(08 Apr 2010) Flight of the kiwi prepares for take-off – New Zealand is about to witness the largest ever, mass transfer of native kiwi as part of a major conservation operation that will ultimately provide a better chance to observe the national icon at close quarters.

A group of 30 North Island brown kiwi will be captured on Little Barrier Island near Auckland in May, and then taken to the national wildlife centre at Pukaha Mount Bruce in the Wairarapa – home to some of New Zealand’s most endangered birds.

Known as ‘Flight of the Kiwi’, the operation will involve teams of conservation workers who will spend days tracking, capturing, screening and monitoring the birds before flying them to their new home.

Kiwi capture
The ‘Flight of the Kiwi’ operation involves 10 – 14 people including a monitoring and catching team from Wairarapa and Wellington, as well as two specialist kiwi dogs and handlers.

The capture operation is conducted in two stages. Five days have been allowed for the initial capture of 30 kiwi and each bird will be weighed, have samples taken and then be fitted with a transmitter.

Each will then be returned to its burrow and be recaptured once test results have been received.

Screening is necessary to ensure the birds are in a good healthy condition and free of disease. DNA testing also confirms the sex of each bird.

Kiwi monitoring
From the time of capture, each bird will be monitored until it is recaptured for transfer off the island.

Monitoring is a precautionary measure because vegetation on the island is extremely dense which raises the risk of entanglement and potential injury.

Transfer flights
Stage two is the recapture of the birds and transfer by air. This is set down for 7 May but depends on weather and the success of the tracking operation.

The capture and transfer is to be completed in a 24-hour time frame. The birds will be put into transport boxes and flown by helicopter to Auckland airport then transferred onto a domestic flight to Masterton.

A welcoming party will greet the birds before they are transported to Pukaha Mount Bruce.

Pukaha Mount Bruce board chairman, Bob Francis said bringing the 30 kiwi from Little Barrier Island would double the kiwi population at the reserve.

Boosting kiwi numbers was expected to increase the population to the point where it could grow more quickly and with less assistance from Pukaha rangers, Francis said.

Kiwi nocturnal house
The mass transfer is part of a wide-ranging campaign to further re-establish kiwi and other native birds at the National Wildlife Centre, Pukaha Mount Bruce.

As well as the relocation of kiwi, the three-month campaign involves upgrading the kiwi nocturnal house at Pukaha.

The new kiwi house will have exceptional viewing facilities, and for the first time will allow visitors to see kiwi being reared and cared for at close quarters.

Operation Nest Egg
The Operation Nest Egg kiwi programme will be relocated to the nocturnal house where the public will be able to view the incubation room and the brooders where chicks hatch and are looked after until they are returned to the forest. A two-way intercom will enable visitors to interact with the rangers.

Theatre seating for up to 50 people will allow visitors to view a series of short films depicting the links between the Operation Nest Egg programme and the pest control and forest restoration work underway at Pukaha.

Pest control
Pukaha’s Flight of the Kiwi fundraising campaign has also included an educational programme about pest control.

‘Whack a rat and save a native bird’ is the message being delivered to all schools along with an invitation for them to devise their own individual fundraisers.

“Killing pests is the single most important activity that helps restore the 940-hectare native bush and provides a safe environment for the native birds,” said Francis.

Pukaha had made a conscious decision not to barricade the birds and animals in by surrounding them with a predator-proof fence as the cost would be prohibitive, he said.

Rats pose the greatest threat to birds, followed by stoats, ferrets, weasels and possums. These are all introduced species.

The Pukaha Mount Bruce pest control team manages 130km of trap lines, more than 1000 bait stations for rats and possums, and over 500 traps for rats, ferrets, stoats and weasels.

Tags: Kiwi

Posted: Friday, 09-Apr-2010 at 17:21
Filed in categories: Eco-Tourism, New Zealand.
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