Arthur's Pass Wildlife Trust

APWT Newsletter

A month at the Trust (November 2026)

October has been a busy month for the Trust; ending up the Kiwi survey, the beginning of weed control, getting multiple trap-lines ready for the season ahead, training up new volunteers, and building 200 new predator traps, and getting some of them flown into position.

Just after we thought we were spared this year's "monsoon season", teased with over a fortnight of fine weather in early October, it has now made a reprisal with back-to-back storms rolling through. Let's hope it gets it over and done with soon, as there's lots of work to be done.

The partial beech mast (seeding of the forest) is starting to show it's consequences with mice starting to become noticeable, though, so far, it really hasn't been reflected in the predator captures.

October's predator capture results are below (previous year October stats are in brackets)...

Stoats: 5 (0)
Weasels: 0 (1)
Rats: 48 (45)
Mice: 7 (1)
Possum: 18 (2)
Hedgehog: 4 (1)
Hare: 1 (0)

Over the past month we have welcomed aboard 5 new volunteers - Dylan (Upper Otira line), Tom, Cameron (Lagoon Saddle line), Matt, and Harley (Mt Aicken line).

Upcoming activities this month include a substantial amount of trap carries and deployment (Margaret Tarn, Scott's Track, Upper Rough Creek, Crow Valley (?), Upper Otira Valley, and Upper Bealey Spur). We are still trying to get the postponed Braided River Bird Survey underway, if only the Waimakariri would behave.

Top Image: Upper Bealey Spur trap stockpile

Trap Build Day in Christchurch (November 2026)

On Saturday 31 October the APWT, in association with Save the Kiwi, and Conservation Volunteers NZ (CVNZ), had an extremely successful trap building day in Christchurch.

The event was held on the Climate Action Campus in Avonside, using CVNZ's horticultural site.

Twenty seven volunteers from APWT, CVNZ, and the Arthur's Pass community attended, with all generations represented.

By 10am the production line was in full swing, and by 10.45am the first completed trap came off the end. Over the next 4 hours a further 181 traps followed. The enthusiasm for the job at hand was awesome to behold!

Hamish (APWT & CVNZ) manned the BBQ, providing the troops with much needed sustenance and a well deserved break; although some sneaky drilling could still be heard coming from the work benches.

The funding for 100 of these traps came from Save the Kiwi, and the other 82 from the DOC Community Fund (17 others from this fund were built last month so they could be flown to Bealey Spur).

The traps will now find their way onto our numerous trap-lines, replacing aged or non-compliant trap boxes, and for line extensions, and new trap-lines. It is hoped they have about a 30 year+ lifespan.

Many thanks for to all those that attended, making it such a successful & fun event! Cheers CVNZ for providing such a wonderful space to work in! And to Save the Kiwi & the DOC Community Fund for making this possible at all!

Note: Sometime early next year we will have a crack at another 100 traps; this next session will likely take place in Arthur's Pass.

Top Image: APWT Trap Building (All Photos: H.Fairbairn)

A slightly brighter summer ahead... (November 2026)

About a year ago the APWT introduced a network of 50 possum traps. These traps have been traveling mostly up and down the Bealey Valley over that year, and have now removed about 200 brush-tailed possums from the sub-alpine forest. These traps have been funded through the Selwyn District Council's Predator Free 2050 fund.

Possums had been on the "too hard list" for many years, after toxins were disallowed in the Bealey Valley area due to potential Kea by-catch (as a result of their scrounging behaviour, and fondness of novel foods). However DOC has now allowed us to deploy Trapinator possum kill traps, and these have proven to be fairly effective.

A recent random wander through the forests in the Bealey Valley has noted that NZ Mistletoe are extremely obvious and common throughout the beech canopy, with new stalks and leaves on older plants, and numerous new shoots emerging from the beech limbs, now surviving the nightly onslaught of possums.

Time will tell whether this difference is translated into sprays of red & yellow flowers from December through January. New plants still have a journey of 3 years ahead of them before they first flower. But things are definitely looking brighter!

Top Image: NZ Red Mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala)

High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) Update (November 2026)

HPAI (H5N1) continued to spread rapidly throughout Australia over the last month, having now been found in wild populations of sea birds and mammals. Of late it has been found in two red foxes (introduced predator to AU), an Australian Common Dolphin, and a Bottlenose Dolphin. The total number of confirmed and suspected cases of H5N1 in Australia now stands at 728 (30 Oct). For a disturbing picture of how it's travelling through species visit the AU Department of Agriculture website.

In New Zealand we are still sitting at 3 confirmed cases. The first being a brown skua, the second a kāhu (swamp harrier) found near Carterton in the Wairarapa, and most recently in late August a northern giant petrel in the Wairarapa. Even though the case numbers are low here, it is not a time for complacency, as these are only the birds found along our extensive, accessible shorelines, there is certain to be more, and from this it will be spreading silently.

Risk to other NZ animals

HPAI (H5N1) can move rapidly through sea birds that live in colonies. All waterfowl are at risk. Pinnipeds such as fur seals and sea lions are very susceptible to the virus. Any bird of prey (kāhu, NZ Falcon, Morepork) can also acquire the virus due to feeding on carrion or infected animals. Domestic poultry can be at high risk because of outdoor interactions with wild infected birds, and their stocking density allows for rapid spread. Livestock (dairy cattle & potentially goats) can also acquire the virus. Domestic cats and carnivores such as mustelids (ferrets, stoats, weasels) can also be infected.

The Arthur's Pass Perspective

There are vectors that could potentially bring HPAI into the Park, these include birds that hunt or visit coastal areas (Black-backed gulls, and may even include Kea that visit the West Coast coastline seeking fat during the early winter months). Unwashed hens eggs (that the Trust uses as bait) could also carry the virus from an infected poultry farm - hence we remain vigilant to any outbreaks in commercial poultry farms in the South Island (our egg "seconds" are sourced from commercial farms).

The virus can be carried in faeces and vomit, so there is potential for people (trappers) to move it about the environment particularly on footwear (see below).

Advice to Trappers from DOC

Commercial eggs are fine to use in traps – the transmission risk is extremely low for commercial eggs due to good controls in commercial poultry farms. If using free range eggs, ensure they come from sources you know are HPAI free.
Trappers – keep an eye out for sick and dying birds and follow this advice...
- Do not touch, handle or move sick or dead birds or other wildlife.
- If you see 3 or more sick or dead wild birds, marine mammals or other wildlife in one place call MPI’s exotic pest and disease hotline 0800 80 99 66. State location, species and take photos.
- Visit MPI’s website for more information about bird flu and check out the HPAI Operation Hub for any additional actions within your region response plan.
Predator control makes a big difference to native birds so please keep trapping. These current recommendations are designed to keep you safe.
Wear closed footwear and use gloves (either rubber-fingered gardening gloves or disposable gloves) to handle dead animals.
If you use a phone to record trap data, either put it inside a sealable plastic bag before you start or have an alcohol wipe or hand sanitiser and tissue ready to disinfect it at the end.
When you’ve finished trapping:
- Put used gloves in a bag to wash at home, or bin disposable gloves.
- Take your phone out of the plastic bag and dispose of the bag, or wipe down the phone.
- Change into clean clothes and put trapping clothes in the wash.
- Wash your hands with soap and water, or sanitise them.
- Scrub and disinfect your footwear and any equipment with 10% bleach or 1% SteriGENE.