Possum Control:

Moehau Environment Group wishes to carry out  ground based pest control operations over the lands of Knox Farm(DOC Estate), Gravelles(private land), and the Paeroa Block (DOC Reserve).
The operation is to take place during November finishing by 30th November.
Main poison used is pelletized cyanide in a prefeed paste placed in baitstations.
There will be clearly displayed onsite signage to advertise the operation. All poisons will be removed by 30th November.
It is suggested you do not enter these areas during this time.
Letters to landowners on the boundaries of the above blocks are being sent out immediately, to seek permission for access if needed, and to show with a map the areas proposed in the operation.
If there is anything you wish to discuss or concerns you have, please do not hesitate to contact Wayne Todd at MEG.

Shining Cuckoos
They’re back: those tiny noisy birds, with irridescent green backs, and distinctive pale barred breasts. And to look at them it’s hard to imagine
they’ve just flown over 3000kms from the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipeligo. Little is known of their exact route, but it is thought that many come down the eastern seaboard of Australia, before flying across the Tasman. That’s a journey in itself!
They begin arriving usually around the last week of September/first week of October.
Like many other cuckoos, they neither build nests nor rear young, but rely on Grey Warblers to do it for them. Usually placing one egg in a warblers nest. The Cuckoo chick will trample or push out the warbler chicks or eggs. It is thought they might lay into more than one nest as a cuckoo was found with two or more large eggs in its oviduct and two more in the ovary.
Diet consists mainly of insects and their larvae. Caterpillars, especially the Magpie moth, are a favourite. Mostly solitary, they flock into small numbers for a part of the Spring/Summer season.
I have seen a flock of fifteen outside my backdoor in a tall kanuka carrying on like a group of parrots. “ Chattering away to each other, and ‘clowning’. Walking upside down along branchs, and offering food to others.
Many  birds, unfortunately are killed by cats, presumably while feeding near the ground.