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KIWI
Our Precious
RESCUE AND CONTROL EFFORTS
ON THE THAMES COAST
In 2006, the Coromandel Brown Kiwi was on
the brink of extinction on the Thames Coast,
with only an estimated 28 birds still alive.
However, thanks to rescue efforts, kiwi call
monitoring, and pest control, by 2016 the
population was estimated to have grown to
around 60 birds.
Operation Nest Egg is a collaboration of
Thames Coast Kiwi Care, Rotoroa Island
Trust, Auckland Zoo, and the Thames Coast
Kiwi Cares (TCKC) Predator Control Trapping
operation, which helps protect over approx
2,500 hectares. TCKC releases birds into the
Te Mata area.
The combined efforts of these dedicated
volunteer organisations has seen the Thames
Coast kiwi population triple over the last
12 years. Approximately 30 birds are being
raised on Rotoroa Island, which is completely
free of mammal predators. There have been
recent reports of kiwi calls being heard and
evidence of their footprints in suburban Te
Mata, realising TCKC’s vision of ‘hearing kiwi
calling from our backyards’.
This kiwi recovery project would not be
the success it is without a community with
passion behind it: volunteers, trappers,
landowners, sponsors and supporters
dedicated to helping wild kiwi thrive. Visit
, see FB’s
Thames Coast Kiwi Care, or contact them at
EFFORTS ON THE EAST COAST
Since year 2000, the Whenuakite Kiwi
Care Group has been working to protect
Coromandel brown kiwi and their habitat
within the Whenuakite Kiwi Recovery Area,
a 4000ha patch of regenerating coastal
broadleaf and kauri forest lying between
Tairua and Hot Water Beach. Its aim is to
make sure the area’s wild kiwi population
survives long term. Signs make sure
everyone knows that kiwi are there, and the
role they can play to help keep them safe.
As we go to press, October’s ‘Save Kiwi Month’ is in full
swing, encouraging Kiwis to join the fight to save our national
icon – not just during the month but throughout the year.
What an ideal time to share an update on the activities of the
two local groups of hard-working volunteers dedicated to
preserving Coromandel kiwi habitat, and the beneficiaries of
DOC’s Summer Fun Programme – Thames Coast Kiwi Care
and Whenuakite Kiwi Care.
Whenuakite Kiwi Care Group’s members
reflect a vibrant partnership between local
landowners and residents, the Department
of Conservation (DOC) and the Waikato
Regional Council (WRC). Key supporters are
landowners who welcome the kiwi groups
onto their lands, or do the predator control
themselves.
Sponsors and supporters include Kiwis for
Kiwi, DOC, WRC, Forest and Bird, TCDC,
WWF–New Zealand, Lotteries Commission,
E.B. Firth Charitable Trust, NZ Post, Little
Brown Kiwi and Jamie Orchard.
A 2005 survey showed the predator control
undertaken by the group had helped the kiwi
numbers jump to 68 adults, up from 29 in
2001. A further survey in 2010 identified 98
kiwi, with an estimated population of 75 pairs.
Locals also report that in helping protect the
kiwis, they are also seeing more tui, kereru
and kaka.
Get involved! See or www.doc.
The painting above depicts a male North
Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx australis mantelli)
and chick with discarded egg shell situated in
a nesting burrow lined with leaf litter. A spider
web drapes ferns at the burrow entrance.
This painting and the one at left are two of
three in a commissioned series.
Numerous studies were made of kiwis in
nocturnal houses throughout NZ before
work commenced on this series. It is vital
to research your subject before painting, as
behaviour, the way an animal moves, even
the texture of its fur or feathers must be
protrayed in some manner.
In this case there is a marked difference
between the feel of the feathers of the
spotted kiwi and the North Island brown
kiwi. The spotted is soft, whereas the North
island brown is coarse. – MC
NORTH ISLAND BROWN KIWI – IN THE BURROW
A male and female North Island Brown Kiwi in their nesting burrow. A Forest Gecko (Hoplodactylus granulatus)
rests upon a pile of leaves. A hen-sized bird, females are up to 25% larger than males. The female also has a
longer beak. In this painting the female is on the left.