Release of rare shore birds lifts hope

6 Feb, 2019 5:30am

Four rare shore birds endemic to New Zealand were released yesterday on pest-free Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf after a successful breeding programme produced an abundance of chicks. The juvenile shore plover or tuturuatu are one of the world's rarest shore birds, with just 250 remaining. A small, curious animal, the shore plover nests on the ground and is easily disturbed, which makes them vulnerable in the wild.

The Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre near Masterton and the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust outside Christchurch have had a bumper year breeding plover chicks. Pūkaha ranger Mireille Hicks said between them they had raised 46 chicks. Hicks said the 30-year-old recovery programme hoped to lift the bird's survival chances.

"Many people do not know about how critical the situation is which ... we'd like to change".

The plover captive breeding programme uses five pest-free islands. Since the first release on Motutapu the little birds have been seen in the wider Auckland area, raising hopes for the plover's prospects.

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Hunters kill takahe during pukeko cull

7:07 PM Thursday Aug 20, 2015

Four birds from a critically endangered species have been killed within a wildlife sanctuary by hunters who thought they were culling pukeko.

Pukeko

Takahe

The Department of Conservation confirmed today that volunteers from the Deerstalkers Association had shot four takahe while carrying out a cull of 600 pukeko on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf, which is a protected, pest-free haven for endangered bird species.

The embarrassing mistake has angered iwi who approved the transfer of the rare birds from the South Island to the sanctuary.

The takahe were killed by experienced members of the local deerstalkers group, which DOC depends on for some conservation initiatives.

DOC's northern conservation services director Andrew Baucke said pukeko had "very similar colouring" to the flightless takahe and the volunteers may have mixed up the two species. Hunters had been briefed on the differences between the two birds after a similar incident on Mana Island seven years ago, when one takahe was killed.

Mr Baucke said the deaths were "deeply disappointing" for DOC and the volunteers. All culling operations had been put on hold while a review took place.

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