On the Thames Coast, around 20 years ago, vigilant locals knew that the local kiwi population was on the verge of collapse. Thames Coast Kiwi Care was formed in 2006 with the mission: “To protect and enhance kiwi populations on the Thames Coast”.
We wanted to ‘hear kiwi calling from backyards again’. This dream has become reality as Te Mātā and Tapu locals are reporting a significant increase in kiwi foot prints, calls and also sightings over the past few years.
We now have around 350 kiwi in our recovery area!
This is an incredible achievement by our community, with essentially ten times the 2006 kiwi population now present locally.
We’re thrilled to share a short trail camera compilation from the burrow of sires Taringamā and his family. It captures adorable moments from their lives but also worrying has some unwanted cameo appearances from you know who.
This hexmap represents real-time trapping data from our project area. The more red the colour, the higher the number of catches or density of traps.
You can mouse-over the hexagons for breakdowns on species catches. You can also use the top left red menu buttons to display subsets of data: by project, species or trap.
Massive thanks to the smart people at Groundtruth and Trap.NZ for this amazing resource!
Our scope has expanded from solely protecting kiwi to a “whole of habitat” approach. Our updated mission is:
To work with our community to restore the habitat so kiwi and other native species thrive.
Thanks to substantial funding provided by the Waikato Regional Council’s Natural Heritage Fund we have also been targeting rats and possums in the project area since 2023. These self-setting AT220 traps work continuously each night, extending the existing DOC200 trap lines that focus primarily on mustelid control and providing a buffer zone to public conservation land. Trap lines are checked and maintained each month by our Rat and Possum Project Leader, and also our dedicated team of volunteer trappers that undertake their fortnightly DOC200 checks.
The trap design and the servicing of the AT220 traps is leading to great successes. In early 2025 we have approximately 200 traps working and almost 4000 possums have been removed protecting our native flora and fauna. In the next year we plan to set another 90 self-setting traps
Running alongside the active pest trapping are bird surveys, to help gain an understanding of the existing biodiversity of NZ birds in our project area. We hope to collect data on how the control of rats and possums can help bring about an increase in both bird numbers and also the range of bird species recorded in the project area.
In early 2025 we installed three listening devices that all confirmed the presence of our precious pekapeka tou roa, native long tailed bats. They have the highest threat ranking of Nationally Critical and effective predator control is essential to their survival as well.
This is a new focus for us to raise awareness and add additional protection for New Zealand’s only native land mammal that is critically endangered.
Watch this space!
Want to know more about these fascinating creatures? Visit the great New Zealand Geographic for a brilliant article: ‘Bat Signals’ by Jonathan Carson. Photographed by Rob Suisted.
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Photos from Auckland Biodiversity's post
Kiwi egg predated after 3 days
You might recall a recent post where we shared exciting news - young kiwi dad Tumai, who is a chick we released 4 years ago, surprised us during a routine health check when we found him with an egg. We’re now sad to share that Tumai’s egg has been predated — just three days after being laid. We will keenly follow Tumai's behaviour in the coming weeks to see if he starts incubating again. Female kiwi usually lay two eggs and the second one may not have been laid yet. Let's hope we have another nest soon!
🦇This event is in Manurewa, but we’re sharing it because we’re also beginning our bat journey at TCKC within the Te Mātā project area. Watch this space for more local bat updates — and hopefully similar local public events in the future! 🦇🦇🦇🦇Join us for another Pekapeka (Bat) walk right here in Franklin! With the help of our bat detectors, we’ll listen in to their calls and, if we’re lucky, watch them glide across the night sky.
It’s the perfect way to see what these tiny taonga get up to after dark and learn more about the important role they play in our taiao (environment).
📅 Dates:
Wednesday 12th November @ 7:00 pm
Saturday 29th November @ 7:30 pm
🎟️ Tickets : www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/1844207025859?aff=oddtdtcreator
Spaces are limited, but don’t worry if you miss out, there will be 2 bat walks every month till the end of Feb!
Keep an eye on our page for updates and don’t miss this chance to spot Pekapeka in action!
October Catch Numbers!
In our main trap network of DOC 200s: 1389 total trap checks were completed over two weekends this month by our team of volunteer trappers. They recorded catching:
Ferret: 1
Cats: 2
Stoats: 4
Weasels: 5
Rats: 174
Our new AT220 self-resetting trap network (102 traps – counted separately and not on the below map):
Possums: 40
Rats: 590
Thanks everyone!
Predator control in action - we have caught two ferrets in the last 2 months! Which we think is great! these are very destructive animals in to our native animal life.
Also pictured is the AT220 in action- they are the future of possum trapping, and we hold our breath for a mustelid specific automatic trap. NZ AutoTraps
"Girl" is being trained to help our trappers service these AT220.
Also our trail cams are picking up on the local action around our traps.
Congratulations to the Hospice shop for winning the Steampunk window display competition.
We got an 'honourable mention' for our cousin Koro the Kiwi, who loves to come down from @Moehau Environment Group on steampunk weekends. 😁
Thanks for lending him to us our friends at @MEG, Koro has looked very styley in the main street window 💚
Native species like this little fella are under threat from rodents, stoats, and possums – and without protection, we risk losing the precious natural heritage and biodiversity that make Moehau mountain so special. 💚
Over summer, our awesome kaitiaki are out there doing the hard mahi – checking traps, protecting habitats, and giving this taonga species a real fighting chance.
Every trap checked and every predator caught helps keep the ngahere alive and thriving.
