Kiwi chicks go to island creche

Zoologist Ian Fraser readies kiwi chick Rarau for transfer to Motuora Island. Picture / Greg Bowker

A new home on a Hauraki Gulf island is a shocking transition from the comforts of Auckland Zoo - particularly when you're just a flightless 300g three-week old.

But North Island brown kiwi chicks, Hari ("happy"), Mahina ("twilight") and Rarau ("100 red feathers") will find Motuora Island just to their liking, if its recent history is anything to go by.

The trio's release on the island yesterday was a rare opportunity to witness the workings of Operation Nest Egg, a Bank of New Zealand-sponsored recovery programme for the national icon.

About 70 birds have been released on Motuora as part of the programme. Kiwi creches such as those on Motuora, 5km east of Mahurangi Heads, north of Auckland, will go a long way towards arresting the 95 per cent mortality rate of kiwi in the wild. Across the country, the five kiwi species total only 70,000 birds -- a 26 per cent decline over the past seven years.

As part of Operation Nest Egg, kiwi eggs are taken from Northland forests, and incubated at the zoo. At about three weeks, the self-sufficient chicks are left on pest-free Motuora for a year.

When they are large enough to defend themselves in the wild from the likes of stoats, the birds are recaptured and released at Northland's Bream Head and the Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary.

But catching them is easier said than done.

Even for full-time island dweller David Jenkins, Motuora's manager, the birds can prove elusive. Tracker dogs are used to find bird burrows, or recorded male and female calls are played to draw the birds out.

Even then, some birds take as long as a year to recapture.

The kiwi creche concept has been run on Motuora for the last five years. Like many islands in the Auckland region that were cleared for farming, the island is being replanted in stages by volunteers with the Motuora Restoration Society. Once revegetation is complete in about five years, the island will act as an insect and reptile sanctuary.

Yesterday was a special moment for Ian and Vicki Williams, who won a charity auction bid for a chance to release the birds.

The pair paid $3000 for the privilege, but the experience was well worth it.

"We were so thrilled, from seeing them behind the glass window in the zoo, to actually finally touching them. They're just gorgeous little things," said Mr Williams.

"The best part was holding the little kiwi, and patting it. It was not scared at all. It was looking at me - it was beautiful. I kissed it goodbye and wished it well," said Mrs Williams.

The Williams are not alone in their regard of the national icon. A recent survey found 87 per cent of respondents believed saving the kiwi should be a national priority.

To support the Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery Trust, the public can donate by Eftpos at any Bank of New Zealand ATM machine, by calling 0900 SAVE KIWI to make an automatic $10 donation, or by donating online (link below).

Or they can do so at any Bank of New Zealand branch.