Hello,
Before you take off for your well-earned summer break, we wanted to wish you well and share some kōkako treats with you in this brief newsletter.
Since our September newsletter, we have received a handful of very good kōkako encounter reports including Kahurangi National Park, Victoria Forest Park and the South Coast Track. Find out more below.
We are very excited to be starting a project using eDNA to test whether our missing bird might be present in catchments of interest. Looking for the DNA signature of kōkako in the environment is a promising new method of detection. If the technique works, it may allow us to determine presence and absence quite quickly, without wondering whether field observers are looking in the right place. Find out more in the technology boost story below.
In our last newsletter, we mentioned the interest shown in our kōkako project by Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC). We connected with GWC when applying to National Geographic for a grant from their rare species recovery fund. GWC have now published their story for the world to read. We think you'll enjoy it - here it is.
We are waiting for National Geographic's decision on our application with cautious optimism. Of course, to sustain our modest, very economical operation, we continue to seek assistance from interested folks like you and from agencies offering funds and grants. A recent, very welcome grant from the Estate of Kathleen Alice Boyd has enabled us to purchase three more trail cameras and supporter Don Sullivan has very kindly given us two more. We will deploy them in the Granville forest south of Reefton later this month. Read more about that site and the technology boost from the cameras and the new playback record device below.
And if you're looking for a good read this holiday, we recommend Bruce Ansley's book 'Wild Journeys'.
Chapter 8, Hunting Ghosts, begins: "One fine weekend I arrange to meet Rhys Buckingham in South Westland to search for the country's most elusive bird." The kōkako story is wonderfully told, Bruce's prose is beautiful and I for one learned quite a bit more about the history of the search. We're sure the other chapters will be just as compelling.
On behalf of our Trust team, Nigel, Mark, Jenny, Andy, Ron, Euan and Rhys, I'd like to wish you a very happy, safe and peaceful Christmas holiday. Happy searching if you're out and about in our South and Stewart Island native forests - keep your camera or phone handy to record sound or pictures - don't forget the video function is great to capture sound!
See you in the New Year, hope it's a great one for you, and let's find this bird!
Inger Perkins
Manager, South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust