It’s kiwi listening time! Every year for 4 nights over winter hundreds of Northlanders head outside at dusk to an established ‘kiwi listening site’ and count the number of kiwi calls they hear over a two hour window.
The kiwi call count survey was originally developed by the Department of Conservation in the 1980s as a way of monitoring kiwi populations. Since then as community-led kiwi recovery has grown, many hapu and local conservation groups have become involved with data from some of our Northland sites going back to 1995.
The survey involves listening at registered stations from 6pm to 8pm for any four nights over the official kiwi call period in May, June and July. The dates are set by the Department of Conservation each year to coincide with when the moon is darkest and when kiwi are more active and call more.
To celebrate over two decades of kiwi listening this year, talented members of Waimate North Landcare Trust (WNLT) have written and produced a kiwi listening song. Dedicated volunteers from across Waimate North have been consistent with their kiwi listening, training new volunteers when needed, and holding planning sessions to organise who will listen at each site. The planning has paid off, with many sites having consistent data going the whole way back to 2004, when the sites were established.
John Todd, Treasurer of WNLT said, “The song acknowledges all the valuable work of the kiwi listeners. It’s a unique experience sitting silently in the dark waiting for the reward of the distinctive call. A big thank you to the local who wrote and sung the song and gifted it to us. And to the local video maker who put it all together for us”.
If you’d like to help with this year’s survey, or if you’d like to commit to 5 years of listening and establish a site, reach out to a Kiwi Coast Coordinator.
