Very sad to report to all our Friends of Onoke Spit that a fire on Friday evening April 3 has quite extensively damaged our newly planted areas. The fire seems to have started from someone lighting a camp fire and the wind blowing the fire into our newly planted plots. Being so dry the fire spread very quickly and just shows how careful we must be when lighting fires outdoors when things are this dry.
We won’t know the full extent of the damage for a while as we are hoping that with some rain the plants just may revive. So let’s all pray for rain soon!
The pictures below give you a fairly good idea of what has happened.

Site of original campfire which started the whole thing

Fire damage in planted area

Fire crews still dampening down next morning

Looking back from Beach Road next morning

We were recently alerted by a local resident to a very sad sight. A number of dead white fronted terns had been killed at the end of Onoke Spit quite close to the Lake Ferry Hotel. Surrounding the remains of these birds we found a number of cat tracks in the sand. We also sighted a feral cat hiding under some driftwood with a cache of bird remains.
Needless to say we have set 2 further predator traps in the area and hope soon to give you the good news that the hunter has been eliminated.

Remains of white fronted terns on Onoke Spit

While the terns had a couple of goes at nesting this summer it now looks like they have left the Spit and given up for another year.
We are at a loss to know the reasons this time as the weather has been settled since before Xmas and the predator control has been working efficiently.
The black backed gulls have had another very successful breeding season and their numbers are definitely increasing.
Is there any connection? Maybe we need to find out more?
Enjoy the rest of this wonderful summer.

The resilient banded dotterels are nesting on Onoke Spit at present and Dougal has been checking the traps regularly. These birds use camouflage as there protection but predators such as rats have a very good sense of smell so they can find eggs and newly fledged chicks very easily. A dead rat means more live dotterels for us to enjoy.

One dead rat!

The art of camouflage

The job was completed last Thursday so now we have walking access across the stream by the Kiriwai lagoon.
Its been a long time coming but worth it to keep our feet dry.
Many thanks to Noel Parker for driving in the posts, to Ron Allan our master builder and to Dougal and Kevin our volunteer labourers. Thanks also to Alan Arnold for some tidying up work around the ends.

Posts in.

First span on.

Master builder Ron at work!

Looking good!

Ron and Kevin testing it out.