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| to the regular (possibly even weekly) blog of Timo, gamekeeper on Harakeke Game Preserve, Taupo. The Broom Bashers website was set up to keep my regular helpers and potential newbies in touch throughout the close season. It then occured to me that plenty of folk are quite interested in the work we do year-round. It just so happens that I used to dabble with a bit of ameteaur travel writing, so I thought it might be fun to knock out an occasional blog. I'll keep it concise (promise) and the images small (for all you hill-billies with dial up). If there is anything you would like to see in particular, send an email or register on the message board. Enjoy! |
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| gamekeeper's diary |
| The only regular gamekeeper's blog in New Zealand - keeping you informed on the work of Harakeke Game Preserve throughout the year |
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| Well, I suppose the first thing you need to know is that this is a seven-day-a-week kind of job. You have arrived at a convenient time of year – the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Having just completed nine months straight, without a day off, this is a nice time for me. I've had a weekend away, and caught up with some jobs around home (groan). To be honest, it takes a little while to get used to my new found freedom, having lost my routine of feeding and planning shoots, and I feel a bit lost. However, just being able to turn my thoughts to other jobs, make plans and indeed take some time out, it's all good. |
| The most exciting thing about now is that some of the things I put in place last year will now come to fruition. Our ongoing programme of fencing off native bush from stock is already looking promising, and I see all sorts of lush undergrowth making a comeback in previously open and cold areas of bush. There is much to do and it is costly, but the resulting extra habitat on an otherwise intensive dairy farm is worth the trouble. Long term, the effects can only be good for the land. |
| Even though I try to keep tabs on vermin year round, with spring already sprung, now is a good time to hit the really nasty critters hard; ferrets, stoats and cats in particular. I spent a lot of time last year finding the ideal trapping spots, being new to this country and with no hedges to use! There is a confusing number of traps available out here, but I prefer to rely on the good old tunnel trap containing a Fenn or a Victor. These do not need baiting, instead relying on correct positioning to make their catch. When I find a good site that works, I generally make a bit of an effort to dig it in so that it becomes a semi-permanent tunnel. The traps can still be moved about, but the tunnel stays. The advantage here is that they catch better, being an established tunnel on a good run – if you have caught a mustilid once, it will almost certainly keep on doing so. |
| Also, as here where there is stock and people about the place, once grown over with grass etc, they stand out less and cows are less inclined to dance on top of them! Mustilidae absolutely hate crossing open spaces, so many of my traps are set along a natural run such as a fence or edge of cover, preferably near a gateway or similar. When they reach this space, they tend to dart into the nearest dark & inviting hole – the one containing my trap. Otherwise, the countless wood piles from bush clearance of yesteryear, or areas popular with rabbits are all good – I make a small dark entrance either end (they like to be able to see all the way through), and often the nosey little buggers cannot resist a look. Baiting surely helps, but if you are running a lot of traps it is time consuming to keep them fresh. I tend to reserve baiting for areas where I can see no clear place to position a decent tunnel site. |
| As well as being out at night with the spotlight looking for cats, there is plenty of clearing up to do after the season. All the facilities for hosting guests and helpers are tidied away and stored. The surprisingly large amount of clutter such as feeders, drinkers, header tanks has to be gathered in, cleaned and stored. The temporary cover crops have been opened up for grazing (the steers have spent months eyeballing me), and several tons of grain bagged up so that the farm can have their silo back – I'll use this grain over summer in the hope of retaining some left-over stock. Coincidently, though we always aim and hope to encourage wild breeding, many of the birds have now coloured up and are busy spreading far and wide to establish their own territories. Many will successfully hatch a brood. The usual challenges apply: nesting disturbed by stock, weather and vermin. With a lot of that work sorted, now is my best chance at making a dent in some of the bigger long-term projects. First up this week is to tidy up some of the trees in the volcano, one of drives under development. This work has many advantages; pruning and thinning to create more sunny spots and clear areas where birds can flush easily in the direction I want them to go. Also, areas I can open up a little are good for feeding birds and controlling beaters (it can get hard to keep a straight line when nobody can see each other)! It is quite time consuming because in parts I have to get rid of as much of the trash as possible – prunings left on the ground in the wrong place offer a good framework for blackberry, and the area quickly becomes impossible to use. In other areas, where we want birds to hold tight before flushing with a dog, it is useful and I can stack up the prunings to create attract cover. |
| Anyways, thats about it for now I'd say. Vermin & habitat, pretty much sums up what is going on at Harakeke this month. There will also have to be a few meeting to review the previous season and discuss plans for the next. The strange situation over Fish & Game and the whole licensing system in general is a worry for Rosie & I, makes it kind of hard to know where we will be in the future. Still, I have a good technique for dealing with such worries – it's called burying your head in the sand! |
| In the month of September..... |
| a nice dark entrance - just what a ferret or stoat likes! |
| ongoing work - opening up some areas to make them more attractive to game birds and easier to manage |