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…
Shakespear Open Sanctuary is a sanctuary not only for birds and reptiles but also for rare and threatened plants. Pimelea orthia is one such plant. It is possible that the park’s pest free status is allowing its numbers to expand as well as the suitable habitat being present. The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network categorises…
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,…
During the past year we have had automatic cameras doing a number of jobs or us – watching the pest-proof fence for any unwanted visitors, watching the seabird nesting boxes and watching some special sites for bell-birds. The photo right shows some recent activity near the seabird sites – a pair of fluttering shearwaters showing…
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.
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 …
Since the formation of the Park in 1975, annual planting has greatly extended the original areas of native bush. Steeper gully areas have been fenced off and the current planting plan aims to fill gradually these. Public plantings for 2016 are on the mornings of June 12, Jun 19 and July 17. These are all…
SOSSI founding Chairman Allan Parker passed away this Auckland Anniversary weekend. SOSSI management committee and Auckland Council representatives reflect on his involvement with Shakespear Open Sanctuary. Allan and Elaine Parker purchased a property on Everard Avenue adjoining the newly formed Shakespear Regional Park in the early 1970’s. At that stage the park was little but…
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….
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…
