Department of Conservation staff and their Poutiri Ao ō Tāne partners have moved kōrure (mottled petrels) to Hawke's Bay as part of a unique conservation project.
This is the fourth time kōrure have been brought from the remote Whenua Hou (Codfish Island), off New Zealand's southern coast to Maungaharuru, just north east of Napier.
Poutiri Ao ō Tāne, Cape to City's sister project, is an ecological and social restoration project in the Maungaharuru-Tūtira catchment, 60km north of Napier, with the Boundary Stream Mainland Island at its heart.
This fourth translocation of kōrure gave 67 birds a new home. This brought the number of relocated birds to more than 200.
The translocations were part of an effort to restore seabird populations, which were culturally significant to Māori. They were also ecologically significant, partly because of the nutrients they deposited from the sea back into the native bush.
"This programme is exciting as it is trying to restore birdlife where it was once prolific," said kaumātua Bevan Taylor.
"In the times of the tīpuna (ancestors), when the waka Tākitimu sailed by, the tōhunga (high priest) Tūpai cast his rākau (staff) on to Maungaharuru, gifting it the mauri (life force) of birdlife. Receiving the kōrure supports that kaupapa (programme), so that the story will live on for future generations."
Historically bird numbers were so great the mountain roared every morning as the birds took flight and again when they returned in the evening.
Maungaharuru is the 'mountain that rumbles and roars'.
Having stable weather for the translocation was vital, as the birds were transported from Whenua Hou by helicopter then transferred to a plane to Hawke's Bay. A second helicopter delivered the chicks to Maungaharuru.
Department of Conservation (DoC) Hawke's Bay operations manager Connie Norgate said "It was a massive day of travel for these chicks, who have yet to take their first real flight."
When the birds arrived at Boundary Stream they were blessed by kaumātua Matiu Eru, rehydrated and released into artificial burrows where they will remain until they are ready to fly.
Over the next five to six weeks DoC staff, with the help of a large group of volunteers, would feed and monitor the chicks in their burrows.
"We rely heavily on the support of our wonderful volunteers," Ms Norgate said. "Without their help, it would be difficult to maintain the workload."
The kōrure chicks were being contained within a 1.9ha predator proof fence to keep them safe from predators such as stoats and wild cats.
It was important the chicks be moved at a young age, because kōrure take a mental picture of their nest site when they emerge from the burrow for the first time. Their nest site is where they will return to breed in four to five years' time.
After fledging, the birds will make the 24km trip from Maungaharuru to the sea and spend the next four to five years traversing the Southern Ocean.
They will cover thousands of kilometres to return and breed.
For more information visit www.poutiri.co.nz or www.facebook.com/poutiri
Mottled crew wings way to Bay: Petrels moved in conservation project
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