Conservation Minister Maggie Barry releases takahe in Murchison Mountains

DAVE NICOLL/Stuff.co.nz

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry releases takahe in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry had her hands full when she met Punchbowl the takahe.

Punchbowl was one of 10 of the native birds Barry helped Department of Conservation staff release at Plateau Creek in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland on Thursday afternoon.

The call of the wild proved too great for Punchbowl, who flapped free of Barry's grip and ran off into the mountains.

Punchbowl the takahe struggles to free himself from Conservation Minister Maggie Barry's grip in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland on Thursday.

Barry said the bird was very peaceful and quiet until someone pointed out how placid he was.

"For a flightless bird, even though they are very bulky and their centre of gravity is quite low to the ground, they still have power in those wings," she said.

With intensive predator control, the area's takahe population should be able to reach carrying capacity, she said.

"For New Zealanders to understand that conservation is about killing things, that's quite a hard thing to grasp," Barry said.

"For an endangered population like [takahe], to be able to return them to where they were rediscovered by Dr [Geoffrey] Orbell is a fantastic moment."

DOC takahe senior ranger Glen Greaves said the release was the second of three, which would take the total population in the Murchison Mountains to 110 birds.

Continued ...

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.

Continued ...

Taupō golf course becomes luxury retirement home for takahe

Thursday, 19 March 2015, 9:59 am

Press Release: Department of Conservation

Taupō golf course becomes luxury retirement home for rare takahē

Critically endangered takahē have a new retirement home in Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary thanks to work undertaken by its bird-loving owner, Gary Lane, to secure the site from predators. The Department of Conservation (DOC) will deliver takahē pair, Grant and Flotsom, to the sanctuary near Taupō just after midday today(19 March 2015).

Through its 10-year partnership with Mitre 10 DOC has made significant progress in its Takahē Recovery Programme. With 40 chicks produced this year, the department has seen its best captive breeding season by far.

“This year’s incredibly successful breeding season has meant that we are under more pressure than ever to find safe homes for takahē away from the jaws of introduced predators, particularly stoats,” says DOC Takahē Ranger Phil Marsh.

Continued...

Takahe birds to be released into wild

Published: 11:11AM Saturday October 04, 2014 Source: ONE News

The endangered Takahe bird are due to be released into the wild for the first time on the Auckland mainland today.

The 10 Takahe come from the Te Anau recovery programme were due to be released at Tawharanui Regional Park at 1pm.

The Department of Conservation says Tawharanui Regional Park has been chosen for the flightless bird as it's an open sanctuary with 580 hectares of predator-free parkland.

There are only 260 takahe in the world and 58 breeding pairs in New Zealand.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/takahe-birds-released-into-wild-6098126

Endangered bird may be more at home in lowland environment

Thursday, 11 September 2014, 11:49 am

Press Release: University of Waikato

Endangered bird may be more at home in lowland environment

A native bird long thought to be most at home in Fiordland tussock may actually be more comfortable in wetlands and a Waikato University student has won a scholarship to find out where takahe prefer to live.

Masters student Tehani Withers has been awarded a $1500 Tertiary Achievement in Pacific Ako (TAPA) Award to research the habitat requirements of South Island takahe and is comparing open farmland scattered with few mixed gullies and small wetlands on Motutapu Island with the forest of Maungatautari. The aim of this comparative study is to create a template for takahe habitat requirements.

When takahe were rediscovered in 1948 they were found in a mountainous tussock environment and it was assumed that was their preferred habitat. However, pairs have been translocated to many pest-free, off-shore islands and this translocated population has been steadily increasing.

Takahe pairs have also been translocated to fenced mainland sites, such as Maungatautari.

There they were temporarily housed in the forested Southern Enclosure and surprisingly thrived in the environment.

Continued ...

New home for takahe at Tawharanui

10:15 AM Thursday Apr 24, 2014

A new haven for takahe, one of New Zealand's most threatened native bird species, will be set up north of Auckland at Tawharanui.

The large blue-green flightless birds were thought extinct until rediscovery in 1948. Only about 260 birds are left including about 60 safe breeding pairs.

A release of takahe to the largely predator-free Tawharanui Open Sanctuary within the Tawharanui Regional Park is planned for spring 2014. The sanctuary is already home to kiwi, saddlebacks, kakariki, bellbirds, robins and kaka.

"Welcoming a treasured species like takahe to Tawharanui is a sign of maturity for the open sanctuary and and a measure of success for this community-focused park," Auckland Council spokeswoman Christine Fletcher said.

"Takahe are a significant taonga for Maori and we look forward to working with iwi on this project."

The project is a partnership between the council, Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society, Mitre 10 MEGA Warkworth and the Department of Conservation.

A new stretch of takahe-proof fence will need to be built before the birds are released.

While major sponsor Mitre 10 will make it possible to build the fence, the open sanctuary society is also appealing for donations to reach its $30,000 fundraising target to house and care for the birds.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11243440&ref=rss

RARE BIRDS: That time seeing two extremely rare flightless birds in New Zealand reduced me to tears

It wasn't just that I was getting a chance to see something incredibly rare and beautiful, a pair of birds with an amazing conservation story. It was also that I was instantly utterly besotted with them.

In 1948, a doctor in Invercargill, New Zealand, discovered the remnants of a species of bird thought to be extinct: the takahē. The only reason the birds had survived as long as they had was because they were living in a remote, virtually inaccessible valley -- one conservationist and writer Gerald Durrell visited over a decade later. 

Durrell wrote about the thrilling conservation story of the takahē, which included carrying eggs by hand to a conservation center, using volunteer hens to keep them warm and safe, so takahē chicks could be raised in captivity and reintroduced safely to the wild. His compelling story not just of the birds themselves, but of the time he spent in their magical valley, captivated me as a young reader when I was devouring his entire literary output in the 1990s.

Continued

DOC records 11 rare birds die in past year

Nearly a dozen critically endangered native birds, including a takahe that vanished from a state breeding facility, died under direct care of the Department of Conservation in the past financial year.

One takahe was killed at the talons of a falcon or hawk and a pair of avian foster parents killed two newly hatched black stilts in their care.

The revelations emerged from an Official Information Act request for details about all rare New Zealand fauna that died in DOC's care during the period from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013.

Takahe are critically endangered and were brought to the brink of extinction because of introduced predators, primarily stoats, and red deer that ate their food supply and destroyed their habitat.

There were four recorded sightings of the bird between 1800 and 1900, and, in 1948, Dr Geoffrey Orbell found takahe alive in the remote Murchison Mountains of Fiordland National Park.

Work to save the species has involved gathering eggs from the Murchison Mountains and hatching them at the DOC-run Burwood Bush Takahe Rearing Unit, near Te Anau.

Continued

DoC endangered bird teams to merge

The Department of Conservation is to merge the teams that protect two of the country's most endangered birds.

The Kakapo and Takahe recovery teams will start working together in September, once the department's restructuring plans are finalised.

DOC says it is a sensible, practical way to share knowledge and resources to support the recovery of both species.

The department's director of delivery review, Barry Hanson says merger will allow teams to share scientific and technical expertise and benefit both kakapo and takahe species.

"The synergies of the two programmes are such that I would describe having them work in one team as an improvement rather than as a step back."

But Forest and Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says the department and the Conservation Minister have backtracked on a promise to ensure restructuring would not affect endangered species.

"Particularly with the kakapo team, we were told the science component would not be reduced, but this is showing that it is. It's being diluted because those people, those positions, are going to have to now cover two quite demanding species."

Listen to Kevin Hackwell and DoC manager Andy Roberts on Nine to Noon

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/136345/doc-endangered-bird-teams-to-merge

Rare birds get back on track

Sunday, 24 February 2013, 11:40 am Press Release: New Zealand Government

Hon Dr Nick Smith

Minister of Conservation

24 February  2013       

Media Statement       

Rare birds get back on track

Whio (Wikipedia)

Kokako (Wikipedia)

The $1 million partnership between DOC and Air New Zealand to bring some of our most threatened birds back to our acclaimed Great Walks track network is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when business gets involved in conservation, says Minister of Conservation Dr Nick Smith.

“This is an inspiring partnership that benefits both conservation and tourism. It will create predator free zones for some of our most threatened birds while adding to the visitor experience on our most famous Great Walks,” says Dr Smith.

“This Bluegreen approach of finding environmentally responsible business partners to help fund conservation helps us do more in tight financial times. The benefits for conservation are more than just the $1 million, as Air New Zealand’s marketing muscles also helps us raise the profile of these threatened iconic birds.

“This is not just about international tourists. This is about New Zealanders being able to see birds like kiwi, whio, takahe and kokako in their natural habitat.

“Air New Zealand is showing real leadership and innovation with this initiative and I am encouraging DOC to continue exploring other partnerships that will help the conservation cause.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00355/rare-birds-get-back-on-track.htm

Rare takahe moved to Auckland safety

Rare flightless birds have flown the length of the country to a new safe haven on an island in Auckland.

Nine takahe made the trip from Fiordland to Motutapu Island, a pest-free island around half an hour’s ferry ride from Auckland.

The Department of Conservation (DOC), Mitre 10 and Air New Zealand joined forces to see them dropped off at their new spot.

The birds were reared near Te Anau. Motutapu was chosen as a safe site because islands which are already homes to the takahe, such as Kapiti, Mana, Maud, and Tiritiri Matangi, are running out of room.

On their new turf, there is enough space for up to 20 breeding pairs – which will eventually make it the largest takahe population outside Fiordland.

DOC’s takahe recovery programme manager, Phil Tisch, said the programme was “crucial” in saving the bird from extinction.

“It’s enabling us to take another big step forward in building a safe future for takahe by building a new population on Motutapu,” he said.

“This is the largest transportation of takahe we've ever done outside Fiordland. There are only 260 takahe in the world. To move nine of these rare birds virtually the length of the country in one day is a major undertaking.”

They were released into native forest planted by volunteers from the Motutapu Restoration Trust.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/7905424/Rare-takahe-moved-to-Auckland-safety