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It's Fundraiser time, Bogan Bingo, the return!
Bogan Bingo Poster

Last year was our inaugural Bogan Bingo fundraiser.  A swell time was had by all and together, the community raised a non-trivial amount to support local kiwi and the precious habitat.

Let’s go again for 2025 and have a laugh to blow out the winter doldrums!

There will be prizes, auctions, a raffle, a bar, complimentary supper and a few surprises including a DJ set.

Click here to buy tickets!

On the Thames Coast, around 20 years ago, vigilant locals knew that the local kiwi population was on the verge of collapse. Thames Coast Kiwi Care was formed in 2006 with the mission: “To protect and enhance kiwi populations on the Thames Coast”.

We wanted to ‘hear kiwi calling from backyards again’. This dream has become reality as Te Mātā and Tapu locals are reporting a significant increase in kiwi foot prints, calls and also sightings over the past few years.

We now have around 350 kiwi in our recovery area!

This is an incredible achievement by our community, with essentially ten times the 2006 kiwi population now present locally.

Wonderful Kiwi Footage!

We’re thrilled to share a short trail camera compilation from the burrow of sires Taringamā and his family. It captures adorable moments from their lives but also worrying has some unwanted cameo appearances from you know who.

Our Effort
350
Kiwi resident (approx)
5000
Hectares protected
5325
Volunteer hours per year

Trapping is crucial for protecting and enhancing the local kiwi population.

TCKC operates a comprehensive grid of traps targeting stoats, weasels, ferrets & feral cats over thousands of hectares. A team of committed volunteer trappers clear, service, and re-bait the traps 16 times per year.

1000
Traps deployed
60
Volunteer trappers
Project Area Trapping Data

This hexmap represents real-time trapping data from our project area. The more red the colour, the higher the number of catches or density of traps.

You can mouse-over the hexagons for breakdowns on species catches.  You can also use the top left red menu buttons to display subsets of data: by project, species or trap.

Massive thanks to the smart people at Groundtruth and Trap.NZ for this amazing resource!

Kiwi are prolific breeders given the chance.  If New Zealand had its predator problem under control, we’d be knee deep in kiwi!

Expanding to Habitat Protection

Our scope has expanded from solely protecting kiwi to a “whole of habitat” approach. Our updated mission is:

To work with our community to restore the habitat so kiwi and other native species thrive.

Rat and Possum Project

Thanks to substantial funding provided by the Waikato Regional Council’s Natural Heritage Fund we have also been targeting rats and possums in the project area since 2023. These self-setting AT220 traps work continuously each night, extending the existing DOC200 trap lines that focus primarily on mustelid control and providing a buffer zone to public conservation land. Trap lines are checked and maintained each month by our Rat and Possum Project Leader, and also our dedicated team of volunteer trappers that undertake their fortnightly DOC200 checks.

The trap design and the servicing of the AT220 traps is leading to great successes. In early 2025 we have approximately 200 traps working and almost 4000 possums have been removed protecting our native flora and fauna. In the next year we plan to set another 90 self-setting traps

Running alongside the active pest trapping are bird surveys, to help gain an understanding of the existing biodiversity of NZ birds in our project area. We hope to collect data on how the control of rats and possums can help bring about an increase in both bird numbers and also the range of bird species recorded in the project area.

AT220 NZ AutoTraps
AT220 photo courtesy NZ AutoTraps
Bat Protection

In early 2025 we installed three listening devices that all confirmed the presence of our precious pekapeka tou roa, native long tailed bats. They have the highest threat ranking of Nationally Critical and effective predator control is essential to their survival as well.

This is a new focus for us to raise awareness and add additional protection for New Zealand’s only native land mammal that is critically endangered.

Watch this space!

Want to know more about these fascinating creatures?  Visit the great New Zealand Geographic for a brilliant article: ‘Bat Signals’ by Jonathan Carson. Photographed by Rob Suisted.

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Bogan Bingo is BACK! 🎸💥
Get ready for a night of chaos, laughs, and full-throttle fun — all in support of protecting our local kiwi 💚

🗓 Saturday 2 August
📍 Thames Civic Centre
⏰ Doors open 6:30 PM | Bingo kicks off 7:15 PM
🎧 DJ Martin Marshall on the decks from 6:30 to get the party rolling
🎤 MC Greg Cato from Activate Events NZ
🎱 Bingo is $5 per play
🍷 Cash bar

🔥 Classic bingo with a cheeky bogan twist — packed with prizes, auctions, 🧀 supper, and 😂 heaps of laughs.

🚗💨 Leave the V8 at home, but rock up in your bogan best:
Think denim, leather, jandals, and that old AC/DC tee 🎸🧔👖
(Costumes optional, but prizes are up for grabs! 🏆)

🎟️ Tickets: $25 each, or just $20 per person for table bookings of 6 or 8.
👉 Go to our website to book, www.thamescoastkiwicare.org/tickets/

Tag your crew and get ready to yell “BINGO!” like a true legend

#BoganBingo #ThamesCoastKiwiCare
... See MoreSee Less

Bogan Bingo is BACK! 🎸💥
Get ready for a night of chaos, laughs, and full-throttle fun — all in support of protecting our local kiwi 💚

🗓 Saturday 2 August
📍 Thames Civic Centre
⏰ Doors open 6:30 PM | Bingo kicks off 7:15 PM
🎧 DJ Martin Marshall on the decks from 6:30 to get the party rolling
🎤 MC Greg Cato from Activate Events NZ 
🎱 Bingo is $5 per play
🍷  Cash bar

🔥 Classic bingo with a cheeky bogan twist — packed with  prizes,  auctions, 🧀 supper, and 😂 heaps of laughs.

🚗💨 Leave the V8 at home, but rock up in your bogan best:
Think denim, leather, jandals, and that old AC/DC tee 🎸🧔👖
(Costumes optional, but prizes are up for grabs! 🏆)

🎟️ Tickets: $25 each, or just $20 per person for table bookings of 6 or 8.
👉 Go to our website to book, https://www.thamescoastkiwicare.org/tickets/

Tag your crew and get ready to yell “BINGO!” like a true legend 

#BoganBingo #ThamesCoastKiwiCareImage attachmentImage attachment+1Image attachment

Tomorrow in Thames - Sunday 15 June 11-1pm- sign up here: form.jotform.com/251327397532056Looking forward to hosting Shaun Ryan from 2040 Ltd at our Winter Forum over the weekend. Shaun will be speaking on A.I. thermal cameras and High Interaction Rate traps.

A.I. monitoring can show us the predators we aren't catching, help us improve our predator control and target the most elusive predator species.

We still have spots available if you would like to come.
Please RSVP using this link form.jotform.com/251327397532056
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Tomorrow in Thames -  Sunday 15 June 11-1pm- sign up here: https://form.jotform.com/251327397532056

... See MoreSee Less

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Photos from Rotoroa Island NZ's post ... See MoreSee Less

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Photo wall
Photo of kiwi Bindi-Sue
Photo of a kiwi's feet.
Photo of bush in project area.
Photo of kiwi Bindi-Sue
Beautiful juvenile kiwi
TCKC Coordinator Sheena Beaton demonstrates predator traps
Scanning for kiwi transponders
Kiwi chick Ngawari Tiwhiri
Sheena Beaton and Neil John, Ollie the kiwi's release 2021
Early trap line deployment, 2006.
Coordinator Sheena Beaton in kiwi costume
Trailcam photo of wild kiwi, Te Mata.
Bob Carr and Robert Mannes, trapline working bee
Wild kiwi print in the mud
Eggs mustered as part of Operation Nest Egg
TCKC Fundraiser 2017
Kiwi chick weighed, Operation Nest Egg, 2020.
Coordinator Sheena Beaton gives a presentation to local community
Click to access the login or register cheese