kct bimthly update dec2011

8/3/2019 Kct Bimthly Update Dec2011

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The Borland team banding a kea. Photo IainGraham

December2011

Dear Members and Supporters,

New Kea Conservationupdates at www.keaconservation.co.nz

Home Page

Our front page reflects the KCTs monthly major current issues and/or projects. This month wehighlight the following:

2012 Summer survey Thank you to the NZ Lottery Grants Board 2012 KCT Calendars Great Xmas pressies! Wild Heart The Possibility of Wilderness in Aotearoa Kea deaths Your views 2012 Nestor notabilis newsletter Calling for Contributors and sponsors Nest monitoring update Donations (October/November) Thank you!

Other information in this update New Treasurer Can you help us?

Kea in the News- George the Curious kea Kea shop Xmas stocking fillers State of our planet Give a thought for the planet going into 2012 2012 KCT membership become a member this year!

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2012 Summer survey thank you to NZ Lottery Grants Board

The Kea population survey will again be run duringJanuary 2012 thanks to a generous grant from the NZLottery Grants Board. Survey sites will include KiwiSaddle in Kahurangi National Park, the Hawdon Valley

in Arthurs Pass and the Borland Range in Fiordland.

Many of our keen experienced field personnel andvolunteers from previous years have already signed upto be involved for the 10 day stint starting mid-Januarybut we do have a few places available for bothexperienced kea handlers and fit volunteers to supportthem.

If would like to get involved this summer, pleaseemail Tamsin at the Trust.


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2012 KCT Calendars great Christmas pressies!

This years calendar features

stunning photos of kea from 6different contributors all who havetheir own story to tell about theirexperiences with this charismaticspecies.

As a bonus we have also includedinformation on each of ourcontributors who very generouslydonated their images of kea for thecause of kea conservation.

If you wish to purchase a calendar orwould like to order a bulk lot for your organisation, please contactus at the Trust.Cost of each calendar is $12.50 +p/p or for orders of 10 or more will be $7 each (+p/p).

Wild Heart The Possibility of Wilderness in Aotearoa

Edited by Mick Abbott & Richard Reeve

The Public Conservation Lands Research Symposium, hosted by theUniversity of Otago in November not only brought together a wide

range of stakeholders to explore what relationships between natureand people should be fostered in Aotearoa New Zealand, but alsoincluded the launch of the book Wild Heart: the Possibility ofWilderness in Aotearoa New Zealand. This anthology of essays ispublished by Otago University Press and the contributors to the bookhave all very kindly donated the royalties from the sale of this bookequally to The Kea Conservation Trust and Forest & Birds Freshwater for life.

Tamsin Orr-Walker attended the book launch on behalf of the Trustand by invitation of Otago University. We would like to thank all thebooks contributors, editors and Otago University for their support of

the work of the KCT.

About the book:

This book searches for an understanding of 'the wild', of what makes wilderness such an importantpart of our psyche. The seventeen essays come from trampers, scientists, conservationists, policy-

makers, photographers, historians, and writers. Together they examine many aspects of the idea ofwilderness. What and where is New Zealand's wilderness? Is the wilderness something that we lockup or not? How do Maori see wilderness? How is it defined by law and what is government policy?Why? Where does that leave us? What do we want of wilderness? Can we exploit its resources?


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Wild Heart looks forward, as exploring the 'possibility' of wilderness lies at its core. What could

wilderness in Aotearoa New Zealand become, and, consequently, what might we its people alsobecome?

Kea DeathsYour views

In our last update we included some of your views from ourFacebook page on the recent spate of kea deaths.

Unfortunately this spate appears to be continuing with two ofour study birds in the Arthurs Pass area found dead undersuspicious circumstances. Unfortunately the bodies were toodecomposed when recovered to ascertain the cause of death

but it does highlight the need for all of us to keep our eyesand ears open to protect these unique birds.

In this update we have included this letter from one of our earliest supporters based in Australia whoprovides a sobering reminder of how persecution of a species can result in their ultimate extinction:

Hello everyone at the KCT,

I'd like to say how distressed I am to learn in the October KCT of the kea shootings. Glad to know that

you're helping to conserve them.

Honestly, I fail completely to understand how anybody could contemplate killing a rare, precious,

noble and engaging creature such as the kea. I can only assume that somebody has developed a grudge

against them perhaps economically based and won't rest until he has destroyed enough of them to

feel vindicated.

This is the same mentality that saw the thylacine driven into extinction, the mentality that sees a place

on this planet only for humans, a few selected food animals and a few selected food plants. Everything

else is expendable; all damage is merely collateral; extinctions don't matter.

Please keep up your good work. The world needs it.

Best regards,

Walter Steensby

2012 Nestor notabilis newsletter calling for contributors

The 2011 Kea Conservation Trust publication has been sent out to all of our members and funders.Thank you to all of those of you who contributed to the development of this magazine and to oursponsors, Paradigm printing and Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund for making significant donationstowards this years publication.


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The nest camera outside the St Arnaud Range nest showing 3 chicks been fed

by their parents.

Additional copies of this stunning 28 page publication, printed on recycled paper, can be purchaseddirectly from us for $12.50 +p/p.

2012 - We will be beginning the development stage of the 2012magazine during January so are now calling for:

Article contributions - If you have a story or are undertaking aresearch project on kea please contact us;

Sponsors we need new sponsors to help cover the costs ofthis publication. Sponsors will be listed in the contents page ofthe newsletter, on our website and in all promotional informationand bi-monthly updates (sent out to over 500 people here andoverseas)>

If you would like to help out towards next years newsletter, please

contact us at the KCT.

Nest monitoring update

Nelson Lakes:Our three nests at Nelson Lakes have been closely monitored all season by CoreyMosen with the help of keen volunteers and St Arnaud Department of Conservation.

At the start of the season all three nests were incubating at least 3 eggs. One of these nests has

successfully raised 3 chicks and another has one chick still present in the nest cavity. Both nests willbe monitored until all chicks are fledged in December/January to track their success. If all 4 chicksfledge this season, this will double the number successfully raised in any of the last 3 breedingseasons.

Eggs in the third nesthave not yet hatchedand workers havenow removed one ofthese to checkfertility.

If the eggs are foundto be infertile, theywill be removed in thehope that the femalewill lay a secondclutch of viable eggsbefore the end of thebreeding season.


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The Rocky Mountain AAZK team at Denver Zoo

Arthurs Pass:Unfortunately 4 of our radio tagged birds at our survey site in Arthurs Pass have died. Two of thesewere an existing breeding pair whose deaths occurred at the same time and are consideredsuspicious. This has meant a big setback for this years breeding.

For more photos of chicks and eggs, visit our Kea Research Projects Nest monitoring page overthe next couple of weeks.

Donations - Thank you!

We would like to extend a big THANK YOU to the following individuals and organisations forsupporting kea in the last 2 months:All of our sponsors and donors will receive one of our new certificates of appreciation featuring

stunning images of wild kea taken by Corey Mosen. Thank you to Corey for allowing us to use hisgreat images!

Rocky Mountain American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)US$2000 was raised at the AAZK comedy night for the KeaConservation Trust. Thanks to the organisation and in particular toJessica Meehan of Denver Zoo who helped make this a reality.

The American Association of ZooKeepers (AAZK) is a nonprofitorganization made up of individualsincluding directors, curators,

veterinarians, zoo keepers, volunteers,and students. AAZKs goal is to notonly help those animals in ourimmediate care, but also contribute toconservation world wide.

AAZK strives to make the generalpublic aware of the concern fordeserving conservation projects andthe need for preservation of naturalresources and animal life. AAZKpublications, conferences and chapter

activities at local zoos provideindividuals with a means to exchange ideas and raise money for various conservation needs aroundthe world.

In 1991 the Rocky Mountain AAZK Chapter was formed here at the Denver Zoo and continues to bevery successful to this day raising thousands of dollars a year to support in situconservation projectslocally and around the world

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Another generous donation has beenreceived from a US zoo; US $3,000 was granted by the organisationsConservation fund for the purpose of purchasing kea radio transmitters for our2012 Summer survey. Thank you to Cincinnati for support of this project.


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NZ Community Post This year we have received 300 freepost envelopes to support ourproject work. Thank you to NZ Post.

New members Rebecca Officer and Volker Kuhlmann donated $175 during October. Thank youfor your generous support its always great to have individuals helping.

Forest & Bird North Canterbury Branch A donation of $200 was received from F&B Nth Canterburyduring our visit to Christchurch in July. Thank you to all the team there for their support of kea duringwhat has been a very trying time for Cantabrians.

The Remarkables ski area raised $101 from a donation boxup set up by staff at the Remarkables ski field this season.Additional awareness was also raised with information on theTrust and kea at the site. Thank you to the Remarkables forpushing kea conservation at their ski field.

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Other items

New Treasurer Xmas Wish List - Can you help us? Kea in the News- George the Curious Kea Kea shop Give a Xmas gift for conservation this year! State of our planet The impact of ecological limits on population growth

2012 KCT membership become a member this coming year!

New Treasurer

We would like to officially welcome Andrew Newman as our new KCT treasurer.Andy, a registered accountant, has been the Trusts financial advisor for the past 2years and will take over from Sir Hugh Williams who will remain on our TrustCommittee. Thank you to both Andy and Hugh for all their time and effort over theyears.

Can you help us?

This is the time for us to put our Xmas list out there in the ether and see if any of you can help us toachieve the following:Website redesign to ensure a fresh and current face to the KCT-Access database to better manage our supporters, volunteers and kea sightings lists-4 wheel drive vehicle to support our South Island based personnel during field and project work-Funds for operational expenses to support a managerial position-2012 newsletter sponsorship to cover costs related to design and printing of this publication-Project/research funding


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George the kea at the vetsPhoto: Don Scott

We also need someone who can manage our shop orders (books, cards, DVDs and calendar orders).Please contact Tamsin at the KCT if you think you can help out with any of the above.

Kea in the News

Here is a great story to end the year on a high note, about a very fortunate kea from ArthursPass who with a lot of care from a group of dedicated people, made a full recovery from leadpoisoning

George the curious keaKeith Lynch - 12 Oct 2011

A kea will be returned to the wild today after being nursed back to

health from a bout of blood poisoning. George, a four-year-old kea,was found vomiting early last month by Conservation Departmentranger Paddy Moran near Arthur's Pass.Moran contacted Christchurch vet Pauline Howard, who took care ofthe bird at the Hornby Veterinary Centre.Tests showed possible kidney damage, and blood sent to MasseyUniversity showed George's lead levels were off the chart.The bird was kept in the veterinary centre during the day. At night hestayed in Howard's bathroom, which was now "a little worse for wear"."Everyone at the centre became very capable kea holders, and so didPeter, my husband, and Andrew, my 18-year-old son," she said."Because Peter was bitten, he had the privilege of naming the keaGeorge."Lead paint, nails, roof lashings or discarded batteries were possiblesources of the poisoning."Young male birds are at greatest risk of lead poisoning as theycongregate in areas were humans live and play in the high country places where lead is most likely to be available," Howard said.

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Kea Shop

Want to give an original gift this Xmas that helps conserveone of the worlds most amazing birds? Heres a few ideas

for stocking fillers

-2012 Kea Calendar-Nestor notabilis newsletter-Beak of the Moon by Philip Temple-Send NZ Native cards for Xmas Check out our range ofbeautiful cards by NZ artist Pauline Morse which include kea, takahe, bellbird and kakariki.

Funds raised from the sale of all shop items will support our operational expenses. Please visit ourwebsites store at http://www.keaconservation.co.nz/resources/kearesources.html.


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Kea on a flax bush at Lake Matheson on Christmas Day 2010.

Photo: Jon Clark

The State of Our Planet As we pass the 7 billion person on the planet,it is being questioned whether we will ever reach the 10 billion markprojected by United Nations demographers not because of a natural

slowing down of birth rates but because of devastating limitingenvironmental factors The impact of ecological limits on

population growthThis year marks the arrival of the seven billionth human. But with increasing pressure

on water and food supplies will this projected population boom turn into a bust?

There's little scientific dispute that the world is heading toward a warmer and harsher climate, less dependable

water and energy supplies, less intact ecosystems with fewer species, more acidic oceans, and less naturally

productive soils. Are we so smart and inventive that not one of these trends will have any impact on the

number of human beings the planet sustains?

In the past few years, agronomists have lost some of their earlier confidence that food production, even withgenetically modified crops, will keep pace with rising global populations in a changing climate. Already,

weather-related disasters, from blistering heat waves to flooded farm fields, have contributed to widening gaps

between food production and global consumption. The resulting price increases stoked also by biofuels

production encouraged in part to slow climate change have led to food riots that cost lives and helped

topple governments from the Middle East to Haiti.

To read the full article, visit our State of Our Planet page.

Merry Christmas!

All of us at the KCT would like to wish all of our supporters, members and sponsors a very Merry

Christmas and Happy New Year.

Stay safe, enjoy a well-earned rest and enjoy some good quality family time during the holiday seasonand we will see you again next year!


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Melanie WhiteKea Conservation Trust Membership1 Bay Heights,RD 1Governors Bay,Lyttelton 8971Email: [email protected]

KCT 2012 Membership

Thank you to all those people who have renewed or joined us at the KCT

for the first time. Joining the Kea Conservation Trust will help us to: Initiate important research projects to help kea Develop education and advocacy material Raise awareness of the issues impacting on the species Mitigate these issues Help with our running costs Helps us gain additional funds to continue our work.

If you would like to become a KCT member for 2012 period (1 April 2012 31 March 2013), you cancontact us directly or download a membership form from our websites Home or Join Now pages. Ifyou are unsure as to your membership status, please visit our Members page.

Melanie White, our membership secretary, should be contacted directly when making payments orsending in forms as follows:

As a member you will receive the following:

A copy of our annual 28 page colour publication Nestor notabilis each July A copy of our KCT short video on kea and the Trust Access to members only pages on the website where you can download previous newsletters,

updates and access discussion boards.

Thank you again to all of you who continue to support us. Thank you also to all those who havevolunteered over the last year and who continue to send ininformation, sightings and comments on kea. Your efforts arealways appreciated!

Best wishes to you all as always,

Tamsin Orr-Walker

Chair, Kea Conservation Trustwww.keaconservation.co.nz83 Tanekaha Rd, Titirangi, Waitakere, Auckland, 0604Ph 09 817 3002 or 0274 24 95 94Email: [email protected]

www.keaconservation.co.nz

Photo: Andrew Walmsley

Another curious kea at ArthursPass!

Photo: A. Pasukonis 2011

kct bimthly update dec2011

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