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.
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…
In April last year 40 North Island robins (toutouwai) were re-introduced to Shakespear. Thirteen pairs established and have now completed their first breeding season with 34 chicks being raised. Kowhai Glen was the most productive area, producing 11 young. For some unknown reason the pairs in the apparently good habitat on the Defence Force land…
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…
Another 20 Little Spotted Kiwi kiwi were translocated from Kapiti Island in March. Here is a short video about their release.
Our fundraising for this project went better than expected – many those to those who contributed. We purchased three solar-powered speaker systems and installed them at the end of April this year along the eastern cliff tops of Shakespear Open Sanctuary to attract seabirds. Each system has two directional speakers which broadcast the target species calls out…
Now that whiteheads have been successfully re-introduced to Shakespear the next step is to bring back the North Island robin (toutouwai). These are very sociable little fellows, often to be seen foraging just a few meters away. They are also known to sing loud and long so we expect they will be a popular attraction….
