The Return of What Was Missing

By Brian Megaw | March 27, 2023

The Return of What Was Missing In one of my last posts, I recounted Cyclone Gabrielle's effects on one of our trap lines. Roughly one-third of the traps are gone, with the Rangitikei River reaching heights not seen for decades and certainly not since most of the traps were initially installed some ten years ago. [...]

Gabrielle, The River, and The Birds

By Brian Megaw | March 13, 2023

Gabrielle, The River, and The Birds Last week I spent a day checking the Stoat trap line we have downstream from River Valley Lodge on the Rangitikei River. This particular line of about 40 traps consists of a mix of DOC 200 single and double, kill traps. The primary target species are stoats, but we [...]

Flight of the Kiwi

By Brian Megaw | January 1, 2023

Flight of the Kiwi The Kiwi, the native bird used as a symbol of Aotearoa/New Zealand, cannot fly. It lost the use of its wings millions of years ago as it adapted to the unique conditions it found on this isolated landmass. And yet I saw 10 Kiwi fly. This occasion happened at an event [...]

A Day in the Life of a Trap Checker

By Brian Megaw | October 6, 2022

A Day in the Life of a Trap Checker For millennia, the islands of Aotearoa/New Zealand were separated from other land masses. This isolation led our endemic species (species found here and nowhere else) to evolve to occupy all the available niches in this pre-human landscape. Unfortunately, this evolution and specialisation made them incredibly vulnerable [...]

2022 Hui for Whio

By Brian Megaw | August 29, 2022

2022 Hui for Whio I have written regularly on the conservation efforts undertaken in the Ruahine Ranges to protect and enhance native bird life, particularly the endemic Whio or Blue Duck. The Ruahine Ranges run up the spine of the southern central North Island, from the Manawatu Gorge until meeting the Kaweka and Kaimanawa Ranges. [...]

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