Albert Town Community Association installed a trapline around the lower Albert Town lagoon in 2019. There are 20 DOC 200 traps and four Trapinators (possum traps) placed around the lagoon and surrounding QLDC reserve. The reason the trapline was installed was to protect the amazing and diverse birdlife in the lagoon.
We had a dramatic decrease in the number of possums being caught at the lagoon when the Mt Iron trapline was installed. The possums were obviously spreading from Mount Iron down to the lagoon. We also undertake bird call monitoring quarterly and put out tracking tunnels quarterly to assess how many predators are about at that time.
The increase in the bird population is noticeable and residents really enjoy listening to the song of bellbird and tui at the lagoon, watching pukeko and now kingfisher are being observed. The waterbirds are also present and include scaup, little shags, black shags, paradise shelducks, white-faced heron, shoveller, grey teal and coots.
We have a team of six volunteers who take turns at checking and re-baiting the traps and most have been helping since the line was installed. In June of 2023 we installed another 18 DOC 200 traps around the top Albert Town lagoon and are already catching predators in these traps.
Trapline Coordinator: Heather Thorne
The Cameron Creek trapline was set up in March 2021 with the support of Cardrona Alpine Resort and RealNZ. The trapline runs along Cameron Creek near ‘Hook’ then follows the last section of the Cardrona River near its confluence with the Mata-au/Clutha River. The 20 DOC 200 traps on the line have already removed a wide range of pest species including six weasels which are infrequently captured on our other trap lines. Three possum traps will soon be added to this line.
Native bird species in the vicinity of this trapline include NZ falcons/kārearea, silvereyes, fantails, kingfishers, harriers, a range of waterfowl, shags and South Island pied oystercatchers. The area is also a key part of the breeding area for local falcons/kārearea which are being monitored by researchers from the Cardrona Kārearea Conservation Project. For more information about their work, click here.
To ensure consistency in trap design across our projects, the traps and boxes along Cameron Creek were all replaced with new ones made and donated by the Southern Lakes Sanctuary in 2023. A further trapline was installed on the opposite side of the lower Cardrona River in September 2023 to increase protection for nesting falcons/kārearea and other birds, lizards and invertebrate species in the area.
Trapline Coordinator: Zack Sikorski
Pest control around Hāwea was started in 2018 to complement the work the Guardians of Lake Hāwea (a committee of the Hāwea Community Association) were doing in managing and maintaining the local ecosystem. The aim is to reduce the number of predators (particularly mustelids, rats, and hedgehogs) in conjunction with increasing native plantings, to bring back the native birds and provide a safer habitat for our local skinks, geckos and insects.
Initially there were two lines of DOC 200 traps along the foreshore of the Lake Hāwea township and from the Hāwea Dam down the town side of the Hāwea river to the settling ponds. This has now grown to four trap lines and extends all the way along the lakefront to Gladstone, and down the river as far as the Camphill Road bridge.
There’s around 161 traps deployed and over 20 volunteers who help check the traps twice a month. Anecdotally at least, we’ve definitely seen an increase in the tui population for starters, particularly through the winter months.
Trapline Coordinator: Cath Watson
More info: https://www.haweacommunity.nz/
(On Private Land)
The Hidden Hills Residents Association are a passionate group of property owners who are focusing on local pest management and environmental enhancement. The group were keen to start a neighbourhood trapping project. In 2023 they initiated a Rabbit Management Project and want to continue with their local focus of pest eradication and increasing biodiversity within the area.
The aim of this group’s work is to decrease the number of introduced mammalian pests which are resident in, or moving through, the Hidden Hills area in Wānaka. Target species are possums, rats, hedgehogs, stoats and ferrets, with a focus on the first three because they are likely to be in higher densities in the kanuka-dominated habitat, based on trapping data from the Mt Iron trapping project over the last four years.
Decreasing the number of predatory species will greatly benefit native birdlife, skinks, geckos and invertebrates who live in the Hidden Hills/Little Mt Iron area. By trapping in the Hidden Hills, the group will also be contributing to the creation of a safe corridor of native kanuka forest from the Clutha River up to Hikuwai Conservation Area, up through the Hidden Hills and across Little Mt Iron to Mt Iron.
We applied for funding from the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival Trust in August 2023 and were successful in getting a grant to cover the cost of buying possum and rat traps. Megan is getting lots of Hidden Hills residents on board and the project has now been boosted by a gift of five DOC 200 boxed traps from Southern Lakes Sanctuary.
Trapline Coordinator: Megan Davies
The Hikuwai Conservation Area is a DOC reserve adjacent to the upper Clutha/Mata-au River, extending up over the river terraces towards Little Mt Iron and downstream to Albert Town. The vast majority of the conservation area is forested in regenerating kanuka woodland. A trap network of BT 200’s and Flipping Timmy possum traps was installed here in October 2023 following the Hikuwai Loop Track on an 8km circular route.
We hope that removing predators in this area will reduce the number of predators moving from here into the adjacent urban areas of Northlake, Hidden Hills, Little Mt Iron and Albert Town. Native bird species seen here include kingfisher/kōtare, falcon/kārearea, grey warbler/riroriro, tomtit/miromiro and brown creeper/pīpipi. Thanks to the support of Southern Lakes Sanctuary for providing the traps and staff time. Thanks also to volunteers, led by Gerad, who helped set up this trap network and will continue to maintain it.
Trapline Coordinator: Gerad McArthur
This trapline was installed in October 2023 along the shore of Lake Wānaka by the marina and the new boardwalk. The purpose of trapping here is to remove mammalian predators near a breeding colony of Southern Crested Grebes or Pūteketeke. Grebes have been nesting near the marina since 2013, thanks to the ongoing efforts of retired zoologist, John Darby. John pioneered the use of floating platforms which are anchored to the lake bed, on which grebes can pile up nesting material and lay their eggs. Each spring, up to 40 grebes turn up to claim a platform and set up their nests. Incubation lasts for 24-26 days, during which time the sitting parents and eggs are vulnerable to predation by black-backed gulls, stoats and rats.
Markus and Petrina are both part of the Grebe Project team, as well as being on the Wānaka Backyard Trapping committee. A line of eight DOC 150 boxed traps are installed, along with a ninth trap(DOC 200) temporarily lent by Eco Wanaka Adventures. In the first month, a large male stoat was caught in a trap next to the marina, showing that these predators are indeed marauding in the area. We hope our efforts will give grebes and other water birds more protection during the critical breeding season.
Trapline Coordinators: Markus Hermanns, Petrina Duncan
A community-led urban catchment restoration project was started by WAI Wānaka in 2023, led by Oliver Eden-Mann, involving residents near Lakeside Road in Wānaka. The members of the working group decided that they’d like to include pest trapping in their project so we stepped in to help out, train the volunteers and provide some traps. The trapline was installed during October 2023 between Eely Point and the Yacht Club alongside a recreation track. Just two days after installation, a possum had been caught! Proving that urban possums are lurking everywhere.
Reducing predator numbers alongside the lake will hopefully increase the breeding success of many water birds such as ducks, scaup, crested grebes and grey teal. This project is a fantastic example of multiple organisations and residents working together to achieve their restoration goals by planting native trees, reducing pest numbers, and monitoring water flowing through the catchment.
Trapline Coordinator: Simon Ellis
The ownership of Little Mt Iron is now with the Queenstown Lakes District Council so we have been able to install a new trapping network in this area. Ten possum traps were installed just before Christmas 2023 and more traps will be added in 2024. Little Mt Iron is covered in kanuka forest and is likely to be a possum hotspot. The rocky areas are home to Kawarau geckos, the grasslands contain McCann’s skinks, and native birdlife is abundant.
This project is currently overseen by Gerad; however we are looking for a new Trapline Coordinator and additional volunteers to keep this project rolling in the future. Let us know if you are interested in helping – there are fantastic views from the top of the hill!
Trapline Coordinator: Gerad McArthur
Established in September 2023 in a joint venture between WBT and Disc Golf Wānaka, this trapping project is located near the confluence of two rivers – the Cardrona and the Clutha/Mata-au. Twenty traps target mustelids, hedgehogs and rats. The traps are situated around the disc golf course, allowing players to check traps while they play a game of disc golf. Thanks to the efforts of local disc golfers, we hope to be able to decrease predator numbers in this area. Birds known to breed here include kingfisher/kōtare, falcon/kārearea, grey warblers/riroriro, shining cuckoo/pīpīwharauroa and brown creepers/pīpipi.
Trapline Coordinator: Mark Orbell
Predator trapping in Luggate began when some community members participated in a Wānaka Backyard Trapping initiative in the Wānaka / Upper Clutha area. Their enthusiasm was communicated to the Luggate Community Association for development of a trapline in the Luggate area. With advice from WBT, areas that would benefit from predator control were identified. The local walking tracks offered easier access to the rocky landscape and regenerating kanuka offered an ideal environment for our native wildlife – lizards, invertebrates and birds.
The first 14 traps and volunteer training was provided by WBT members. Judy Thompson undertook the role of trapline co-ordinator. Traps were placed in position from Luggate to the Devil’s Nook in 2019. A second line of 20 traps from the Red Bridge to Luggate Creek was installed in 2022 with the assistance of Southern Lakes Sanctuary who provided the traps and staff time.
We now have 34 traps which regularly catch rats, ferrets, stoats, hedgehogs and mice. These are checked and rebaited regularly by 12 volunteers. Monitoring of the bird activity is carried out quarterly using ‘5 minute bird counts’ which have been completed since August 2020. There are no specific trends to date, but it is hoped improvement in the number and diversity of bird activity in the Luggate Creek and Clutha Mata-au River area will be evident.
An additional advantage for the community has been increasing interest in and knowledge of backyard trapping and how they can contribute to New Zealand’s goal of predator free 2050.
Trapline Coordinator: Judy Thompson
The Mt Iron Trapping Group was set up in 2019 as a part of Wānaka Backyard Trapping. Presently we have a dozen time-generous volunteers operating the line of 34 DOC 200 traps, 4 Timms and 2 Flipping Timmy traps.
Sitting between Wānaka and Albert Town, Mt Iron is a dominant roche moutonnée largely cloaked in kanuka forest. Traps are mainly laid out along the very popular tracks. These run around the base on the southern and eastern sides, up the 250m climb to the summit and along the Hidden Hills access track.
Mt Iron has provided a large number of rat and possum catches, rewarding our trapping efforts. Bonuses for trappers are the panoramic views over Wānaka and Albert Town plus the encircling mountains beyond the lake and down the Clutha River. With the purchase by QLDC of more of Mt Iron plus Little Mt Iron completed, more public land will be available in the near future for us to expand our trapping efforts.
Trapline Coordinator: Neil Sloan
A network of traps was installed near the Outlet Track in October 2023, following the Clutha/Mata-au River from the Outlet Campground to Albert Town. This network connects a number of our other trap lines together and fills in a gap where good native biodiversity is found. This area is well forested in kanuka, willows, poplars and native shrubs such as Coprosma species, native broom and Muehlenbeckia species in the understory.
The BT 200 traps will target mustelids, rats and hedgehogs, while a small number of Flipping Timmy traps will target possums. The traps had removed 12 possums and two rats after only five weeks! Knocking back possums along this ‘highway’ will reduce their density in the adjacent Hikuwai Conservation Area, Outlet Camp and Northlake urban area. Thanks to the support of Southern Lakes Sanctuary for the traps and staff time. Thanks also to a small team of volunteers, led by Gerad, who helped set up this trap network and will continue to maintain it.
Trapline Coordinator: Gerad McArthur
In September 2020, a group of Penrith residents set up a trapline from Penrith Beach, around the ponds and Lake Wānaka foreshore to the Penrith Road end. In April 2021, the line was extended to the pump station near the Outlet Campground.
The area around the ponds was cleared by local residents and a native replanting project was undertaken in collaboration with Te Kakano and QLDC. This work will help to create more habitats for many of the native species we are trying to protect. Our dedicated volunteers have a common goal, to eradicate predators and help our native species to thrive.
Trapline Coordinator: Thelma McMurray
(On Private Land)
Kirimoko is a relatively new subdivision situated between Wānaka urban centre and the Mata-Au/Clutha River. We are bordered by Sticky Forest and a substantial block of newly planted indigenous plants on the hill behind, which we are looking to enhance. The residents’ gardens are also full of natives, which are beginning to mature and attract insect, lizard, and bird species. Our subdivision is developing its biodiversity and creating a thriving peri-urban ecosystem.
We have begun trapping through the subdivision in people’s backyards and in the block of native plants adjacent to the houses. We’ve been supported by a grant from Predator Free Communities NZ in 2023 and have received additional traps from Southern Lakes Sanctuary. Volunteers from Bike Wānaka are also involved in checking our DOC 200 trap line.
Our community aspiration is to effectively suppress the predator species which would threaten this emerging biodiversity and give the native plant and wildlife species the opportunity to grow in abundance. This project also aims to bring the community of the subdivision together through common purpose and shared mahi, with the results being visible for all to see and enjoy. Our community looks forward to waking up to a rousing dawn chorus!
Trapline Coordinator: Ewan Mackie
Our longest trapline is called Shoreline, stretching 12 km from Waterfall Creek to the end of the Millenium Track near Glendhu Bay campground. Following the undulating shoreline of Lake Wānaka, this trapline has a total of 66 traps along its length and was established in early 2022 with a grant from the Otago Regional Council’s ECO Fund and support from Cardrona and RealNZ.
Some crafty ideas were needed to get 66 heavy traps distributed along the track where cliffs, rocks and vegetation made it tricky to access. The previous trapline coordinator, Garrett, used his own boat as a trap taxi, plus he recruited members of the Wānaka Runners’ group, Bike Wānaka, and other willing volunteers to carry traps from drop-off points by the lake up to the track for installation. Shoreline is checked regularly by many fit volunteers.
Our longest line is also the most successful at removing pests: 244 pests were removed during the first 21 months of this line being active. By removing predators, the habitat along the lake will be much safer for native animals like skinks, geckos, grey warblers, silvereyes, brown creepers, bellbirds, tui, crested grebes, white-faced herons and other waterfowl.
Trapline Coordinator: Zack Sikorski