Mahi Kororā
Kororā (Breeding season only July – February)
- Breeding season subject to change with more data.
- Build kororā information database at Urenui and Wai iti beaches. Information gathered includes, weight, sex, condition and populations by way of night catching, footprint surveys and nest monitoring where possible.
- Maintain relationships with Ngāmotu marine reserve society who have funded the set up of this mahi and my training and hold the DOC permit to handle kororā in North Taranaki.
- Maramataka and tohu taiao recording with surveys.
- Periodic presence/absence surveys at all other possible breeding sites on the Mutunga coast.
- Gain Korora handlers level 3 trainers ticket and train one Mutunga whanau member to microchip kororā.
- GPS tracking of 3 nesting Kororā to measure distances travelled for foraging
- Utilisation of ArcGIS as part of this monitoring program
- Implementation of Kororā as an indicator species for the Mauri Compass tool
Night catching
- Scan for microchip/tag
- measure
- Weigh
- Condition check
- tag if not already
- release
Nest Checks
- Check nests once a week for nesting birds and microchip chicks as they start to mature
Footprint Surveys
- Early morning footprint counts when the tide permits
Nest Boxes
- Install new boxes at Urenui or Wai iti
- Repairs and maintenance on existing boxes
ArcGIS
- Develop Survey123 app for data entry which will link directly back to our main server
- Mapping of colonies
Kororā (blue penguin)
We continue to monitor our kororā at Wai iti beach by catch, weigh, measure and release.We have now also added Urenui beach to our monitoring schedule with good results. We conducted a survey of three sites as part of our Greymouth seismic survey response thisyear and I have included the summary below.
“The kororā breeding season this year at Onaero, Urenui and Wai iti begun later than in previous years. With the alarming news from northland that more than 100 little blue penguins have perished from starvation in May of this year we were worried about how our own populations might be faring. While numbers and condition are slightly down from last year, we have not had any large casualty events leading up to our own breeding season.
The variations in results from before, during and after the seismic survey were not significant. Because of the short period of the surveys and lack of sufficient baseline data we still cannot be sure of the effects the seismic activity had on our colonies. From the data gathered this year we can start to paint a better picture of how the health of our colonies are looking and whether the health and populations are declining in the face of climate change, and/or if we can see improvements in numbers as a result of increased predator control, habitat restoration and education through community engagement.
“The kororā breeding season this year at Onaero, Urenui and Wai iti begun later than in previous years. With the alarming news from northland that more than 100 little blue penguins have perished from starvation in May of this year we were worried about how our own populations might be faring. While numbers and condition are slightly down from last year, we have not had any large casualty events leading up to our own breeding season.
The variations in results from before, during and after the seismic survey were not significant. Because of the short period of the surveys and lack of sufficient baseline data we still cannot be sure of the effects the seismic activity had on our colonies. From the data gathered this year we can start to paint a better picture of how the health of our colonies are looking and whether the health and populations are declining in the face of climate change, and/or if we can see improvements in numbers as a result of increased predator control, habitat restoration and education through community engagement.
Although numbers of kororā appear slightly less than last season we still have a strong population and hopefully breeding is successful this year. As we gather more information each season, we will be able to better understand the health and wellbeing of our coastal environments.”
(Ngāti Mutunga Kororā Survey 2022 to monitor effects of Greymouth Seismic survey on nesting Kororā.