'McCaw', first kiwi chick of the season welcomed at West Coast Wildlife Centre

McCaw is a rowi chick and was hatched at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef. Photo / Supplied

Westland has welcomed its first kiwi of the breeding season, which has been named McCaw.

McCaw is a rowi chick and was hatched at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef early this morning.

Weighing in at 322 grams McCaw was named by the wildlife centre team to "let Ritchie and all our team of All Blacks know over in the UK that every "young Kiwi" back here in New Zealand is cheering them on".

Rowi are the rarest kiwi in the world with less than 500 birds left alive in the wild.
McCaw took six-and-a-half days to hatch.

Rotorua has also welcomed its first kiwi chick of the season.

The as yet unnamed chick, comes from Tongariro. Photo / Supplied via Rainbow Springs

The fluffy native hatched at 11:20am on Saturday weighing in at 346g.

The as yet unnamed chick, comes from Tongariro and its father is called Little Moa.

The newborn may soon be followed by its sibling that is close to hatching in the incubation room at Rainbow Springs Kiwi Encounter.

There are currently 17 eggs in incubation, that have been brought in from around the North Island, at the hatchery.

The new chicks will be raised to a "stoat-proof" weight of one kilogram, before being released back into the wild.

Rainbow Springs has hatched and nurtured more than 1,450 eggs since 1995 when it first became involved in the "Save the Kiwi" recovery programme.

This season it expects to welcome its 1500th kiwi chick.