Trapping of pests likely to protect bird population
Last Tuesday, 46 local Golden Bay trappers attended a trapping workshop at the Kahurangi Function Centre. The workshop was run by Dr David Butler (previously of the Rotoiti Mainland Island project, and more recently of the Brook Sanctuary project in Nelson).
Attendees came from a wide cross-section of trappers across the Bay. Their interest expressed by attending was for more knowledge about trapping, such as: what are the best baits, where are the best places to place a trap to attract rats and stoats, how often should one check one’s traps, what is optimal best practice? Other interest was in the latest in trap design and the new multi-kill traps. Also how good the new PAP toxic bait for stoats is. Several people wanted to know the best way to kill wasps. Others wanted to know about the bi-catch effect on stoats and rats after a 1080 drop for possums.
These were just some of the questions asked and it became apparent that this single evening would not be long enough to deal with the information people wanted. Dave plans to return in March or April next year to conduct a technical workshop based on providing more answers and provide support and best practice information.
In 2007, Dave conducted a workshop when an initiative to adopt a landscape approach to trapping between Collingwood and Puramahoi was proposed. One of his main aims for last week's workshop was to find out how this initiative was going and to attempt to help progress it. Since 2007 there has been some abiding dedication from some landowners and managers between Collingwood and Puramahoi to control rats in some large forest areas and stoats and possums to low numbers in between. It would be good to have others in the area deciding to come on board.
Robyn Jones from Golden Bay Trapping has been collating the monthly trapping results sent to her by email since 2007 and she is keen to keep taking trapping tallies from people trapping within the Collingwood to Puramahoi area, and is also offering people in other parts of Golden Bay the opportunity to have their trapping results recorded on this central Golden Bay database. There is also willingness to produce a newsletter for sharing trapping information and records such as the Friends of Flora and the Rotoiti mainland island project do. Government responds when it know the extent of community trapping activity. Robyn’s email address is robyn@robyn-jones.com or phone 524 8266.
Robyn also runs a small trap loan scheme for individuals or community groups who are trying to protect important populations of birds on or near their properties which are seriously threatened by pests. Amongst the birds protected by trapping in Golden Bay are banded rail, fernbird, marsh crake, bittern, robins, tom-tits, little blue penguins, variable oystercatchers, banded dotterel, weka and bell birds, and the giant land snail.
Robyn wonders what interest there may be in the community to making cheap traps. A substantial trap box design using Victor Professional traps can be homemade for $8-$9 each.
A comment was expressed at the workshop that trapping should be mainstream amongst property owners in Golden Bay as we all have so much to protect. Small community trapping groups can be fun, sharing trapping tallies and discussing changes in the local bird population. Trapping in Golden Bay will likely have assisted the spread of weka, larger flocks of kereru, more bellbirds and tui, more tomtit, fernbirds, banded rail and increased little blue penguin populations.
Steve Deverell, who is DOC’s pest animal specialist in Golden Bay, was present at the meeting and offered to provide information to people who approached him at DOC. Ken Wright, TDC’s biosecurity officer, was also present, and he said he is happy to offer what support people require. He can provide a map of properties to landowners using GIS for them to record trap locations. Ken can be contacted by ringing TDC in Richmond.
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