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Army Bay resident John Kelly meets Hugh, in the arms of senior ranger Matt Maitland.
Shakespear Open Sanctuary at the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula has always wanted to be a source of native birds that will spread further down the peninsula and into residents’ gardens – they just didn’t think the flightless kiwi would be the first!
Hugh, a little spotted kiwi, recently escaped the open sanctuary and was found, on October 2, in an Army Bay resident’s front garden, hiding under some shrubs.
Homeowner John Kelly had no idea that he had a kiwi on his property until he saw half a dozen anxious people on his front lawn, aerial transmitter in hand.
“Someone came rushing up and said they were looking for a kiwi,” John says. “My dog isn’t allowed in the front garden, which is probably just as well.”
This kiwi was affectionately named Hugh after one of New Zealand’s foremost kiwi scientists Hugh Robertson. He is known for wandering long distances around the park, as he looks for a mate. He was one of the little spotted kiwi introduced to the open sanctuary from Kapiti Island in 2018.
Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society (SOSSI) volunteer Maree Johnston began looking for him during her regular monitoring activities and was very surprised to get a signal from his transmitter that appeared to be outside the pest proof fence.
“I thought, ‘this is a first – and let’s go find him before a dog does’,” Maree says. A group of rangers and volunteers was quickly assembled and eventually tracked Hugh to John’s garden by following the radio signal.
Open sanctuary senior ranger Matt Maitland says Hugh was probably outside the sanctuary for no more than two days.
“The property where he was found is not far from the park’s entrance,” Matt says. “As well as the pest proof fence itself, we have additional fencing and added chicken wire on existing walls and fences to try and contain kiwi but we meet the coastline and they can wander to the Okoromai buffer zone and out of the sanctuary. It’s an anticipated risk, but this is the first time it’s happened.”
Matt says male kiwi wander as they look for a female, after which they settle down and establish a territory.
Currently there are more male kiwi than females in the park and Matt says as the population builds there will be additional pressure on territories.
He says Hugh was lucky to be found safe and well, given the number of hazards that lie beyond the pest proof fence.
“Dogs, cats, cars – even lawn mowers or weedeaters – can be dangerous for kiwi,” Matt says. “If anyone spots anything like this outside the fence in future, securing any cats and dogs should be a priority.”
Once the kiwi was safely in the arms of the rangers, homeowner John was able to get up close and touch the bird – something he says was a first.
“I also picked up a bunch of feathers that were dropped, so I have a souvenir of the visit,” John says.
