The Sanctuary never sleeps, even when it's cold and wet
We hope you have all been staying warm over the last few chilly months. In May we waved goodbye to the last of our Taiko and Titi until the coming summer, when they will return from South American waters and breed within the sanctuary once again. It also saw the last of our tour groups, leaving us with the few keen travellers who braved the wintery tropics of the Barrier to walk our loop track.We hope you have all been staying warm over the last few chilly months. In May we waved goodbye to the last of our Taiko and Titi until the coming summer, when they will return from South American waters and breed within the sanctuary once again. It also saw the last of our tour groups, leaving us with the few keen travellers who braved the wintery tropics of the Barrier to walk our loop track.
Ngahuru/Autumn and Takuru/Winter is our favourite time to be discovering tiny fungi treasures in the forest.
Volunteers: aka the people who make this place amazing Plenty of boats were anchored in Fitzroy harbour during the first week of May. All of them had arrived with some keen volunteers onboard. Dave and Lorna smashed through the wood pile and stocked us up for winter. Graeme and Rick tinkered with the tinny outboard so now it doesn’t miss a beat. Poor Murray, Craig and Sarah found the wasp nest on their first trap line but soldiered on anyway. Over the course of the week the group re baited over 360 rat stations and trapped 55 rats within the sanctuary. Thanks so much for all your help and positivity towards this special place.
Thanks to the Great Barrier Local board, we were also very lucky to have the assistance from the on island Envirokiwi crew, who helped us smash out a whole heap of pest related mahi over the last 3 months. Thanks team, the sanctuary would've been pretty quiet without you.
From Sky to Sea:
Mangroves are amazing native plants and play an important role in our ecosystem. They protect our coastal banks from erosion, absorbing flood waters and slowing down rough seas by dissipating the waters energy. They absorb carbon from the atmosphere to help prevent climate change, and provide essential nursery habitat for fish, and feeding grounds for native birds like our at risk banded rail. They are also brilliant at concealing a lot of washed up plastic!!! Awesome work from Hillcrest boys who spent the afternoon collecting rubbish along the shoreline. They even stumbled across a little blue penguin burrow.
New Faces:
Nau mai haere mai. We are very happy to welcome two new members to the Glenfern trust. Rodney Ngawaka from Kawa Marae and Darren Cleave from Motairehe Marae.Thankyou so much for your time and commitment. We are very excited to continue this pathway forward together.
Our resident Pateke pair already has their first clutch of ducklings bobbing around in the pond, the kaka are returning in abundance and the kereru are beginning to build their nests. Keep your eyes peeled in your backyard over the next few months as the males will be performing their spectacular display dives. This happens just before breeding and generally within close proximity to their nest, so you will get a real clue as to where the kererū pair have concealed their nest! All and all it has been a glorious winter within the fence. However we do hope our boots dry out at some stage. We are excited for things to start warming up a bit and welcoming more visitors back to the sanctuary. Take care and see you in our neck of the woods soon. Nga mihi The Glenfern Team