Haast Pass Predator June
John Turnbull arriving out at Davis flat after completing the trapping down the Bridle track on a cold and frosty morning in June.
Only 2 stoats were caught and very little bird movement and noise was heard.
We have started to use a Mohua recording on an ipod with a speaker to play at certain traps along the track. This proved very successful the last time the traps were checked but due to the cold, all the birds were either staying warm or gone to warmer places. We are going to continue on with this method of recording to build up a clearer picture of the Mohua Location and numbers on the trap lines.
In July we are starting on a new trap line which DOC have just put in. There 34 of the new DOC 200 traps along the brand new link track between the Blue Pools and the mouth of the Young River. This will involve an extra person joining us when we check the traps to make the job quicker.
Any volunteers out there just drop us an email info@uppercluthaforestandbird.org.nz
Date: June 23, 2009 by mark
Category: Latest News
Tags: BIRD, Birds, Haast, Makarora, Mohua, Stoats, Survey, Trapping
Haast Pass Predator Up date/May
The Traps were checked in March, April and May. These details are on down loadable files attached at the end. The results have shown a decline in the number of stoats caught. In March there were 3 stoats caught, April there was 5 stoats caught and in May only 1 stoat. There period of checking will be moved out to every 4 weeks.
We are going to start doing some maintenance on the traps during the winter, replacing the older rusty traps with cleaner one.
An experiment was carried out playing a Mohua recording along the trap line at various intervals. This operation was very successful and revealed 3 Mohua at the Blue pools track. This system will be used more often to understand the population of Mohua while doing the trapping.
Date: May 8, 2009 by mark
Category: Latest News
Tags: Birds, Haast, Lindis Pass, Mohua, results, Stoats, Trapping