CATHIE BELL
Grovetown bird expert Mike Bell is heading to
the Chatham Islands to celebrate 35 years since the taiko was rediscovered.
The taiko, thought to be extinct till it was
re-found in 1978 by David Crockett, is a nocturnal seabird that lives only on
the Chatham Islands. There are about 140 of them left.
Mr Bell is secretary to the Taiko Trust, a
private group of Chatham Island landowners and visiting ornithologists working
to conserve native birds and bush habitats on private land, and educates young
people and the community on the Chathams about conservation and the bird
species on the islands.
He is joining about 20 others from the mainland
for a week of events to mark the 35th anniversary of the taiko.
The bird is otherwise known as the magenta
petrel.
Mr Crockett and the team that made the original
discovery on 1 January 1978 are returning to the Chathams for the unveiling on
Saturday of a monument to the find that resurrected the species.
Open days are being held at the original
"taiko camp" where volunteers working on the taiko re-discovery lived
during the months they camped on the island waiting for the birds to return to breed.
Other open days will be held at the new predator-free area on private land
where a second breeding area is being set up.
Taiko Trust chairwoman Liz Tuanui said the
week's events would enable Chatham Islanders to celebrate with the original
taiko team and mark how far conservation on the islands had come.
About 20 people from the mainland are expected
to attend the events, and interest is high on the Chathams, with about 20 per
cent of the islands' 500 population expected to be there as well.
Taiko return to the Chatham Islands from the sea
late each year, and burrow underground where they nest and raise chicks.
The trust is setting up a second breeding colony
on about 4 hectares of native bush on private land at Sweetwater. The colony
will be protected by a predator fence to keep out pests that eat eggs and
chicks.
Mrs Tuanui said that would be a turning point
for the highly endangered species, with the protected area helping the birds
build up population numbers.
The Taiko Trust has re-introduced Chatham Island
tui to the main Chatham Island and plans to re-introduce the Chatham Island
albatross from its remnant habitat on The Pyramid.
