Turning the tables....

[kengeorge]

Here in Golden Bay, the weka population has increased substantially over the last 3-4 years. We have them walking over our front deck here in suburban Pohara now. A birder friend of mine, who has a fairly big bush covered block close to the hills around at Wainui Bay, has weka around his house now like backyard chooks. He's watched them catch and eat mice and even the occasional rat. Just after Christmas, his wife heard a kitten calling from out the back of their place, down by a creek. She went out to check and found a small kitten, most likely an Xmas present to one of the neighbour's kids, sitting on a stone by the creek. It didn't look particularly friendly, so she went back to the house to get a shoebox to put the kitten in. On the way back to the creek, she heard the kitten screaming and came across one of the big local wekas, with the kitten in its beak, thrashing it from side to side just like a dog would. The weka then bashed the kitten's head against a river rock until it had killed the kitten. It then proceeded to eat the kitten. I can assure you this is a true story.

[BombayDave]

Predator free NZ - we need more Weka!

[andrewcrossland]

Back in the 1970s to mid 1980s weka were abundant throughout Golden Bay including farewell spit. They were also abundant throughout ATNP, on Takaka hill, throughout the marshal and riwaka areas, but I'm not sure how abundant they were east of the motueka river.
Then they rapidly disappeared and at one stage I heard from soneone in Doc that only a handful survived up the Cobb valley and they were gone from practically everywhere else. So it's great to hear they're on the comeback. ....

[kengeorge]

Yeah, I've wondered about why the change in weka numbers? When we first started coming to Golden Bay regularly, about 10-12 years ago, you had to go up the Cobb Valley to see them, or the West Coast. There was also one that hung around the cafe in Havelock on the way over. I've asked local people who remember them being abundant years back, and then the numbers dropped off. I put it down to dogs and other predators, but the locals reckoned it was some disease. There may be something in that theory because now the weka are back but there are still the same number of dogs (more if anything), not sure about the other predators. Now we live here permanently, and have them around everywhere. In some parts of the Bay there are more weka than pukeko, and I'm seeing them as road-kill. My next-door neighbour, who has a two level house, and a couple of cats, says she has had a weka come up the stairs and clean up the cat's food bowl after they have finished eating. Apparently the cats took little or no interest in the weka, indicating to me that the cats were used to seeing it around the place. Perhaps, in the cat brain, a thing that size doesn't register as 'bird/prey' so they don't go after it, same as most cats won't have a go at a domestic chook. Not everybody is happy about the change in weka population, local home gardeners are having weka family groups go through their vege gardens and rip half the plants out. Still, I reckon they're great and I hope they keep thriving.

[Jim_j]

Are certainly on the increase right across Nelson from around the city itself and surrounding suburbs, Nelson Lakes, Kahurangi & Abel Tasman.
It does seem to fit the pattern of a disease - sudden big reduction in number, a slow comeback and then a big rebound.
I think droughts have also been blamed - although that might be more the NI sub species.
Maybe also there has been a decline in ferret numbers for some reason
I guess it could be a combination of factors.... but it looks like they have joined a growing number of natives & endemics that have adapted to the current environment and are making a real comeback.
Be great to if they have a real impact on rat & mouse populations - specially given that it seems that the removal of stoats is leading to an increase in ship rat numbers and possibly a greater impact on smaller birds (robin, parakeet etc) than was the case before.

cheers
jim