Keeping our ōi chicks safe through lockdown

The Karioi team reports from Raglan:

The Karioi team ready for action again post lockdown!

We’re still in the midst of ōi chick season, with lots of things to do as well as balancing this with limitations during level changes and restrictions. We’ve had to quickly respond to the changes in alert levels to ensure that we keep our team and volunteers safe as they check traps and monitor seabird activity.

Luckily much of the monitoring work could be done independently, and is supported by private landowners. We were also able to continue a low level of predator control work on the coastline. However, the species dog that usually visits to find new breeding habitat and burrows has had to be cancelled and work on the maunga was put on hold.

As a result, this ōi breeding season has been tough. Sadly, we’ve already lost numerous ōi adults and chicks to ferrets this year. Ferret incursions have been increasing all around Aotearoa. As rabbit populations grow, ferret numbers are increasing too. The abundance of these two species is strongly correlated, so we’ve been asking local landowners to control rabbits on their property, or open their property up for rabbit control and also seeking volunteers to help with rabbit hunting.

For some good news, we’ve been giving out Backyard Hub wooden letterbox badges to homes in our community that are backyard trapping to help raise awareness and invite others on the journey to becoming predator free too. You can read more about the Backyard Hub badges here.

Karioi Backyard Hub badges on mailboxes of backyard trappers

And we’ve also been able to celebrate and acknowledge local Raglan businesses that have stepped up to support the Karioi Project in a variety of ways. Have you noticed the Karioi Project logo or the ōi chick image on these products (Raglan Coconut Yoghurt (Raglan Food Co), Raglan Chocolate & Morning Glory Coffee) in your supermarket? Find out what inspired them to support us on the Karioi website.

Karioi Project promotion on these products in your supermarket