Rare native skink colony discovered by nine-year-old

On a nice day, you'll find Caelyn Hossack, 9, sitting in front of a grassy slope in her garden with a book.

Her eyes are on the page, but her ears are pricked for the gentle rustling of grass - the tell-tale sign a skink is about.

The population that has made its home inside the blackberry bramble which sporadically covers the slope in her rural Waipawa garden is the first time the Hawke's Bay skink has been found outside of the protection of Cape Sanctuary's predator-proof fence.

Biodiversity records show their range used to cover the whole region, but the species is now endangered.

Donna Hossack said her daughter discovered the skinks' presence outside their home in September, when a small rustle caught her attention, and with a lot of patience, she finally caught a good look at its cause.

"Caelyn remembered that we had a New Zealand reptile book," Donna said.

"And I identified it by the speckled skin category, and the Hawke's Bay skink is part of that," Caelyn said.

Caelyn and her 6-year-old brother Riley are homeschooled, and their mum Donna wanted to verify the discovery as part of their learning.

They reached out to the herpetology community online, and expert Nick Harker positively identified it from a photograph, before making a visit in person and confirming their suspicions.

The skinks come out quite regularly now, enjoying the warmth and the longer days, and the Hossacks have put sheets of tin and roofing tiles along the base of the slope, to give the skinks somewhere sheltered to hide and soak up the warmth.

"Once we realised that they were actually here and that it wasn't just an isolated one, we just started putting out the tin, and we were given some Onduline [roofing tiles], and so we were just trying to work out how far their territory went," Donna said.

The answer was about 40 metres, with the skinks preferring the patches of blackberries scattered along the slope.

Donna pointed out a section of newly planted native seedlings.

"We've been planting a whole lot of skink-friendly plants to try and give them something a little bit nicer, and a little bit of a better food source, and more coverage in time."

They also put in predator traps, in an effort to reduce the number of rats and mice in the area which could be hunting the skinks.

"We would love to get this area fenced off, that would probably be our number one goal," Donna said. "It would just provide protection from almost everything."

Hawke's Bay Regional Council biodiversity advisor Natalie de Burgh said it was a heartening discovery - the species used to be found all over the region, but not for some time.

"We don't often get really good news biodiversity stories," she said. "It was just really nice to be able to share that there's this species that's in trouble that's popped up here, and it could very well be in other places we don't know about."

De Burgh said the regional council and Department of Conservation had been helping the Hossacks with trapping and planting ideas.

Hossack said they could use a little help getting it done. "We're getting loads of advice - it is getting the practical support to actually implement some of that advice that we are struggling with a wee bit."

She said they needed skink-friendly plants suitable for clay soil, and help making trapping tunnels for mice, which needed to be modified to avoid also catching skinks.

Fencing supplies would be gratefully received too - anything from nails and tools, to time and experience - to see their little backyard residents thrive.