Tuateawa weed spot: Kikuyu Grass and Blackberry.

In the past scratched legs were the order of the day. Brambles were in plague proportions. The only compensation being the huge quantities of blackberries that could be gathered over the Xmas period.

When goats were brought in alongside the dry stock things were in better balance. The cows kept the kikuyu fairly short but created bare spots where the brambles could establish. The goats ate the brambles and just about anything else they could get their mouths around. There were still enough blackberry patches although pickings were a little slimmer.

Today there are no goats, no other grazing stock (except rabbits) and much reduced numbers of brambles. What we do have is a very dense cover of kikuyu grass, knee deep and more, in those areas that were taken out of grazing ten or so years ago.

It is fair to assume that these changes are connected. The kikuyu largely suppresses the blackberry. Plants that do rise above its scrambling stems are heavily eaten by shield bugs. The same applies to titree plants. These usually act as nurse plants as pasture reverts to native bush. Regeneration of natural bush is likely to be delayed in areas of heavy kikuyu presence. Kikuyu is probably the most prevalent noxious weed whilst, at the same time, being the least noticed.

There is also the possibility that it is responsible for the local extinction of an attractive native plant. Creeping fuchsia is not a rare plant but it does have a narrow area above the high tide mark that it prefers. In the past it was quite abundant in this position, just below Rabart's Road. It could still be there. However, it was not located during two recent, but admittedly, not exhaustive searches. The kikuyu was doing very well!

Tuateawa weed spot: Pampas Grass

Confession is supposed to be good for the soul! In that vein I must admit to a few offences on the invasive weed front. Undoing the consequences of past ignorance is proving to be an ongoing and time consuming business. I won't weary you by recounting the details of my many crimes. In mitigation though, it is worth mentioning that, my unwitting, recidivistic criminal activity was actively abetted by a number of garden centres!

Lack of knowledge on the part of the gardener or garden centre is a real problem when it comes to invasive weeds. The recent WEEDS4NATIVE initiative did a great job in making the problem known. Exchanging a couple of bags of weeds for a native plant was a very practical way of informing the public. The momentum would really grow should it become a yearly event on the Coromandel.

Garden centres are required not to supply invasive plant species. Pampas grass, it must be admitted is a superb ornamental. However, I was surprised to see an huge vase of it's flower heads , on display, in a Hamilton garden centre, just a month ago. "Isn't that an invasive weed?" "oh, it's dead" said the manager. "Anyway, the waste land just over the fence is full of it" It was an unexpected lack of awareness and responsibility. Each flower head would have contained huge numbers of viable seeds. Pampas can be quite a problem. It quickly colonises disturbed land. Roadsides, forestry blocks, regenerating pastures and open scrub are easy targets. It also makes a great home for rats and it is quite common in areas of Tuateawa, where rats can be a problem.

It is very closely related to our native Toe toe or toi toi. This species prefers swampy areas and is often found mixed with flax. Toe toe is not an endangered species but Pampas does grow in it's preferred habitat as the image shows. Both species are growing alongside the Tuateawa Stream by the boat ramp.

Roundup works well on Pampas but it is best to be sure that you are not targeting the wrong species as they are similar. Pampas has erect flower heads, the leaves have a single large vein and the dead leaves spiral up a bit like wood shavings. Toe toe has more relaxed flower heads and other veins can be clearly seen along side the main leaf vein. THE SIMPLEST TEST IS TO TUG A LEAF. ONLY PAMPAS LEAVES WILL SNAP. Take care though. Both plants have serrated margins to their leaves.

US$250 000 per Humpback Whale !

This is the reported wholesale value in Japan. Whaling is in the news again. The International Whaling Commission meets in Portugal on the 22nd June. Murray McCully has just announced a joint Australia/New Zealand research expedition to the Antarctic this southern winter. Unlike the Japanese approach, no whales will be killed as part of the research process.

Meanwhile, back in NZ, six ex. whalers are helping whale research. Using the lookout points of an old whaling station in the Torry Channel they are recording whale species and numbers as they pass through on their northern migration.

One of them is a sixty three year old, Joe Haberley. He is familiar with our area because his dad, Charlie, ran the whaling station on Gt. Barrier between 1959 and 1963.

Whaling has a long history in NZ. Whalers and sealers quickly followed along after Captain Cook. In the peak year of 1839 there were around 200 whaling vessels in NZ waters with an estimate of 1000 whales being taken. The oil extracted from the whale blubber was the valued product. Oil was not available from petroleum at this stage. The oil was used to lubricate heavy machinery and even precision timepieces. The fashion industry had a part to play. The baleen whales, like the sperm whale, contributed very flexible bones for use in the corsetry trade. At one time these bones had four times the value of the oil, weight for weight. The whaling industry worked it's way through the whale species. By the time Gt Barrier whaling started the numbers of sperm whale and southern right whale were much diminished. The right whale was reduced to an estimated population of approx. 25 breeding females by 1925. The peak population of this species in the Southern Ocean had been in the 20 000 to 30 000 range.

In 1960 there was still some life left in local whaling. Two observation posts identified whales at sea and directed fast chase boats to their locations. From Gt. Barrier it was possible to sea whales as far away as Cuvier Is. One hundred and four whales were taken that season, mostly humpbacks. They were processed on land at the Whangaparapara Harbour factory. 930 tonnes of oil was produced, plus a large quantity of chicken feed. Subsequent years produced much smaller catches. Only 8 whales were taken in 1962 and the factory did not reopen the following year. Carnage in the Antarctic meant that few whales found their way to our waters.

It was that same year that the I.W.C. placed a moratorium on the killing of humpback whales. No doubt the drama will continue to play out on the international stage. It is worth noting though, that, in 2000, there were 87 countries involved in whale watching ventures. The total world income was around U.S.$ 1billion! A kinder form of exploitation.

In Tuateawa we are seeing a few large whales. Rarely they are close inshore. It is more likely that you will see one spouting, some kilometres of the shore.

Some of this information came from: Last of the Whalers. Charlie Haberley's Story, by Heather Haberley, the wife of whale watcher Joe. Published in 2002 by Cape Catley Ltd ISBN 0-908561-90-3. Chapter 10 deals with whaling from Gt. Barrier.

Tsunami update.

Below is a link to a recent article in the Waikato Times. It is worth a read. The 1960 event is usually refered to as the Whitianga tsunami, probably because it was the biggest centre hit. Other places were it seems also involved . There is a mention in a biography of the man who ran the whaling station on Gt. Barrier. Great Mercury and Kennedy Bay also suffered the effects of the tsunami.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/2478182/Tsunami-expert-focuses-on-Whitianga

Tuateawa Bird Spot: Kaka.

To borrow an expression from Fred Dagg, " We don't know how lucky we are!" Kaka have become a regular feature of Tuateawa in recent times. In much of the N.I. of NZ they are a species in decline. In some areas, like Maungatautari, predator proof fences have been erected, at enormous capital cost, to provide a safe environment into which Kaka and other species can be introduced.

Prior to 1987 the Coromandel was not a welcoming place for Kaka. They were to be seen from time to time. They were probably visitors from Little Barrier.

That they are in Tuateawa now, as a resident population, is the result of large scale initiatives by D.O.C. over a number of years. Coordinated with this have been smaller scale local initiatives. There are small groups all over the Peninsula that, collectively pack quite a punch. As well as our local group we have the Moehau Ecology Group which is active in Tuateawa. In Kennedy's Bay there is a BNZ kiwi initiative.

Kaka have an enormous amount going for them. They can eat an huge range of food. Nectar and plant sap, grubs ripped from decaying trees and seeds and fruit from living trees and shrubs make for a very wide choice of food. They are not averse to Macrocarpa sap, enjoy orchard fruit and can be devastating to citrus plantations. Finding food is not their problem in our location. The one fatal weakness is that they nest deep in tree cavities, so there is no escape when a predator enters. A population in decline is characterised by generally quite old birds with an over representation of males.

In 1987/8 D.O.C. started the revival of kaka fortunes by aerially dropping 1080 on Moehau. Visiting kaka stayed and, in 1991 the first kaka chick was seen. It is believed that they spread from there, probably with a bit of help from Little Barrier birds, all down the Peninsula. They are now in a number of locations, even in Thames and the Hauraki Plains. The initiative that D.O.C. has adopted is known as "pulse management". Generally there is a period of intense predator control, over a vast area, and this might occur over three years. In this time target species are hit very hard and the protected species thrive. This is usually followed by as many as five years when the only controls will be from community groups.

D.O.C has had increases in its budget over recent years and it does an effective job with what it gets. Increases are unlikely to continue with the current recessionary problems. The kaka and other species may well have to manage with a little less protection for a while. Possum control in our area is currently being deferred for a year. Community input will become more critical. Again the availability of funding will be crucial in determining effectiveness.

One thing is certain. Kaka are part of the local entertainment. Not to hear the whistles and creaks of a mob of kaka as they charge crazily across the sky would be a sad loss. At times there are as many as nine birds performing. They are certainly Tuateawa residents. It would be great if we could confirm that they are also breeding here!

The images included are not from Tuateawa, They come from Stewart Is. where it is possible to call them down from the sky. Being able to hand feed wild kaka is quite an experience.

Tuateawa Plant Spot. Flowering now.

Both of these plants flower directly on the trunk or the stem.

The first is KOHEKOHE. There are some splendid trees in Tuateawa, more than in areas where possums are common. Flowering is just starting and they are quite easy to see once you know where to look. You may also find some orange fruits on the ground below the trees, the product of last years flowering. Stick a few in your pocket and throw them around your place.

TECOMANTHE is the next plant ,sometimes called The Three Kings Vine. This picture is from a specimen on a private section. All the Tecomanthe plants in NZ come from a single remnant plant that survived goat browsing on one of The Three Kings Is. It cultivates well from cutting and also sets seed which is quick to germinate. It is a very robust vine. The leaves are lush and the flowers large with a touch of the tropics about them. The literature says that it can reach a height of 10m. Tuateawa must be a special place because this specimen has reached the tree canopy at around 15m. Plants are frost tender. These days they are widely available in garden centres. There is a nice specimen in the outdoor section of the Weta Gallery in Coromandel. It often has seed pods on it as big as bananas.

Tuateawa Weed Spot: Coastal Banksia

Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain Cook, gave his name to the group of Australian shrubs and trees that we know as Banksias. Studies since 2000 suggest that the coastal banksia, Banksia integrifolia, is in the top five newly identified weed species. These images are of a solitary plant in the dune system at Waikawau Bay. You can see that it is full of flower and appears close to seeding. The seeds germinate in 5 to 6 weeks. The species is found along much of the eastern coast of Australia and ranges up into the mountains. It is frequently used in it's home country to stabilise dunes. It has a preference for sandy soils and good drainage and is averse to clay soils.

A visit to Little Bay gives a clue as to where the Waikawau Bay plant might have originated. Coastal Banksias have existed there for many years. They are now undergoing an explosion of numbers. They grow in the clay cliffs but, also, in the rock crevices where pohutakawa often start their lives. There are many small plants growing on the cliff face and a good quantity of considerable size. In a short time they will a major component of the vegetation. It is to be hoped that the pohutakawas will be able to coexist. It is also to be hoped that the large trees will not destabilise the cliff face. A fair sized recent slip did include a number of banksias but this could have been coincidental rather than causative.

Of more concern is the presence of this species in the dunes at Waikawau Bay. The single plant found was very robust and much larger than the pohutakawa planted there over the last twenty or so years. Given its dune stabilising ability this species could markedly change the Waikawau environment in a fairly short time.

Tuateawa Bird Spot. White Heron/Kotuku.

A white heron seems to be a regular feature these days. This picture was taken alongside the fire station in Kennedy Bay. Another, or the same bird turned up in the wetlands at the south end of Waikawau Bay the day after this sighting. A white heron has been sighted in both locations from well before Xmas. It is hard to miss when it is around. Hopefully it will be with us a lot longer!