ISSUE 19 - JUNE 2007

Upcoming Events
Friday 22 June
We’re Invited to catch the Kimbolton School’s inspiration @ Kimbolton Bush Reserve
11.00am Green Team Tour
1.00pm Replanting
5.45pm Potluck Dinner and DVD
RSVP – 06 328 5880

Tuesday 10 July
Branch Night – "New Directions for DoC, Wanganui Conservancy"
Speaker: Damian Coutts, Conservator – Wanganui Conservancy
Held at Te Manawa, Palmerston North

Saturday 14 July
Workparty – Rata Planting in the Gorge
Leader: Chris Thomasen – 06 323 6876

Tuesday 14 August
Branch night – “Avian Malaria in Native Birds”
Speaker: Isabel Castro, Ecologist – Massey University
Held at Te Manawa, Palmerston North

Saturday 18 August
Work party at Sixtus Lodge, Apiti
Leader: Midge Jansenn - 06 357 4877

Forest & Bird Manawatu Branch

50 Year Anniversary
50 Years and Growing!
Branch Founded: 1957

November this year marks the half century for Forest & Bird Manawatu Branch.
Celebration planning is underway now.
If you’d like to offer ideas or help plan the party ~ give Brent a ring on 06 357 6962.
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival

Opens 26 July
Globe Theatre – Palmerston North

Screening the best environment focused films in New Zealand

Water ~ Wilderness ~ Nuclear ~ Climate Change

Visiting Producers :: NZ Premieres

$15 / $10 concession

Phone TicketDirect on 0800 4 TICKET

www.aeff.org.nz

Subscribe Now! F&B e-News

The official email newsletter of Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.

If you would like to have the Forest and Bird e-zine sent quarterly to your PC, please send a request to
office@forestandbird.org.nz identifying yourself as a Society member and requesting that your email
address be added to the list.

Last Issue of eNews:

Set nets are death traps for Hectors dolphins
1080 update
Hihi back in the Waitakere Ranges
New Tapuae marine reserve approved
World's biggest tui lands in Wellington
Notice of 84th Annual General Meeting

Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Issue 19 - June 2007 Page 2/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

2007 Leonard Cockayne Memorial Lecture

-The promotion and advancement of science and technology in New Zealand

7.30 pm, Tuesday 19 June, Education wing, Te Manawa, 326 Main Street, Palmerston North

Birds in paradise:
The role of birds in shaping New Zealand’s terrestrial biodiversity
-Dr Bill Lee of Landcare Research, Dunedin

The native birds of New Zealand are highly unusual in several respects. They have dominated terrestrial
ecosystems for millions of years in the near absence of mammals, and have evolved some extraordinary
life-history features. Furthermore, the magnitude of post-settlement extinctions amongst native birds (about
half of all terrestrial bird species) has drastically changed the character of the entire New Zealand biota. We
now have a reasonable understanding of the range of species and life-history traits of indigenous birds,
along with the factors that caused their extinction or decline. The reasons for the success of a subset of
introduced bird species are also becoming clear. The lecture will examine the interaction between birds and
the environment during the history of New Zealand, and discuss the role of birds in ecosystem processes,
their effect on plant and vegetation development, and on other animals. It will also look at the magnitude of
the ecological functions undertaken by birds, and the extent to which introduced species can ecologically
compensate for those that have recently become extinct. Finally, it will be argued that birds have a special
role to play in ensuring the functioning of New Zealand ecosystems, and that all species should be
welcomed.

~~ All interested in our plants or birdlife are most welcome to attend ~~

The Cockayne Memorial Fund was established by public subscription to commemorate the life and work of
Leonard Cockayne (1855 –1934) by the encouragement of botanical research in New Zealand. In his latter
years he founded the unique Otari Open-air Native Plant Museum in Wellington. Each three years an award
is made to permit a national speaking tour by a distinguished botanist.

Letter to the Editor:

Sir
Our Palmerston North waterways have been having a rough time lately.
Accidental or intended, there’s been oil, diesel, and raw sewage finding
their way into fresh-water. Tim Brown’s column alerted all men to a
feminine hormone problem in our water. The hormone issue may be just a
small problem, but being smaller is exactly what worries most men.
What’s worse? The current spills, or that the city’s freshwater stream was already so polluted it was hard to
find any wildlife affected by the oil spill? Or is it even worse that you are hard-pressed to find anything in our
local government draft annual plans that would bring the fish back to our local city waterways?
Lets get serious about clean rivers and streams, before trumpeting on about being a sustainable community.
Donald Kerr, Advocacy Coordinator
Forest & Bird Manawatu Branch

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Issue 19 - June 2007 Page 3/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Bioblitz
by Viv McGlynn, Trip Leader
This snail was only 3.3mm.
(Photographer - Vic Vercoe)
The baby bioblitz was a successful and fun sunny
day out in Totara Reserve Fern Walk.
Thanks to our kind volunteer experts, we found
over 50 species of invertebrates! This in addition
to 22 snail species from a previous casual
collection of litter, and 100 species of snails from
pitfall traps over 2 years. This all tells us that the
forest floor is heaving with biodiversity! The day
was also a good practice run for a proper 24 hour
bioblitz for which planning is underway - watch
this space!
BioBlitz is an event focused on biodiversity. In the
full scale version, a team of experts assembles
for 24 hours to spot and catalogue as much
biodiversity as possible in a single area.
Our day got off to a great start, we had barely got
out of the car and our landsnail guru Vic Vercoe
was bent over a wooden log with his hand lens,
producing tiny insects and snails, proving his
eyesight is just as good as it ever was. The
children from Kiwi Conservation Club were as
fascinated by the funky fungi and small crawley
things as were the adults.
Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Issue 19 - June 2007
The in stream fish traps unfortunately did not
yield anything this time but one set in a quiet
backwater provided a koura for us. We thank
entomologist Dr. Ian Stringer from Department of
Conservation, soil ecologist Dr. Masha Minor
from Massey University, and two Massey zoology
students, Michael and Rachel, for coming along
and providing expert knowledge.
Mick Pettifer, who in the 1990s helped build the
Fern Walk, and his wife Hazel, then guided us
around the loop, providing the historical
background of this beautiful track. We were
pleased to be accompanied by botanist Michael
Greenwood who filled us in on the history of the
forest, and the fires…. Along the way we spotted
some giant trees, including the huge Northern
Rata pictured.
So next time you’re walking in the bush tread
carefully as there’s a whole lot of life happening
underfoot.
Some of the 20 in the BioBlitz team relaxing along the
Fern Walk. Track builder Mick Pettifer and wife Hazel
and front and centre with walking poles. Mick is
credited with being half of a two man construction team
that single-handedly built the Fern Walk in the 1990s.
(Photographer - Viv McGlynn, F&B Manawatu)
http://soilbugs.massey.ac.nz/terms.php
Page 4/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Word Search – Win Tickets to the Film Festival

Native Parrots and Passerines

W K G K N Z V E A X U G T W D
O A A L N I T B U E R P I H R
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BELLBIRD KAKAPO SADDLEBACK

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Be in to win two tickets to the Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival.

Send your entries to… Forest & Bird Manawatu

Attention: Prize Draw
P O Box 961
Palmerston North by July 13th 2007

eMail Addresses Wanted

We would like to keep you better connected with
nature and conservation in the Manawatu.

Send us an e-mail address today at forestbirdmanawatu@hotmail.com

Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Issue 19 - June 2007 Page 5/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Newly available at the
Palmerston North City Library:
Weaving a Dream:
The Bushy Park Experience
By Penny Robinson,
136 pp,
The Bushy Park Trust, Wanganui 2006.
Review by Sally Pearce
Penny Robinson, a local social historian,
tells the story of Bushy Park since it was
first established as a farm in the 1860s,
drawing on some of the many voices of
people who worked at and were involved
with Bushy Park in the last 140 years.
Much of the book is about the operation
of the farm for horse and cattle-stud
breeding, about the homestead, the
gardens and the people who looked after
them, until the death of owner G. F.
Moore in 1962.
From then, the focus moves to how
Forest and Bird was bequeathed the
Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Issue 19 - June 2007
property and to the conservation work
that has followed over the decades.
Weaving the Dream: the Bushy Park
Experience culminates with Bushy Park
achieving the status of a mainland island,
with the construction of a 4.8 km
predator fence, and with the
development of Bushy Park’s special role
as a kiwi crèche and educational centre
for school children.
Weaving the Dream: the Bushy Park
Experience would be of interest to those
keen to learn more about Kai Iwi history
from a European point of view, to learn
about the development of a conservation
project, and to understand the history of
Bushy Park. This coffee-table sized,
soft-cover book is full of recorded
memories and diary entries. Lots of
interesting photos add stimulus to an
informative read.
Page 6/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Recommended Website
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/shorebirds/overall.html

Godwits' epic journey tracked "Everywhere is under threat to a certain degree.

By Kim Griggs – Wellington, New Zealand
The kiwi might be New Zealand's iconic flightless
bird, but another inhabitant of these antipodean
islands more than makes up for the kiwi's ground
dwelling nature.
The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri) –
or kuaka in the Maori language - sets off at the
end of each austral summer for Alaska, stopping
en route in Asia.
This year, for the first time, scientists have
tracked the godwits' northern route with satellite
tags. And it shows the godwits really are the
champion migrants of the avian world.
Under threat
And the godwit population is in decline.
New Zealand hosts 70,000 godwits each
summer, but it used to be home to 100,000. It is
the same throughout the East Asian and
Australasian flyways, where up to 85% of the
shorebird populations are declining.
Just what is going on is part of what the godwit
tracking and the broader Pacific Shorebird
Migration Program, a joint initiative between the
US Geological Survey and PRBO Conservation
Science, hopes to find out.
The increasing reclamation of tidal mud flats in
Korea and China, and the changes in geography
due to projects such as the Three Gorges Dam,
are part of the problem, Dr Battley suggests.
You just have to zoom in on any spot around the
Yellow Sea [on Google Earth] and it's getting
reclaimed in one way or another."
But one thing the godwits are probably not is a
potential carrier of avian influenza, scientists
believe.
"It's clear these birds are going straight up to their
destination and that's where they are stopping
and then moving on," says Dr Battley.
"It's not like they are going around the coast of
Southern China and stopping off in lots of places
where they have the potential to pick this up."
Four of the tagged godwits have now left Asia for
the 5,000 km (3,000 mile) journey to their
breeding grounds in Alaska.
That's where they will stay for the Northern
Hemisphere summer before returning in
September to New Zealand. – BBC Front Page
The Three Gorges Dam is accused of damaging
bird habitats

Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Issue 19 - June 2007 Page 7/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Meet the Committee – Chair

Brent Barrett
Role – Chair Favourite Native Bird – Kokako
Joined Committee – 2003 Favourite Native Plant – Nikau Palm

Beginning my second year chairing a Forest
& Bird Branch in New Zealand comes as a
surprise. Arriving from Washington State in
2000 (4 days before GW Bush was
elected!), Brent says he “wouldn’t have
thought he’d be in the country more than 2
years, and I certainly had no plans to get
into conservation society work.” But a
childhood of fun in the great outdoors and a
school programme strong in field biology soon
caught up with him, and saw him join the
committee as Secretary in 2003. “Since first
arriving in NZ I’ve been fascinated by the
biodiversity, and cringe as I see it taken for
granted and often shoved aside or ignored for a
short term financial gain” he says. “I suppose the
real reason I joined the committee was that I felt it
was a meaningful way I could contribute to
society, and I’m loving it!” says Brent. “I’ve got a
great committee all keen to advance
nature conservation in the Manawatu and
beyond, a real pleasure to work with.”
Asked what is favourite conservation
moment is, Brent says it was seeing the
Manawatu Estuary declared a Wetland of
International Significance, and realizing
all the incredible hard work that went into
getting that recognition for it. That, he
says, is “truly inspiring”.
During the days, Brent works at AgResearch as a
plant breeder; and in spare time enjoys sharing
hobbies with his wife Julie in their home. In 2004,
Brent co-founded the Aotearoa Environmental
Film Festival, now in its third consecutive season.

tell Terry you saw it in the F&B newsletter!

~ Your Manawatu Native Plant Experts ~

For shelter, contract growing and re-vegetation projects
-call Terry on 356 1557 for local knowledge and expertise. –

tell Terry you saw it in the F&B newsletter!

Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Issue 19 - June 2007 Page 8/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Chair’s Spot
2007. First newsletter to press. You
again have the excellent good fortune
of knowing your local Forest & Bird
Branch sets sail with an excellent
committee – dedicated to nature
conservation in the Manawatu. Rather
like a fine racing yacht tuned for an
America’s Cup challenge.
Victoria has stepped up and taken on
the big but rewarding challenge of editing
our branch newsletter, and is already
exploring online options for better
communication within the local branch.
Jennifer is new to the team as well,
helping with getting the word out to
tertiary students with a passion for the
natural environment. Those students are
our future leaders both within the Society
and within society in general. We do well
to foster their interest in nature.
Anthea has stepped capably into the
Secretary’s role – and has already done
much to streamline our internal
communications and see us though to a
more efficient stance.
The new recruits are well balanced with
the seasoned crew of two past chairs
(Donald and Viv) and one past
Secretary (Jo), our returning treasurer
(Leonora); plus Caroline, our Kiwi
Conservation Club leader; and Alan, our
longstanding Fielding representative.
Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter
Issue 19 - June 2007
Going on 50! We set sail with much to
celebrate. Forest & Bird Manawatu
Branch was founded in 1957. So today,
there are nearly 50 growth rings on this
Branch of the Society. This November
our Branch marks 50 years in nature
conservation and education in the
Manawatu. What an achievement by
dedicated Society members.
We also face challenges. Climate change
impacts on biodiversity, industrial-scale
energy farms in nature reserves, hill
country slips and a polluted river system.
We are interested in your ideas and
opinions. This newsletter we start a
letters column, with a reprint of one of
Donald’s excellent letters to the local
media. We invite you to follow this lead
and send us letters on matters you
feel are important to nature
conservation and the Society.
Finally, a warm invitation to enjoy this
year’s Aotearoa Environmental Film
Festival, opening Thursday 26 July in the
Globe Theatre, Palmerston North. Many
of the 2007 Festival entries are excellent
~ covering the range of topics from
nuclear energy to seabird conservation in
a changing climate. The Festival is online
at www.aeff.org.nz
Go well in the month ahead, and plan to
again hear from your local Branch on a
regular basis.
Brent Barrett, Chair
Forest & Bird Manawatu Branch
Page 9/10
 Manawatu Branch Newsletter

Discovery, enjoyment, Forest & Bird Manawatu

and protection of the
Committee Contacts
natural wonder of New Chair:
Chair
Zealand is the primary Brent Barrett 357 6962
aim of Forest & Bird Secretary:
Secretary
Manawatu Branch. Anthea 353 6758
Our branch has over Treasurer:
Treasurer
450 members, from Himitangi to Leonora Pearson 354 6103
Pahiatua; and is affiliated to the Newsletter Editor:
Editor
national Society. Victoria Walker 355 2024
All members and the public are Advocacy Coordinator:
Coordinator
invited to all branch activities, work Donald Kerr 952 7001 x70836
parties and meetings. Branch Tertiary Coordinator:
Coordinator
nights are the 2nd Tuesday of the Jennifer Lawn 326 9217
month from 7:30 p.m. at Te Feilding Contact:
Contact
Manawa~ everyone is welcome, a Alan Hawkins 323 0583
gold coin donation is appreciated! Tararua Contact:
Contact
Have a look at the Forest & Bird Val Cleghorn 376 5570
website www.forestandbird.org.nz General Committee:
Committee
and contact us by email at Viv McGlynn & Jo McVeagh
forestbirdmanawatu@hotmail.com Kiwi Conservation Club:
Club
or at PO Box 961, P North. Caroline Percy 021 264 2789
.

Butterfly Survey Update

Thanks to everyone who completed the 2007 butterfly
survey coordinated in the Manawatu by Forest & Bird.
Special thanks to employees of MidCentral Districts
Health Board for joining in the project. Survey results
are being compiled by an environment studies student
at International Pacific College, under the direction of
ecologist Steve Pilkington. We will be reporting back in
the next newsletter. The Yellow Monarch is pictured.

Forest and Bird Manawatu Branch Newsletter

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