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Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society

  • More Kōkako return to Pirongia

      19 July 2018
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    14 July 2018

    Last night, fourteen kōkako (six pairs along with two single birds) left Tiritiri Matangi Island and safely made it down to Pirongia. At 7:30 this morning, they were released into our pest control area in Pirongia Forest Park to join another 30 birds transferred from Pureora Forest. The Tiritiri birds have Pirongia lineage; they are descendants of one of the last birds removed from Mt Pirongia in the 1990's to the safety of Mt Bruce Sanctuary.

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  • Banding new chicks 24 February 2018

      27 February 2018
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    This morning, Dave Bryden and a group of us banded the kokako chicks on Mt Pirongia. There were 3 in the nest which is the maximum clutch size. One was a lot larger than the other two. Dave and Abi did all the rope work while the rest of us helped as needed. Dave has put bands on the chicks with Metal-White on one leg and combinations of Green on the other leg. The nest will continue to be monitored until the chicks fledge which will be in about another 2 to 3 weeks. We'll be posting some videos of the banding too on our Facebook page.

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  • Kokako news: nesting success

      21 February 2018
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    On Tuesday 30 January, Dave Bryden climbed up to assess the new nest found on the Wharauroa track. The nest is high in a large tree and can't be seen from the ground. He was able to peer into the nest from a distance while the female was away briefly to feed, and there are 3 eggs. Banding of the chicks will take place soon.

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  • Finding kokako

      22 October 2017

    On 2 October, ecologists Dave Bryden and Amanda Rogers, assisted by volunteers, started to look for the released kokako. So far they have found 3 pairs and 5 other single birds within our pest control area. They haven't moved far from the release site! Another ecologist is now working from Pahautea Hut on top of Mt Pirongia. This is great news as it seems that most birds are sticking together. Monitoring will continue for the next two months. It is hoped to keep watch on 5 nests.

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  • 20 Kokako released

      28 August 2017
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    The last of our kokako to fill our quota for this year was released on Saturday. It was a single male so that brings the numbers to 12 males and 8 females. Dave Bryden, our catcher is happy with that result and has said it will still be a good foundation group for a new population. We are planning post-release monitoring of the kokako in October and this will also be led by Dave. Dave and his assistant Amanda have been absolutely fantastic to work with and their hard work and forward planning have meant the process has gone extremely well. We have also had excellent support from volunteers throughout. Huge thanks Dave, Amanda and all those who have helped us so much.

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