Kip helping in fight to protect native birds in Mackenzie Basin

Matthew Littlewood 13:00, Feb 12 2019

DOC ranger Cody Thyne's conservation dog, Kip, is trained to find native birds in some of the most torrid terrain in the Mackenzie region.

She's cute, has an amazing sense of smell and is being used in the fight to protect the region's wildlife.

Kip the German shorthaired pointer has just received full certification as a conservation dog - certified to locate Kaki, wrybill and Whio, and is now working for the Department of Conservation (DOC) sniffing out native birds in the Mackenzie Basin.

DOC ranger Cody Thyne said it has taken about two years Kip to get to this stage.

"It takes a bit of time. You get your dog and spend quite a while teaching them the basics," he said.

Kip replaces the office's former conservation dog Jazz who died about two years ago.

"We had to jump through a number of hoops before Kip got full certification to make sure she's completely safe.

"The dogs really are an efficient tool for conservation work. Their noses can't be beaten. They are an awesome advocacy tool as people often stop me to ask what the dog is used for."

In order to be identified, the dogs wear hi-vis vests when out on patrol and always wear a muzzle when working around protected species.

Thyne said the dog is able to sniff out kaki (black stilt) nests and hidden chicks.

"She can help me find eggs.

"When you actually go into the kaki terrain along the braided rivers it all just looks the same, so quite often the dog can narrow the search down and point us to the nests.

"Using the dog is a really easy way to find the birds."

Thyne described Kip as a "very active" dog.

"The joy of it is the first time you see her point, or indicate, the bird. It takes months and months to get to that stage, but it's so rewarding when it happens.

"She's very high strung, so she needs to be kept busy." 

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Rare kakī spotted outside of Mackenzie Basin near Timaru

The birds predominantly live in the Mackenzie Basin where the Department of Conservation Kakī Recovery Programme is run to build numbers of the once near extinction species.

Two kakī  that have appeared on a farm near Timaru are the latest of the world's rarest wading bird to be reported outside of the Mackenzie Basin.

South Canterbury farmer, George Steven said he had seen two kakī who had made a home for themselves on his dairy farm in Otipua, near Timaru. 

He first noticed the birds, who had stuck together and made a home for themselves in a wetland paddock on his farm, about a week ago.

South Canterbury farmer George Steven found a couple of the rare black stilt on his property.

The birds predominantly live in the Mackenzie Basin where the Department of Conservation Kakī Recovery Programme is run to build numbers of the once near extinct species.

"The stilts are in the paddock that has pockets filled with water." 

Readon  

Cattle stomp in critically-endangered bird habitat

CHARLIE MITCHELL

Last updated 08:12, October 11 2016

 Cattle have been photographed on the nesting ground of one of the world's most endangered species, the Black Stilt/Kaki, which has as little as 70 adults left in the wild. 

Cattle have been spotted grazing and defecating near a breeding area for one of the world's most endangered birds.

An environmental lobby group says it is a terrible look for the Mackenzie ecological area.

A marauding cattle herd was photographed last month walking freely along the Hopkins river bed, near Mount Cook.

Cattle were seen grazing in the Hopkins river, near a breeding site for the critically endangered black stilt.

They had unrestricted access to the river bed, which breaks the rules of the property's pastoral lease.

Poo could be seen scattered amongst the otherwise untarnished landscape beneath the Southern Alps.

The area is home to the kaki/black stilt, the world's rarest wading bird. There are between 70 and 90 adult kaki in the wild. 

It is one step away from extinction.

Kaki breed exclusively in the braided rivers around the Mackenzie Basin.

Continued and video