South Taranaki Forest and Bird

South Taranaki Forest and Bird Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from South Taranaki Forest and Bird, Environmental conservation organisation, Eltham.

South Taranaki Forest & Bird is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous flora and fauna and unique wild life

Our kiwi handler Lance caught Hartley last weekend for his transmitter change and yearly health check. Hartley was in go...
02/04/2026

Our kiwi handler Lance caught Hartley last weekend for his transmitter change and yearly health check. Hartley was in good condition at 1.9 kg nice healthy bird. Lance would like to thank Lucie for her help, Lucie works for forest and bird at the Te Hoiere bat recovery project in the South Island. They have been tracking and monitoring bats this year so Lucie came up to help out with some kiwi work for close tracking practice. Hartley definitely put Lucie’s tracking skills to work as he was living on an over grown bank with the entrance near impossible for the human eye to see, after a long search Lance found the entrance and extraction was rather easy after that.

02/03/2026

Did you know Rotokare is home to a native bat?

The long-tailed pekapeka (bat) is found at Rotokare. Taranaki Regional Council have been monitoring this species for a while now, and for the last few years we assited them. This year we have not only placed bat monitors inside Rotokare's fence but all throughout the halo and beyond.

Long tailed bats are threatened due to predation, habitat loss and being outcompeted by mammalian pests. They are insectivorous feeding on all sorts of flying insects.

From the sacturary to South Taranaki Forest and Bird's Totara's and Collier block to other nearby bush fragments these microphones went out in hopes of detecting pekapeka calls. Their high frequecy eco-location calls are unable to be heard by most people so these highly sensitve microphones record them for us. The sound waves are captured in an image and we can then go through and look for the distictive signs of long tailed bats in the images.

📸Department of Conservation

06/11/2025

📰 DOC Apologises to Rat Community for “Predator Shaming”

Rebrands them as “Alternative Ecosystem Participants.”

WEST COAST, NZ — The Department of Conservation has issued an official apology to the nation’s rat population, acknowledging decades of “systemic predator shaming” and pledging to adopt more inclusive terminology.

In a press release this morning, DOC spokesperson Oliver Klozoff said the term “pest” was being phased out immediately.

“We recognise that rats, stoats, and possums have historically been marginalised through exclusionary language. Going forward, they will be referred to as Alternative Ecosystem Participants — or AEPs — to reflect their valid contributions to biodiversity… even if that contribution is mostly eating it.”

The apology follows a complaint from advocacy group Rodent Voices Aotearoa, who argued that traditional conservation messaging “failed to provide emotional support to omnivorous mammals navigating the modern food web.”

DOC has already begun revising signage nationwide. “Traps” will now read Alternative Pathways to the Afterlife, and poison stations will feature QR codes linking to “rat-centric mindfulness podcasts.”
Local ranger Gus Tofwynde said the change was about respect.

“Instead of killing them, we’ll be holding conflict-resolution hui where rats can express their feelings about habitat boundaries. We might not agree on everything, but it’s important they feel heard before we humanely relocate them… several kilometres into the bush.”

Local resident Anne Talope wasn’t so sure.
“I’ve had three of the ‘Alternative Participants’ in me pantry this week,” she said. “If DOC wants to give them a therapy session, they can do it at my place — just bring traps and snacks.”

DOC has hinted the next inclusivity review will focus on the emotional framing of the term “invasive species,” which they say “implies an unwelcome energy.”
Future proposals include renaming them “Unscheduled Guests of Nature.”

The suspense is over… here’s your forecast 😉
22/09/2025

The suspense is over… here’s your forecast 😉

19/09/2025

🥁Here's the latest standings in this year's election so far... There's still nine days left – and literally anything could happen. Will the top manu be toppled from their perches? Is there an underbird on the rise just out of sight? 🐦

If you've voted, did you verify your vote with a click from your email? Or is your vote sitting uncounted in your spam folder? We'll just say, if every vote was verified, this graph might look a bit different. 👀

Also, don't forget the "special votes" – more than 80 schools are on board this year, making our tamariki an influential voting bloc. The kids know their birds! School votes will be counted at the end and could definitely shift the picture at the last minute.

It's time to publicly release your endorsements. It's time to get door knocking and make sure everyone you know has had their say. It's your civic duty.

Vote at www.birdoftheyear.org.nz

18/09/2025

Voting is now open for Forest & Bird's 20th annual Bird of the Year!

This year Kiwi Pukupuku (Little Spotted Kiwi) is a strong contender. They are the smaller, spottier relatives of our North Island Brown Kiwi (who sadly aren't a nominee this year).

You can vote for up to 5 manu, so make sure you include Kiwi Pukupuku in your line up!

https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/

The weather station at Rawhitiroa Wetland is now up and running! A huge thank you to Larry Ellison of Levno for making t...
11/09/2025

The weather station at Rawhitiroa Wetland is now up and running! A huge thank you to Larry Ellison of Levno for making this possible.

The new station provides such a wide range of information, and it’s exciting to see this resource in action.

You can look at it here:
https://tinyurl.com/weatheratrawhitiroa

It takes a moment to spot it, but there’s a hawk standing quietly in this photo, blending almost perfectly into the shad...
03/06/2025

It takes a moment to spot it, but there’s a hawk standing quietly in this photo, blending almost perfectly into the shadows and textures around it.

Likely making the most of the calm before dusk, it was probably watching for the slightest movement from small animals nearby.

Hawks adapt well to a range of environments, from grasslands and forests to more built-up areas. With sharp eyesight and silent flight, they play an important role in maintaining balance by keeping populations of smaller animals in check.

Caught on camera:Our trail cameras recently picked up this possum making its way through the bush. While they might look...
01/06/2025

Caught on camera:
Our trail cameras recently picked up this possum making its way through the bush. While they might look cute, possums are a serious threat to our native wildlife. They eat birds’ eggs, chicks, and a huge amount of native vegetation.
Every sighting is a reminder of the ongoing work needed to protect our forests and the species that call them home.

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