Sign In / Register
Supporters and friends of Shakespear Regional Park’s Open Sanctuary came together on Saturday May 10 to welcome the latest arrivals from Tiritiri Matangi Island; 40 juvenile stitchbirds/hihi, consisting of 20 males and 20 females, who now call the park home.
Part of a national conservation programme, they are the third batch of translocated hihi to be moved to the sanctuary after a successful breeding season which saw 55 chicks hatched in Shakespear Regional Park’s Open Sanctuary over the summer of 2024/2025. This was a first for the species in more than a 100 years. (Hibiscus Matters, January 27, 2025).
After being brought ashore by the translocation team at Gulf Harbour, the birds were taken to the release area in the Ministry of Defence zone at the top of the park. Everyone waited quietly, so as not to alarm the birds, and on the count of three the boxes were opened. The hihi darted out into the bush, although had a number had to be gently persuaded out, but were soon welcomed by the ever present fantails/ pīwakawaka coming by to check out what was going on.
