Kiwi carnage continues in Kerikeri as sixth bird run down this year

A cross marks the spot of the latest kiwi death on Rangitane Rd on August 14. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Kiwi carnage is continuing in Kerikeri with another of the endangered birds killed by a car on the same day the Advocate ran a story about five kiwi deaths on one stretch of road.

The latest death, on August 14, occurred on Rangitane Rd, on a bridge between St Anthony's Way and Kurapari Rd.

It came just two days after a kiwi was killed on nearby Redcliffs Rd, and brings the total for the north side of Kerikeri Inlet to six so far this year.

All the deaths have occurred on Redcliffs Rd, Rangitane Rd and Opito Bay Rd.

Crosses on Redcliffs Rd, Kerikeri, mark the places where three kiwi have been killed within 50m so far this year. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Kerikeri Peninsula Pest Control co-ordinator Dean Wright again pleaded with drivers in the area to slow down between dusk and dawn.

The birds had ''absolutely no road sense'' and could appear with little warning because the bush was right next to the road in places.

''It's a real privilege to live among these birds and hear them most nights. To lose this many is tragic. We have to decide to make an effort to save them. It's simple, just slow down,'' Wright said.

Pest control group members place crosses at the site of each kiwi death. Locals have taken to decorating the burgeoning number of crosses with flowers.

A billboard on Redcliffs Rd, Kerikeri, urges motorists to slow down. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The Opito Bay-Rangitane area is believed to have one of the highest kiwi densities of any residential area in New Zealand.

Two kiwi have also been killed by dogs in the same area this year.

One of the dogs was on a leash but of a long, extendable type which allowed it to run into the bush at Opito Bay and attack a kiwi.

The Department of Conservation is investigating.

Those incidents prompted conservation-minded locals to organise a kiwi aversion training course, which was attended by 34 dogs and their owners.