What an exciting week! Not only was I successful with applying for a DOC job, I also had a close encounter with a kiwi and have heard 6 kiwi calls in the last 5 days. Add some fresh kiwi prints in my mud puddles and you can see why I haven't stopped grinning :).
I heard two calls on Tuesday 10 July, a male at 2.49am, followed by a female calling at 5.05am and another female call at 3.32am this morning. It's amazing that I can curl up snug in my bed to listen to these wonderful birds - it sure beats sitting out in the cold!
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| Mud puddle prints |
The close encounter occurred whilst I was walking down Back Road at 7.30am on Thursday morning. There was just enough light to walk without a torch and quite easy to pick up the shape of the kiwi as it ran away from me. I stood still and she didn't run far, maybe 5m away; then she started calling. Seconds later a male answered from up the road and a wee while after that, another male called from a different direction. I'm picking that they are all from the same family group, and, as it was around the same spot as the kiwi that was killed by a vehicle on Anzac Day, I'm guessing that he may be part of the family as well.
The kiwi sign that was nicked a year ago was replaced at the end of June so I'm hoping that it will remind drivers to slow down - we share this island, not own it.
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Replaced kiwi sign at the intersection of the road to the airstrip (left)
and Main Road (to the right of the photo) |
