Operation Nest Egg... number 1000 says gidday

Hupai was born at Rotorua's Kiwi Encounter. Photo / Kylie Day

These fascinating pictures, taken by an amateur photographer, capture a landmark in the battle to save New Zealand's national bird.

Kylie Day, a member of the husbandry team at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua, watched this chick for seven hours until it pushed its way into the world at 3am yesterday.

She said the kiwi - the 1000th to be born under the Operation Nest Egg conservation programme - started cracking its shell on Thursday.

Staff at the centre checked on it every hour, waiting for it to emerge.

"I've seen heaps of kiwis hatching but it's still really amazing to see every time," Ms Day said.

"It's such an effort for the little chicks to get out. They start cracking with their bill, but then use their shoulders and feet to do the rest."

Ms Day took her first photos on Friday, when the kiwi had made only a small hole in the shell.

On Saturday night, she stayed at the centre from 8pm until it hatched in the early hours of yesterday morning.

"It was all ready to go. They're like miniature adults - they can see, walk around. It usually takes about 12 hours for their feathers to dry off but that's about it."

The chick has been named Hupai, Maori for "to overcome". Its sex won't be known for about five months.

Operation Nest Egg, sponsored by the BNZ, was started in 1994 to save the endangered species.

Eggs are collected, incubated and hatched, and the chicks are reared in captivity until they are big enough to be released into the wild.

Birds raised this way have a 65 per cent chance of surviving their first year of life.

Only 5 per cent of kiwi hatched in the wild reach adulthood, and 20 per cent survival is needed for a population to grow.

Hupai will be taken to Bushy Park in Wanganui when it is about four weeks old. Once it gains weight, it will return to its Waimarino home.