The Rotorua Museum will be receiving a special delivery in the form of three karearea - New Zealand falcons.
The chicks will be transferred from Wingspan, the National Bird of Prey Centre in Rotorua to a nesting box on the roof of the museum today.
It is the first urbanrelease of an endangered species in the country.
"This exciting trial project is a first for New Zealand and a special opportunity to restore a threatened species right into the city - an approach that has been successful internationally in many cities around the world," Wingspan director Debbie Stewart said.
"There are less than 4000 pairs of karearea left in the wild, and despite the fact they are a threatened species at risk of extinction, one of the single biggest causes of death is by deliberate shooting.
"This spectacular and dynamic bird, New Zealand's fastest bird, is only found in New Zealand, and it is crucial to our biodiversity that species like the karearea are protected for future generations to enjoy. City urban areas are really no different to the environments of cliff-racing falcons," she said.
The idea for the release of the falcons at the museum came initially from Wingspan together with Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, who had been a strong supporter of Wingspan's work to protect native birds of prey.
The chicks will be fed daily by museum staff until early January when the nesting box, known as a hack box, will be opened, and the young falcons will be free to go. In the days and weeks following the release, museum visitors and visitors to Rotorua's wider Government Gardens, will have the rare opportunity to see the young falcons up close as they learn to fend for themselves.
Rotorua Museum director Stewart Brown said it will be a critical period for the birds during the first 10 days after the hack box is opened.
"This is the time when they will be most vulnerable to predators like feral cats or dangers like cars, and we will be actively monitoring the young falcons during this time as well as doing what we can to minimise the risks," he said.
Over the next few months Rotorua Museum will have a special display, called On the Wing, about karearea, the urban release project, and the work Wingspan does.
