The Kiwiwatch Group has had a strong start to the season with lots of students attending the monthly trips, including many new junior students. We have been catching less stoats than expected, given that we had a big mast event this year. Although we have not done any kiwi work this year, we are eagerly awaiting the results of a study by DOC and Lincoln Uni that has used remote listening devices to monitor kiwi abundance in the Nina. Despite the lack of kiwi work, we were happy to have a number of recent airings of a pair of whio (blue duck) below the Nina Hut at the Duchess confluence. Whio are nationally endangered, more so than the kiwi, and we had not seen any for a couple of years prior. Also of note is that the Kea Conservation Trust has undertaken kea banding in the Nina; we are hopeful that the Trust will involve our students in this work. Thank you to all the students and their parents who work hard to make the Nina Valley a safe place for our native toanga.
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