July 2026 update

09 Aug 2026|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

July 2026 The tracking tunnel round was a little later than intended this year due to the arrival of a grandchild and some winter health issues. Older age setting in... There were two interesting findings. We noticed an intense increase in rat numbers in the south-east Kanuka forest area - it seemed to be just limited to this area. To respond to this, in addition to our normal switch-over of baits in winter (to change up their diet), additional bait stations were located in this area. The second point of note, which we have not seen before, was the dragging out of cards by possums at 3 adjacent tracking tunnels. A change of lure has been made to see if we can capture these possums. This does coincide with a flurry of possum activity in the west of the site, which we started to notice around June. We have also seen quite an increase in feral cat numbers, some of which we have been able to remove from the area. The grant from the Auckland Council this year will enable us to trial new types of cat trap, and more of them around the site. At just over 4 years into the project we are noticing the failure of some of the plastic bait stations and possum traps. The Council funding will assist us to replace these too. My thanks to Rebekah who is the main driver of this project. Jim



Tracking Tunnel observations

16 Dec 2025|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

Over the weekend of the 5th and 6th December we completed another round of monitoring using tracking tunnels. Last time, there were no rats found but an increase in mice. To get on top of this mouse invasion, we replaced all Pindone bait with D-Block. This time around we were a bit nervous of what we might find. But the results were good! We only found mouse prints on 2 cards (out of 25) and rat prints on another 2 - only one rat per card. All other cards showed insects only. We have seen a few possums caught in our perimeter traps lately, but none in the interior. They don't get far onto our property before they are lured into our traps and dispatched promptly. Today, while on my rounds, I enjoyed the following birds: Kākā Pīwakawaka Tūī Kererū Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our bird, insect and invertebrate friends who enjoy life in our bush. Rebekah

Tracking Tunnel Observations - April 2025

18 May 2025|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

In April, we completed another round of monitoring, using tracking tunnels. We were very pleased to see NO EVIDENCE OF RATS over the entire 70 hectares. A great result. However, there was higher evidence of mice, particularly in the south-western corner of the site. Maybe the mice moved in when the rats moved out? At present, we are in the process of replacing all Pindone bait with D-Block. Hopefully, this will help to eliminate the mice. It takes several days to replace bait over the whole site. So far, we have completed the entire perimeter and this week will begin replacement in the interior. We have seen NO POSSUMS either alive or dead for a few months now. We don't miss them at all! We continue to place lure in our traps in case of a new incursion. Rebekah

Tracking tunnel observations - September 2024

14 Jan 2025|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

On Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th September, ably assisted by Paul, Jim and I undertook another round of tracking tunnel monitoring. This is a significant undertaking as the whole 70 hectares has to be covered on not just one day but two. That's about 6 hours walking on each day. On day one, Paul and I put out the tracking cards with a lure of peanut butter. The next day, Jim collected the cards and brought them back to base for analysis. To our immense relief, the results were even better than our last round in February. This time there was evidence of only one rat on one card, and one mouse on another (an improvement from last time). Results like this make all our effort worthwhile. Thanks to Paul (and BGLA) for their ongoing support. Rebekah

Macpac Fund for Good

14 Jan 2025|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

We would like to offer a huge thank you to the Macpac Fund for Good for their generous donation of $10,000 to our project. This money is invaluable to us for the purchase of bait and lure, and for further trap and baitstation hardware to be installed. Did you know that the Fund for Good is funded by refusing a bag for your purchases at Macpac. The money that would have paid for this bag is diverted to the fund and these funds then issued on an annual basis. So next time you're in Macpac (and we hope you visit often!) please say no to a bag and know that the flora and fauna of New Zealand thank you. Rebekah

The dawn chorus at Matai Kokako

14 Jan 2025|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

Over the summer break Rebekah and I camped up in a kauri grove in the thick of the bush, to test out the bird sounds. The last ones that went to bed at night were the kaka. Party parrots? Except for the ruru of course, who kept the night vigil. At 4:45AM (yes 4:45AM) the Tui started up, Then over the next 1.5 hours or so, the other birds chimed in progressively. It seemed to be mainly the 'big birds' with sound popping out from near and far. Perhaps the smaller birds were drowned out (or sleeping in). Did I hear a saddleback (tieke) - it sounded like it? Is it possible? Or was it just the tui. It was rewarding taking in the dawn chorus, even if the mattress was very thin. Jim

Tracking tunnel observations - February 2024

23 Mar 2024|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

Over the weekend of the 10th and 11th February, we carried our a set of tracking tunnel observations to determine the success or otherwise of our project. We were heartened by the results which showed only 4% rodents. For the full results from the start of the project, refer to the table under Observations and Trends.

30 January 2024

31 Jan 2024|Rebekah and Jim Maddock

Welcome to our blog and thank you for your interest in our project. From time to time, I will be updating you on what is happening at Mātai Kōkako - the good news and (hopefully not) the bad. You can always check our home page for the latest update on pest elimination numbers, which I will try to update monthly.