Last-minute preparations are well under way for the arrival of Little Spotted Kiwi. Those coming from Tiri have all been located, measured and fitted with radio trackers so they can be easily found on the day of transfer. The same thing is happening on Kapiti, while at Shakespear there is a bit of frantic work finishing fences and kiwi boxes for the transfer and putting up signs. Below is the latest clip from iseevideo, this time showing the catching under way at Tiri:
A comprehensive digital encyclopedia of NZ birds is now available online. To quote Graeme Taylor, DOC Principal Science Advisor: This new website has an excellent function that can be used to identify birds where the people concerned know very little about birds in general. It uses a system of habitat groups or broad plumage patterns…
Plans are well advanced for the reintroduction of Little Spotted Kiwi to Shakespear Open Sanctuary in 2017 . While SOSSI has made good progress in securing the necessary funds, we are still short of the our total (around $35,000) and so are seeking your support for this project. The smallest of our five kiwi species,…
We now have North Island Robins at Shakespear Open Sanctuary. Many happy volunteers and Sossi members watched 20 robins released on Friday 8th April. This represented the end of the first stage of the translocation of North Island Robins to Shakespear Open Sanctuary. These robins were translocated from Mangatutu in the central North Island. This …
We now have 20 Little Spotted Kiwi back at Shakespear, 10 from Tiritiri Matangi and 10 from Kapiti. Here is a video about the powhiri for them, and their subsequent release. They are still being monitored daily and appear to be settling as expected.
While dotterel are known to breed at Shakespear, prior to this year none have managed to raise their chicks to fledglings. This year four pairs have had chicks, three of them surrounded by crowds of holiday-makers on Te Haruhi beach, with about two fledgings per pair. This is well ahead of the average of half…
The banded rail was once widespread in NZ but is now rarely seen, partly because they are very reclusive and well-camouflaged and partly because their habitats are threatened. But they’ve become quite widespread in the Open Sanctuary and can be spotted in the Okoromai wetland area if you’re prepared to be there at at dawn. …
