On The Up: Record number of kiwi eggs retrieved from Hawke’s Bay’s Maungataniwha Native Forest

A Hawke’s Bay-based conservation trust retrieved 46 kiwi eggs over just two nights from nests in the Maungataniwha Native Forest.

A Hawke’s Bay-based conservation trust retrieved 46 kiwi eggs in what it believes might be “some sort of record”.

The eastern brown kiwi eggs were removed from nests in the Maungataniwha Native Forest in northern Hawke’s Bay, next to Te Urewera, to be incubated away from predators.

The first batch of 25 eggs from the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust’s Maungataniwha Kiwi Programme was retrieved in the evening of September 10, with a further 21 lifted on September 15 and in the small hours of September 16.

The precious finds were then delivered to the National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua and Save the Kiwi’s Gallagher Kiwi Burrow near Taupō for incubation.

Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust kiwi project manager Tamsin Ward-Smith said it was the most eggs she had heard of being lifted in a single operation.

“We often talk about how kiwi conservation is a team effort but, for these two lifts, that teamwork was taken to new heights. I cannot stress enough our gratitude to the dedicated group of kiwi enthusiasts and volunteers who came together to make this extraordinary feat happen.

“It’s also usually pretty cold doing night stake-outs, and there’s generally not a lot of sleep.”

The number of eggs involved meant that, on each occasion, they were transferred by helicopter for the swiftest possible delivery to incubators.

The resulting chicks will be reared in protected enclosures until they weigh about one kilogram, heavy enough to go toe-to-beak with a predator.

They are then released either into the forest from which the eggs were retrieved or at one of the trust’s other properties.

Helen McCormick, husbandry manager at Save the Kiwi’s Gallagher Kiwi Burrow, said the team lifting the eggs did a fantastic job.

“It was an impressive sight to see all the egg containers lined up on delivery.”

With so many eggs arriving at one time, staff at the National Kiwi Hatchery and the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow ensured that one egg was checked, washed and moved into an incubator as quickly as possible.

“We were excited to see so many fertile eggs at one time. It was a great start to the season, with both facilities going from just a few kiwi eggs to being really busy.”

National Kiwi Hatchery manager Emma Bean said it was a great opportunity for manuhiri (visitors) to witness the arrival of the eggs and experience conservation in action.

“We loved receiving so many eggs and are privileged, as the largest kiwi hatchery in New Zealand, to play such an important role in kiwi conservation alongside the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust.”

The Maungataniwha Kiwi Project is carving out a name for itself as one of the most prolific and successful kiwi conservation initiatives in the country.

Since its inception in 2006, it has saved more than 700 kiwi.