Trust Chair and former Ranger, Reuben Lane, has prepared a nest box plan that we hope will keep penguins more secure and will be easier to transport to potential nest sites.
Traditional nest box designs have a tunnel attached to the main nesting box and we have encouraged those building new boxes to extend the length of the tunnel to provide additional protection from wekas. Wekas are known to enter penguin nest boxes and would predate chicks if they could.
The new design includes an internal wall to form a tunnel and to provide more of a barrier to any intruders.
The plan is illustrated below and can be saved from here (right click and save image).
Key messages when building and siting a nest box are:
- Use treated timber and galvanised flat head nails
- Place in secluded and shady location, dug partially into sloping ground ensuring water will not drain into nest site and will drain away from it. At a flat site, pile earth up around box.
- Camouflage with loose vegetation
Ranger Linden Brown has been making up some of these nest boxes and you can read more and see how here:
While materials were chosen that would stand up to the harsh coastal conditions, those same coastal conditions are conducive to plant growth! Occasional checks of the fences have been carried out by volunteers and rangers so that any maintenance needs can be identified and remedied. The never-ending need for maintenance is managing the vegetation that can grow through the fence, for example gorse, blackberry and hydrangea, pushing it to breaking point in places, or flop over causing damage from the weight of rank grass, rushes and weeds such as montbretia.
Volunteers recently spent a few hours tidying up the main fence along Woodpecker Bay north of Punakaiki so a big shout out to them - thank you Fiona, Jony, Reef, Katrina, Mandy, Marty, Teresa and Deb! Flax had been pressing down on the fence, but now the fence has been freed up by these wonderful volunteers - and they picked up a fair bit of rubbish too.
Volunteer Natassja Savidge has offered to check and help maintain the Hokitika penguin protection fence and joined Ranger Lucy Waller and Manager Inger Perkins in May to inspect the length of the fence. Some minor issues were found but the main finding was the extent of the vegetation growth that was damaging the fence in places. Big thanks to Natassja!
