The island-wide stoat eradication team enjoyed learning about how to sex and age stoats based on the dimensions of their skulls from Dr Elaine Murphy when she was on Waiheke Island.

After over three months of servicing lines in the rat pilot operational trial, the field team have got to know the locals quite well. Always up for a yarn, team member Dylan Hinchey has got to know not just the residents in his area, but their pets too, getting the scoop on the ratters of the island.

The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey is the longest-running annual survey of biodiversity in the country. Not only does it encourage an appreciation of the diversity of beautiful birdlife on our doorstep, but it allows for members of the community, from tots to tīpuna, to actively contribute to vital conservation research. The data collected from Waiheke over the last 10 years tells a very interesting story.

We are shrouded by the night sky, a blanket of stars and satellites. The air is crisp and thick with salt, loose pebbles crunching underfoot as we make our way around the coastline. Over the sound of our slipping feet, I hear a rustle from the bushes beside me, the pampas grass seems alive and wiggling.

A huff of olive green streaks past me, bouncing back and forth between the mahoe. He is electric with energy as his plumage stands on end, the males surrounding all decorated with the same round and ruffled shape.

It’s dark out. As it is with the beginning of most of my adventures. I ventured down the trail towards a group of nikau by the edge of the wetland where earlier in the day I had spied the enormous web. Most enormous webs, it seems, are also home to enormous spiders.

Encouraging and supporting birdlife in your backyard is easier than you may think. By taking a few easy steps to create a safe space with access to food and water, you can welcome feathered friends to your garden sanctuary throughout the year. This series looks at bird behaviour through the seasons and how to support them during each one. 

This long-necked creature hollers from overhanging coastal pōhutukawa, it darts expertly behind your fishing boat or is found standing silhouetted drying its wings at the end of the wharf.

There have been many rewards from the years of dedicated predator control on Waiheke. Some are raucous, seen soaring and screeching all over the island, but one, in particular, has quietly moved into people's backyards.

Becoming the world’s first predator-free urban island is no small feat. There are many questions still to be answered about how to remove rats from Waiheke and the rat pilot operational trials are designed to do just that.

I spend a lot of time outside; whether that’s in native bush, mangroves, or along our coastline. It may seem to some like a lonely job, to be by yourself in the outdoors, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s always someone waiting for me when I step out of my car or off a boat.