Pigeon Postsuch as matai, miro, rewarewa, kowhai, rimu, totara, as well as somelocally and nationally rare plants.It was fantastic to be able to host four classes from PlimmertonSchool over the last month. The children helped us out with beachclean-ups and releasing plantings, as well as being able to have awander around the island and see some of the things that make<strong>Mana</strong> Island such a special place. The children enjoyed seeingtakahe, shore plover, kakariki, robins, and of course the geckos andskinks that are prolific here in the absence of rodents.That’s it for this edition, from all of us on <strong>Mana</strong> Island.MANA ISLAND PIGEON POSTWell, winter appears to have arrived right on our doorstep after aprolonged, mild autumn. The weather station on the Island recordeda couple of nights of minimum temperatures of 2 to 3 degrees overthe last few days, signaling the arrival of colder weather. Hopefullythe grass growth will slow down soon too! The native plantings onthe island, though, have flourished in the mild weather, and manytrees have grown a huge amount in the past couple of months. Thenow-resident Bellbird population have been enjoying the Kowhaiwhich is in full bloom, the first flowers appearing early this year, atthe beginning of May.We are readying another two young Takahe for life in the north.The two juvenile (one-year old) birds are in quarantine, awaitingtransfer to Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Whilst catchingthese two birds, we also had the opportunity to round up a numberof this seasons chicks, five in all. The birds are all in good health,demonstrated by them giving us the slip on a couple of occasions!We have sent feather samples away from these chicks and juvenilesto have the DNA analysed to determine their sex. All the Takahe onthe island are easy to sight at the moment, being the breeding offseasonthey are out and about most days, but come August they willbegin gearing up for breeding again and become a bit more elusive.VIP Membership & Discount CardUse your <strong>Mana</strong> <strong>Cruising</strong> <strong>Club</strong> Membership Card forPrivileges & Discounts at the following stores:Boat City Main Road, ParaparaumuPhone 04 298 5931Vero InsurancePhone 04 473 7250The Shore Plover have proven to be rather intrepid over the pastmonth or so, with a large flock from <strong>Mana</strong> Island travelling toPlimmerton Beach. These critically endangered shore birds are veryvulnerable to predation from dogs, cats, and mustelids. To havesuch a large number of these birds appearing on adjacent mainlandbeaches is an amazing sight to behold. However it is of concern tous, and we are making plans to try and get these birds back to theisland.Our planting season has begun on the island, with the focus fromthis year on under-canopy planting, and hand broadcasting seedsuch as Kohekohe under newly established cover. After 24 years ofbulk planting of the ‘basics’ such as kanuka, manuka, taupata andngaio; we are enjoying planting a variety of future canopy species,18
Cape Palliser LIghthouse. Photo by Jane Tucker
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