4X4

September 13 2023

Group Update, September 2023

ashleyriver 4X4, annual survey, black billed gulls, black-fronted tern, management, research, Trapping, weeds, wrybill

One of the first indications of an imminent nesting season is the arrival of wrybills at the estuary – destined for not only the Ashley River, but other rivers to the south. This year they were first noted on 19 August and have occurred in flocks of up to 31. Amongst them have been 7 birds that we have banded up the river in the past – last year, the season before, or in the case of BWBW – quite a few years ago. Some of these have been seen several times, one (KOWY) was there for about a month.

We have counted only about 7 wrybills along the river so far, these have been in the usual nesting areas off Groyne 2 and Smarts. Nests have yet to be found.

Banded dotterel have been slow to arrive at the estuary and along the river. But on 11 September there were 8 in the area where they nested last year in the estuary east of the Kings Ave entrance and 5 at the Smarts area along the river. One of our new members has found 2 BD nests in the river up near the gorge.

Black-fronted terns won’t be nesting until early to mid-October, but they have been gathering in places along the river and where the river meets the estuary. A week ago, there were about 70 off the Swamp Road river entrance.

For several weeks black-billed gulls have been gathering, sometimes in numbers of around 500 – 600, just downstream from the Cones Road bridge. They don’t appear to be nesting as yet, and could well move on to somewhere new.

Preparations for the nesting season have included weed clearing, river entrance blocking and a rat detection dog effort against Norway rats.

Using funds provided by the Waimakariri Zone Committee and ARRG, in July we cleared 27ha of weeds using the tractor mounted ripper made and owned by Cresslands Contracting. Our first targets were high islands which had been nested on before, then other weedy islands, but also areas of quite thick weed – mainly lupin. The machine worked well on flat areas with lupin, but not so well where there were small gorse plants or where the ground was uneven. There was a significant flood on 23 July (394 cumecs at the gorge) which covered most of the fairway and also cleared a lot of weeds – weeds will not be an impediment to nesting this season. This flow was enough to change the layout of the river, with fewer braids and less shallow feeding habitat remaining, perhaps this will cause a reduction in bird numbers. Smaller floods will hopefully improve the habitat during the nesting season, but they may also wash away nests.

In early August, Leona Kirk of Wildlife Protection Services used her rat detection dogs along the south side of the river. The aim was to try and find and deal with Norway rat colonies before they could affect the birds. Norway rats are our most destructive predator. The most signs of rats were found on trap line F (westernmost line on the south bank), where the most Norway rats had been caught in the last year. The dogs indicated the presence of rats in a burrow which had been excavated into a muddy bank. This was dug out, but only went for a few metres and no rats were found. Evidence of rats (scent, tracks etc) was found out on the riverbed in several places – where the rats seem to have ventured after the flood in search of food. Trail cameras were placed at 3 of these sites, and rats were seen on photos.

We followed this up with a few hours of loader time (Cresslands) to try and dislodge them from piles of debris or burrows along banks, but none were found. We couldn’t use the loader in all the planned locations due to boggy conditions. Despite the lack of rats killed, we have learnt some valuable information. As suspected, Norway rats burrow into banks, especially muddy ones – but they also take possibly short-term refuge in debris piles. They do not appear to be present in large colonies along the river, and seem to move around quite a lot. This makes them more difficult to deal with than hoped for.

In the first few days of September most of the access points to the river were blocked off – in a very satisfactory joint venture between ARRG and the ECan Parks section (top image). We scout out locations to be blocked (this year with an ECan ranger) ECan provide and transport new blocks – and organize and pay for a digger to install them, and we supervise the installation. They will remain in place until February next year. This year 17 new blocks were needed (top image). In a few places banks were steepened up to deter 4wds. There are still many places where motorbikes can get out on the river.

There are several new trappers with river lines. Predator catch hit a new record in the August 2022 to July 2023 season. This was partly due to 102 extra traps funded by ECan and managed by Excell Biosecurity, and partly to the ongoing Ship rat boom. Catch rate increased in the estuary traps for the first year since we started trapping – in 2018.

The annual report is almost complete.

To mark the 100^th birthday of Forest and Bird, Bird of the Year is this year Bird of the Century. The black-fronted tern is a candidate, and the photograph they are using is of a bird from the Ashley. Please vote BFT.

Our annual bird count is on 18 November this year.

At the estuary –

Eleanor Gunby is carrying on with her MSc thesis work – with further funding provided by the Waimakairiri Zone Committee through ARRG.
This season there seems to be even more human disturbance. The Waimakariri District Council is reviewing the Northern Pegasus Bay Bylaw and will be asking for public submissions, probably from mid October to mid November. We would like to tighten rules around dogs and vehicle access.
As a result of ARRG advocacy, ECan is going to be doing some work on the Southern Black-backed Gull nests at the estuary. Along the spit, and probably along the western margin of the estuary, eggs will be broken and nests destroyed. Last season SBBG were responsible (along with disturbance) for the inability of BD to nest along the spit, and for the destruction of a white-fronted tern colony.
Bev Alexander is giving a talk on estuary birds for the Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust at the Waikuku Beach hall from 7pm on 13 September.

Grant Davey

11/9/23

August 23 2021

Group Update, August 2021

ashleyriver 4X4, annual survey, black billed gulls, black-billed gulls, black-fronted tern, floods, management, Predators, research, Trapping, Trapping, weeds, wrybill

by Nick Ledgard, ARRG Chair

The last Update was written earlier this year in January, so a fair bit of water has gone under the bridge since then. Quite literally actually, as the most significant happening affecting our local river over the last 6 months has been the record floods of late May and mid June.

Down on the river. The floods not only cleared the riverbed of virtually all weeds, but also ate into the margin of the vegetated berm which lies between the open fairway and the marginal banks. This has widened the fairway in places, but it may well be less braided than before. Despite the floods, the berm remains considerably wider than it was a few decades ago, and as stated publicly many times recently, a braided river must have ‘room to move’ in order to maintain the braided riverbed habitat which the birds need for successful breeding and feeding. Although we now have a ‘weed-free / clean slate’ riverbed, the future challenge is how to keep it that way.

Bird movement. After February, our core indigenous breeding bird species (wrybill, black-fronted tern (BFT), black-billed gull (BBG), banded dotterel (BD), pied stilt and S. Is pied oystercatcher) move out to warmer winter locations. Most retreat to the coast and the northern N. Island, whilst some of the banded dotterels cross the Tasman Sea to Australia. Over winter, only a handful of other species, including a few BFT, remain on the river. We have good records of these, as some sections of the riverbed are walked at least monthly by Grant Davey and myself.

Right now, the breeding birds are starting to return. The first wrybill was seen on August 16, and we can expect to find nests from around mid-September. Small numbers of BD, BBG and BFT have also been seen, and some BD may be nesting as they are usually the first to start. Nesting colonies of the gulls and terns are unlikely to be established before mid-October. The May/June floods mean that there are many weed-free sites available for breeding, but that major disruption which was followed by a number of other high flow events may result in a slower than usual return of core foods – aquatic insects and small fish.

Maintaining habitat. Weed invasion remains our greatest threat, as although the record May/June floods swept the riverbed clean, the weeds will rapidly return. Initially, they will be small and more readily removed, so we have new opportunities for sorting out the cost-effective means of controlling them. The riverbed is owned by ECan and understandably, the prime aim of past management has been on flood control. This has sometimes been at the expense of conservation values, such as bird habitat. Hence, over the last year, we have had many discussions about shifting the management focus more towards environmental considerations.

Gravel extraction. This is the main commercial activity undertaken on the river. Although such activity can assist the birds by removing weeds, there are many examples which show that it can also create problems if not carried out properly. In our discussions, we have pointed these out to ECan, who are keen to correct consent deficiencies and improve their oversight. They are very aware that we spend more time on the riverbed than virtually anyone else, and so can act as watchdogs. Gravel extraction has been considerable (some would say excessive) over recent years. It is likely to become more restricted in the near future, as despite the recent floods moving masses of gravel down-river, very little of this is ‘new’ ie., originating from catchment headwaters.

Predator trapping. This remains our major commitment in terms of personnel and operational hours involved – and continues all year round, both alongside the river and around the estuary. Over the last year there have been on average 236 traps along the river and 129 at the estuary, serviced at least monthly by 26 volunteer trappers. Nearly 100 traps were lost to the May/June floods, but thanks to generous cash donations and supply of materials, the majority of those have now been replaced. We are particularly grateful to the Mens Shed at Rymans Healthcare village who have made nearly all the replacement DOC200 boxes.

Trap catch. Over the past 2 years, we have trapped almost 1000 predators, with the dominant species being hedgehogs and rats. However, despite the consistent trapping effort, results show that the trap-catch rate has been static over recent years – at around 0.5 predators caught per 100 trap nights. The composition of predators caught alongside the river was very different to that caught at the estuary. Compared to the river, the estuary had a higher percentage of rats (53% estuary; 35% river), stoats (16%; 6%) and weasels (18%; 11%), but a lower percentage of hedgehogs (9%; 38%) and feral cats (5%; 10%). The reasons for this are unknown.

How effective are traps? We have long suspected that many predators visiting trap sites do not get caught. In order to look more closely at this, we set up a project for a student, Quill Yates. He investigated predator visits and catches over a 2-month period last autumn. Trail cameras were set up at three sites where three trap types were placed alongside each other. Almost 20,000 images were analysed. The main finding was that only 8.3% of predator visits resulted in successful catches. The percentage caught / visit for feral cats, rats and hedgehogs were 2%, 22% and 22% respectively. Too few mustelids (ferrets, stoats and weasels) were caught to allow for any analyses to be done. A detailed report is being written, which will contain recommendations as to how the number of trap-catches might be improved.

Trapping review. A year ago, ECan agreed to fund a review of our trapping strategy, including the possibility of doubling our trap numbers by installing a double line alongside the river. A contractor has been approached to undertake the review.

Human disturbance. We continue to make sure the public are well informed – via media articles, presentations and talks, displays, and our website and Facebook page. In the 2020-21 year, there were 39 different promotion activities undertaken. Earlier this month, all 4WD access ways were mapped, and as in previous years, these will be blocked during the breeding season (September to the end of January).

Finances. The Group is always closely following its accounts and budget situation – and generally, our finances are in good shape. We are now mostly self-funded for our day-to-day existence, with monies coming from donations, our trap making and selling, and sponsorship via Karikaas Natural Dairy Products Ltd cheese sales. Funds for larger special projects usually come from ECan.

Reports. For over a year, ECan has been drafting a long-term management plan for the Ashley-Rakahuri River. This will recommend how we carry on into the future. It is hoped to be able to read this report in the near future. The annual report for 2020-21 will be completed within the next month. This, and a number of internal reports (referenced in the annual report), are written by Grant Davey and myself.

Group structure and meetings. In addition to the normal committee hierarchy of chair, secretary and treasurer, it was agreed in June to create three management teams – operations, communication and administration. It was felt that such a structure will lead to less work required by any one individual. The teams will be confirmed at the 2021 AGM on October 7, together with the member(s) to lead each of them. Our 8-person Management Committee continues to meet regularly.

Finally, this will be the last Update that I write as Chairman. After 18 years in this position, it is time to hand over to someone else.

As usual, many thanks to all our volunteers for the time taken to support our cause.

Nick Ledgard
Chair, ARRG

January 19 2021

Gull disturbance

ashleyriver 4X4, bird kills, black billed gulls, black-billed gulls

Over the last few days, we’ve had a number of incidences of 4wds and motorbikes going through the fledgling gulls at the Smarts colony. Around a dozen seem to have been killed.

This year we have had the second biggest black-billed gull colony on the Ashley River in 20 years. The 1,278 nests have produced approximately the same number of fledglings (flying chicks) – this is a very good outcome. We have had no real problem with ground predators with only 2 Norway rats caught in traps in the area and no sign of them killing anything. In a slightly bigger gull colony last year rats killed more than 100 chicks. Also harrier predation has been minimal – perhaps due to pied stilts, black-fronted terns and adult gulls chasing them away. Scarecrows that we placed in the area probably have also helped. Last year harriers also killed more than 100 chicks. Adult gulls have been able to get enough food for their chicks from irrigated farms in the lower Ashley area.

However recently four-wheel drive vehicles and motorbikes have been recklessly driving through young gull chicks. In one case a 4wd was seen to speed up when approaching the birds.

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Most of the chicks can fly and get out of the way to some extent, but at least 10 appear to have been killed.

There are much more vulnerable smaller chicks as well as black-fronted tern and banded dotterel chicks in the area.

There hasn’t been a major amount of damage done, but it is very disappointing to see. Environment Canterbury and the our group have done a lot of work through education, publicity and the installation of signs and physical barriers to stop vehicles getting on the river – this sort of thing should not still be happening.

People should be aware that killing protected native wildlife can result in penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and 2 years in prison. Black-billed gulls have a conservation status of nationally critical.

January 17 2021

Group update Jan 2021

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Down on the river

The main gauge of our success in looking after the indigenous birds on the river comes from our annual surveys of species numbers. This season, the survey took place on November 21, and is well reported in Grant Davey’s report (2020 Ashley-Rakahuri Annual Bird Survey). The total of wrybill, banded dotterels (BD), black-fronted terns (BFT), pied stilts (PS) and S. Is pied oystercatchers (SIPO) was 376 compared with 1004 last year and 461 in 2018. This was the third equal worst year on record (along with 2002) for these species – with the worst year being 2001 (285 birds). Before thinking ‘all is lost – we’ve failed’, consider this. Numbers plummeted after 2014 due to lack of large floods and a major expansion of invasive weeds. The 1-in-10 year flood of July 2017 brought the weed situation back to above the 2014 level and we thought the high 2020 survey figures indicated a great recovery. However, we now know that the exceptional bird numbers of that year were without doubt strongly influenced by floods in the Waimakariri forcing birds to move elsewhere. Right now the weeds are again advancing vigorously, so until we win that battle (see ‘Loss of habitat’ below) the bird numbers are likely to remain in the recovery phase. On the positive side, black-billed gull (BBG) Sept 21 survey numbers were 1820 (this species is not included in the above figures as a single colony can distort all-species comparisons), the second highest on record, and at the Smarts site BBG numbers had risen to 2846 a month later. Until relatively recently we had a BBG colony about every second year, but since 2016 a reasonable local colony has been an annual feature. At the time of writing, BBG numbers at the Smarts site (around 4ha) are 1780, of which around 1280 are flying juveniles. This would be one of our best ever BBG fledging results. The island site was cleared of weeds by a Taggart Earthmoving shingle extraction operation over the 2020 winter, and in addition to the large BBG colony, has attracted breeding BFTs, BDs, PSs, SIPOs and a single wrybill pair. As such, the site represents a vision of what bird life on the river can be, and this could certainly be improved further, plus hopefully replicated elsewhere (see below). At least 8 wrybill pairs took up territories over the season, which is the same as 2 years ago, and only a couple less than last season. Most of these hatched and fledged chicks. The species which remains of most concern is the BFT. Survey numbers were the fourth lowest on record, and their breeding success has once again been poor. Small colonies established to the nest/egg stage at 4 locations, but only the one at Smarts progressed to hatching chicks. Our monitoring of the Smarts colony this season has been mainly undertaken by Grant Davey, who regularly checks nests and traps in addition to aerial counts using our drone. The Group is extremely fortunate to have access to Grant’s data gathering and processing skills. I doubt if any other similar conservation entity in the country collects and publically presents such detailed results with such accuracy, clarity and promptness. For some weeks, Grant was greatly assisted by an ECan student intern, Matt Kim, who enjoyed spending hours observing the birds from our hide on the north bank of the river.

Loss of habitat

This remains our biggest challenge, and influences bird populations the most. The major concern is the rapid invasion of weeds – mainly lupins, gorse, broom, blackberry and willow, plus a range of grasses and other herbaceous species. The Smarts site, where bird breeding has been good, is a good example of this problem. It was virtually clear of weeds in September, but is now well covered in a new crop of seedlings. Weed invasion not only ruins bird breeding sites, but also smothers important shallow water/shingle margins where most feeding occurs. Nothing other than artificial clearing can be guaranteed to change this, as we cannot depend on natural floods. Last winter we cleared over 40 ha, mainly with a custom-built tractor-mounted undercutter. This coming winter we must do more of the same at selected sites which birds favour for breeding and feeding. Loss of open braided river habitat has also occurred as the berm zone (there to protect the stopbank) has expanded out into the open fairway – where birds feed and breed. As clearly stated in our 2019-20 annual report, over 50% of the fairway has been lost since 1942, and it continues to shrink to the present day. Excessive shingle extraction does not help to retain braids as it causes deepening and channelling of flow pathways. Discussions are underway with river engineers as to how this past management can be amended to enhance the ‘natural’ braided river character and extent of the Ashley-Rakahuri river. All this is part of a long-term planning process funded by ECan, and promised for consultation in the near future.

Trapping

This is by far our major commitment in terms of personnel involved and operational hours – and continues all year round, both alongside the river and around the estuary. There is a total of just under 400 traps out there, serviced at least monthly by 25 volunteer trappers. Since July 1, 2020, trap-catch figures alongside the river read 10 cats, 63 hedgehogs, 21 weasels, 8 stoats, 1 ferret, 8 rats, 18 ship rats and 25 Norway rats. Whilst at the estuary – 2 cats, 3 hedgehogs, 15 weasels, 17 stoats, 0 ferrets, 10 ship rats and 13 Norway rats. Last season, our large BBG colony at the Railway site suffered major predation by rats and harrier hawks. This year, only 2 Norway rats and a mouse have been trapped on Smarts island (compared to about 15 rats and a stoat last year), and raids by harrier hawks appear to have been minimal. The latter could well be due to scarecrows erected close to the colony. On December 11, a trappers BBQ was hosted at the DOC offices, attracting over 30 participants.

Human disturbance

The main way to reduce this is by making sure the public are well informed – via media articles, presentations and talks, displays, and our website and Facebook page. We now have a Promotions / Communications strategy, drawn up by professional advocacy member, Steve Attwood, and implementing that is a newly appointed Promotions Officer, Joan Miles. Our awareness efforts must be working, as compared to the past, this season has seen far fewer people and vehicle intrusions out onto the riverbed.

Visitors

Apart from talking to groups, making presentations and manning displays, we accompany visitors to see what is actually happening on the river. Over the season, we have had visits by those who have gifted donations, ECan engineers and riverbed staff, the Waimakariri Zone committee, an Orari Rivercare Group rep, a TVNZ crew and our Mayor, Dan Gordon. All appear impressed by what they see, and are very supportive for the continuation of our efforts.

Finances

The Group is always closely following its accounts and budget situation – and generally our finances are in good shape. We are now mostly self-funded for our day-to-day existence, with monies coming from donations, our trap making and selling, and sponsorship via Karikaas Natural Dairy Products Ltd cheese sales. Funds for larger special projects, such as weed clearing, come from ECan.

Meetings

Our 8-person Management Committee met on December 1, followed by a general meeting on December 3. The MC will meet next before the end of this month. Please mark Thursday, March 18 on your calendar for our next General meeting – starting at 7pm at the DOC offices on River Road.

As usual, many thanks to all our volunteers for the time taken to support our cause.

Nick Ledgard

Chair, ARRG

September 20 2020

Group update

ashleyriver 4X4, management, research, Trapping, weeds, wrybill

First of all, apologies for the lack of updates this year. In fact, there have been none, as the last was in December, 2019.

Down on the river

The last season was a good one for bird numbers, as nearly all species were present in record numbers. Breeding results were variable. Up to 10 wrybill pairs nested, raising 8 chicks, and for the first time since 2000 there were two black-billed gull (BBG) colonies containing over 2000 nests. There was also a record number of breeding black-fronted terns (BFT – 111 nests). But fledging results from both species was lower than the long-term average. All the details are in the 2019-20 annual report – due out before the end of this month. The start of this new season has seen the normal variable beginning. All the species are present, although so far only 2 wrybill pairs. The nests of both have been found, but one set of eggs has rather mysteriously disappeared, and the other is in a very vulnerable site. Good numbers of BFT and BBG have been seen, but they have yet to settle on nesting sites. Nests of banded dotterels and oystercatchers have been found, while pied stilts are again in good numbers. But it is still early in the season, so much will change. Once things have settled, we will arrange twilight visits to see the most accessible birds.

Trapping

This is by far our major commitment and continues all year round, both alongside the river and around the estuary. There is a total of just under 400 traps out there, serviced at least monthly by 25 volunteer trappers. Rats remain the most common catch, followed by hedgehogs, weasels, stoats and feral cats – with numbers of the last mentioned being greater over winter. For the first time we have been deploying bait stations to try to reduce rats before the breeding season starts, as they were a major issue at the big colonies last season. As were harrier hawks, which we will try to deter using scarecrows. Another source of adult bird losses last season was power line strikes. This season we will seek volunteers to check under lines, so that we have the figures to support an approach to power transmission companies.

Weeds

Weed invasion is arguably our major ‘new’ challenge. Between 2014 and early 2017 there was a significant decline in bird numbers caused by weed invasion and the loss of clear gravel breeding areas, before large floods over the 2017 winter increased clean shingle areas from around 30ha to over 250ha. However, these clear areas are now being reinvaded. As we cannot rely on good floods, around 35 ha was cleared in August by a locally developed tractor-mounted undercutter developed by Cresslands Contracting on Tulls Road. An Iranian PhD student, Sanaz Safavian, continues her studies of weed invasion successions on the riverbed at the Tulls site. Over recent times, the Group has become concerned about management leading to an ever-widening berm zone, which limits ‘room for the river to move’ and leads to loss of the ‘normal’ braided riverbed habitat essential for the long-term survival of riverbed birds. This matter is currently being discussed with ECan.

Human disturbance

The main way to reduce this is by making sure the public are well informed. We do this by all sorts of means, and the annual report’s activity list contains almost 50 entries – mainly articles, interviews, presentations, displays, our website, Facebook page and video. In order to improve awareness further, at the next meeting (see below) we will be proposing the acceptance of a Promotions / Communications strategy, drawn up by professional advocacy member, Steve Attwood. More directly, we annually assist ECan to block off the major vehicle access-ways for the period between September and February . This was completed during August, with signs strategically placed explaining why. Talking signs, a professionally designed interpretation panel will soon appear at the Cones road bridge picnic area.

Finances

The Group’s finances are in good shape. We are now mostly self-funded for our day-to-day existence, with finances coming from a trap making and selling project (197 traps made and 116 sold in 2019-20), donations and sponsorship via Karikaas Natural Dairy Products Ltd cheese sales. Grants for larger special projects, such as the recent 35ha of weed clearing, come from ECan.

Meetings

The COVID situation has allowed us only one general meeting this year – although our 8-person Management Committee has met on five occasions. So, please mark Thursday, October 8 on your calendar for our AGM, followed by a General Meeting. This starts at 7.30pm at the DOC offices on River Road.

As usual, many thanks to all our volunteers for the time taken to support our cause.

– Nick Ledgard, Chairperson

October 13 2019

Ashley Update: October 2019

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Birds. It has been a slow start to the riverbed breeding season – possibly due to the persistence of cooler weather. I walk a section of the river every month and turn over rocks in the shallower braids looking for insect activity (the base of the food chain). Parts have plenty, others have virtually none (and usually fewer birds), but numbers are increasing. I reckon that there are currently 6 pairs of wrybill occupying territories on the AR, with nests found within three. Included in this lot is BW/BW, back in the usual site for his 10^th season. There are other likely and historically used sites which could well get taken up in the near future. The first nesters are nearly always banded dotterels. Some nests have been found, plus young chicks seen. Oystercatchers have also been observed on nests at a few sites, but the pied stilts have been slower off the mark. Of particular interest are 100s of black-billed gulls present not far above the Cones Road bridge. Last week two Twilight Walk groups visited them – they look as if they will breed there, but no signs of nests yet. Black-fronted terns are also gathering at a few sites, with 70+ up above the aerodrome, but like the gulls, they have yet to start laying eggs.

Annual survey. Hopefully, you have already received notification about this event on Saturday, November 16. Please be at the start site in the Cones Road river bridge picnic area before 8.30 am. This will mean that we can be on the river by 9 am, and all going well, be home again by midday. Bev Alexander is taking names, so will contact people if the river/weather requires postponement.

Predators. We now have 241 traps out on the riverbed, plus another 137 around the estuary. All told, there are 28 volunteers servicing them. Over late winter the catch rate dropped considerably but is now picking up – with the first hedgehogs emerging from hibernation. Weasels are the main pest being caught currently. Trapping co-ordinator, Peter Whitehead, has organised the establishment of a central ‘supply’ depot at DoC, where trappers can get bait and other essentials. He has also made and sent around tubes for poison baits, targeting rats which were in record numbers at the end of last season. In addition to all this, we have made a number of run-through trapping tunnels, which we will deploy in a grid formation around colonies of gulls and terns.

Trap making. Geoff Swailes continues to organise sessions in his garage, including one in which students of N. Loburn school will assist as part of establishing a local ‘library’, from which traps can be borrowed by local people.

Weeds. The invasion of clear shingle by weeds (yellow lupins, grasses, gorse, broom, blackberry etc) is arguably the biggest threat to long-term successful bird breeding – as we cannot depend on large floods to keep them at bay. We don’t want to use chemicals in the riverbed, so this year we have been involved in a trial using a tractor-mounted ripper, developed by Cresslands Contracting Ltd on Tulls road. The Mark 111 version is almost there, and cleared 14 ha during August. DOC and ECan have funded this work, and hope that the result can be a cost-effective way of maintaining weed control into the future – on more than just our river.

River-bed access. From Sept 1 to the end of January, we have an agreement with ECan and the Combined 4WD Club, that 4WD access into the riverbed be restricted. To this end, in August concrete blocks and barriers were placed across the main access ways. To be sure, there will always be those who challenge such restrictions, but by and large, the barriers have been accepted and vehicle use of the riverbed is way less than it was a few years ago.

Student study. A UoC PhD student, Sanaz Safavian (from Iran), is working in association with the ripper weed trial, monitoring weed successions following control, plus the use of the sites by birds (just a few banded dotterels to date). Members of the group helped her to establish plots which are now being measured regularly. [Photo: Sanaz getting close up to a nesting wrybill. Sanaz is studying weed succession on the river, following clearance by a tractor-mounted ripper. This photo was taken by Group member, Grant Davey, who is well versed in how to take such shots with minimum disturbance to the birds involved.]

Public awareness. The Group’s profile remains high, as we continue to be involved with schools, local groups, the Ohoka market etc. Plus we gave a couple of Ppt addresses at the very successful braided river seminar held at Lincoln on June 26 (fully booked out, with over 150 present). Our 20-minute video, ‘Rakahuri Rescue’ has been well received throughout the country. Please promote its viewing as widely as you can. Then there is Karakaas Dairy Products Ltd, our one and only sponsor. Please support them (and us) by purchasing their bird-marked and very tasty products.

What can you do? Needless to say, this is a frequently asked question. And it is not easily answered, as apart from trap checking (which requires special skills), occasions down on the river where many people can be involved are few and far between. There is the half-day survey on Nov 16 (see above), but this involves less than 20 people with the right bird ID skills. In the autumn, we had some volunteer weed pulling mornings, which went well but cannot be continued into the bird breeding season. There will be more of these next year. Right now during the breeding season, we try to keep people off the river for bird disturbance reasons, but we will attempt to organise more ‘twilight’ walks to sites where the birds can be viewed from a safe distance. Anyone can, of course, attend our meetings – a notice about the next one (prior to Christmas) will be sent around in the near future. For a full record of where we have been and intend to go, have a look at our annual 2018-19 report.

Nick Ledgard, October 2019

March 7 2019

Film Premiere: “Rakahuri Recovery – saving the birds of the Ashley-Rakahuri River”

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Book your tickets here

The award-winning efforts of the dedicated volunteers working to save the unique but endangered birds of the Ashley-Rakahuri River are celebrated in this short film.

The birds evolved to live on Canterbury’s braided rivers, which themselves are almost unique in the world. They include the wrybill plover, the only species in the world with a sideways bending bill. Other specialist braided river birds are the black-fronted tern and the black-billed gull.

The birds are threatened by introduced predators, exotic weeds and human disturbance, so in 1999 concerned volunteers formed the Ashley-Rakahuri Rivercare Group (ARRG) with the mission ‘of protecting birds and their habitat in the Ashley River / Rakahuri, while recognising essential river control works and sympathetic recreational users.

ARRG has been successful, and won awards for its endeavours – including the 2018 Practical Management Award given out by the Australasian Wildlife Management Society. Some say the Group has set an example of how conservation actions can be carried out by a community.

This 18 minute video by local film-maker Tony Benny follows a year’s activities, with stunning footage of the birds and their breeding stages, along with the challenges they face. It includes interviews with river users about how awareness by the general public is being improved.

The cinema will be showing this documentary free of charge, however as it will be on screen between between paid movies, attendees do need to be at the cinema by 6.00pm sharp.

January 26 2019

4X4 runs over colony of black-billed gulls, killing chicks.

ashleyriver 4X4, black-billed gulls 4WD, 4X4, black-billed gulls

In mid-November 2018, a large colony, up to 2,500 strong, of black-billed gulls began nesting in the Ashley River near the State Highway One bridge. This was after they had been washed out of the Waimakariri by a large flood. In late November they also lost their nests to a flood. Such birds are very determined, so they began nesting again further up the Ashley River. In early December there were up to 2,130 there – including non-breeding adults.

First chicks were seen on 30 December and by mid January all chicks had hatched and they had moved to the nearby waters edge. Five hundred chicks were counted, from an estimated 850 nests, on 21 January.

ARRG and ECan have as usual made a comprehensive effort to close access to the river to 4wd vehicles during the nesting season. Many signs have been erected. Education efforts to inform the public about the effects that people, vehicles and dogs can have on nesting birds have continued. Despite this, on 24 January 9 chicks were found crushed to death by a vehicle.

The evidence of this was clear, vehicle tracks could be seen leading directly to the colony, the vehicle then backed off and attempted to go around the edge of the colony but still managed to hit some birds. This does not appear to be a deliberate attempt to kill the birds but was an act of recklessness and stupidity.