Tieke arrive

Forty Tieke from TiriTiri Matangi were released into bush on the NZ Defence Force land on Saturday 26th of May, and a  further 10 were moved from Tawharanui on 14th and 15th of June.   Strong winds on the day meant that the 3km transfer was made by helicopter rather than  ferry   The catching team used…

LSK update

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…

Robins update

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…

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Little Spotted Kiwi 2017

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,…

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More robins

Another 20 robins have now arrived at Shakespear, this time from nearby Tiritiri Matangi. This brings the total to 40, which should be enough to establish a permanent population. Update Aug 2016: Here is a new iseevideo documentary about translocation. It is 15 minutes long and very informative. The earlier and shorter version is below.

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Robins are here

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 …

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Robins are coming

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….

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Whiteheads arrive

There are some gregarious new residents at Shakespear Regional Park! While other birds have repopulated the area naturally since pests were removed, recent events saw the first release of native birds behind the predator-proof fence. In July 2015, after many months of behind-the scenes work, a group of bird translocation experts and experienced volunteers caught…