Graham is a wild, adult male Northland brown kiwi who lives with his mate Matahua in the Far North.
Northland brown kiwi often mate for life, and Graham is one such faithful kiwi. He and his mate Matahua (meaning fertile) have stuck together through thick and thin.
Monitoring shows that while Matahua produces healthy, fertile eggs, Graham is not so great at picking wise nest sites – and he’s done it again!
Thanks to the ongoing pest control carried out by the Mahinepua-Radar Hill Landcare Group for over a decade, Graham has plenty of beautiful native forest sites to choose from, stunning coastal views and deep shaded valleys.
However, for some reason that only Graham knows, he has decided the perfect spot for a nesting burrow this season is right on the edge of someone’s lawn, close to humans and dogs!
It’s no wonder that Graham often deserts his nest before he completes his incubation duty. Monitoring of past nests has shown that sometimes this is due to disturbance. Perhaps other times he finally realizes that he hasn’t chosen such a great spot – we’ll never know.
Faithful and patient Matahua often produces a second clutch, and they usually try again. The pair are renowned for two, sometimes three, nests a season.
At his last transmitter change in May 2023, Graham was in good condition weighing in at 2025g. He’d lost a little weight since his previous weigh-in – perhaps it was the stress of Matahua nagging him about choosing a better nesting spot!
Will his latest nest be successful despite the odds?
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