As part of an occasional series featuring species and their photographers by the team at the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, Kerry-Jayne Wilson was invited to tell the story of the Westland petrel.
‘Discovered’ in 1945 as a new species, the Westland petrel or taiko has been of interest to ecologist and ornithologist Kerry-Jayne since the 1970s when she discovered it on caving trips around Punakaiki.
Here, she tells a bit of their story, using her own and other photos from the DOC Ranger leading the Westland petrel work, Kate Simister.
Note: In the photo above, Kerry-Jayne was doing field work and the bird landed close to her. We encourage people to stay away from all wildlife to avoid disturbing them and we do all we can to minimise our own interactions with wildlife in the course of our conservation work.
Westland petrel with egg on nest (photo: Reuben Lane)
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!
