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40 hihi released at Shakespear Regional Park, marking return to Auckland mainland

Twenty female and 20 male hihi were released on Friday 3rd June by members of Auckland Council, Hihi Conservation Charitable Trust, Ngāti Manuhiri, the Navy and Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society Incorporated (SOSSI) onto Defence Force land within the park.

For full coverage of the release, along with a really neat video please see the media coverage here.

As for a latest update… Mhairi McCready, our Hihi Conservation Officer, has just finished a first week of post-release monitoring. One week in and 39 of the 40 released birds have been seen and looking very happy in their new home.

Not only that, but there is a fantastic team of local volunteers who are lining up to help look after the birds. Here is the team at a supplementary feeding training day on Thursday (photo: Mhairi McCready).

ShakespearVolunteers_small

A beautiful site, fantastic local support, and a healthy bunch of hihi – the signs are promising and we will keep you updated on how this newest of hihi populations goes.

Written by Dr John Ewen

I have been interested and working with hihi since I was involved with establishing the Tiritiri Matangi island population through translocation in 1995. I am now employed as a Research Fellow at the Zoological Society of London and have been here since 2004. My research is multi-disciplinary and focusses on small population biology and management. I use decision science to assist in planning hihi management and drive our applied research with this species and have experience in molecular and behavioural ecology, wildlife health and nutrition and reintroduction biology.

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