in all the nest-minding gear that has been out there for months - tents, cameras, tarpaulins, radio aerials, batteries, all manner of stuff that comes back to the hut and goes into storage until the next breeding season. When and where will that be we wonder? Sitting around talking to the rest of the team out here we look ahead with just a little trepidation to the coming winter when this season's chicks are weaned and released into the wild. Having been a part of the team who raised and released the 6 chicks last year I know this winter will be a busy and interesting one however, many chicks we successfully get through to the weaning stage!
But that said, there is a long way to go between now and then. Keep an ear out for more updates, hopefully now with a little more time in their days the kākāpō rangers will be able to get some more regular updates up.
Cheers, Chris
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