The first kiwi chick on Waiheke Island has hatched only five months after the birds were released on the island in a major conservation effort.
Trail camera footage near the nests on Waiheke shows the chick, likely a couple of weeks old, wandering in the bush and taking a bit of a tumble.
The hatchling comes after 10 North Island brown kiwi were released on to Waiheke Island for the first time in May this year.
Save the Kiwi dog specialist Emma Craig said the birth of a kiwi chick on Waiheke was a huge milestone for the conservation project.
“We’re absolutely stoked. This is a huge milestone for the kiwi released earlier this year, and we’ll be monitoring the chicks through trail cameras.”
The parents of this chick were already a pair when they were brought to the island and began nesting in late July. Waiheke landowners, volunteers, and Save the Kiwi have been monitoring their progress since then.
“We’re hopeful this one will make it to adulthood, but we always remember that kiwi survival isn’t 100%, and losing some individuals is part of the reality of growing a wild kiwi population.”
Craig said one of the best ways to ensure that this chick and future chicks will survive is to continue the ongoing stoat trapping conducted across the whole island.
The birds live in the Te Matuku Peninsula at the eastern end of Waiheke Island.
Te Matuku Peninsula is remote and cannot be publicly accessed, and the land surrounding the peninsula is extensively predator-managed.
Save The Kiwi says the transmitter of the male kiwi indicates he is still incubating, so they may see another chick in the coming days. After this next egg hatches, the pair may nest again this season.
“There are four kiwi pairs being monitored, and there is another nest we currently know about, so chicks from other kiwi are expected over the breeding season,” a Save The Kiwi spokesperson said.
Waiheke is the first urban area in Auckland where kiwi live, following the release in May.
Ngāti Pāoa chairwoman Herearoha Skipper says the local iwi are excited by the news.
“We are delighted to announce the birth of the first kiwi chick on Waiheke Island.
“This is a great sign for us that the hopes and aspirations of the community and the tribes for the kiwi colony to grow on the island of Te Ārai Roa have been realised.”
Skipper said Te Korowai o Waiheke and other predator-control projects have worked tirelessly over many decades to remove predators from the island, “creating a space where kiwi and other native wildlife can thrive”.
Waiheke-based community conservation project Te Korowai o Waiheke has deployed around 1750 stoat traps around the island, leading to a 76% increase in native birds since 2020.
The hope is that as kiwis start to naturally migrate, they will eventually establish an island-wide population.
The original 10 kiwis were transferred from neighbouring Pōnui Island and first welcomed to Waiheke with a pōwhiri at Piritahi Marae at the time.
More adult kiwi will also be translocated from Pōnui Island to Waiheke in early 2026.
The project to bring kiwi to Waiheke has taken two years, fulfilling a 20-year dream for local environmentalists.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.