Island kiwi new Auckland tourist attraction
26 Mar 2009
The chance to see kiwi in their native surroundings has become a new attraction for tourists to Auckland with the release of 15 little spotted kiwi on to Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
The island just 30 minutes by boat from downtown Auckland is a New Zealand ecological restoration success story. The introduction of kiwi is the latest stage in a bid to return Motuihe to its original state.
Small and rare
The 15 young birds, the smallest species of kiwi, weigh up to 2.4kg and are about the size of a bantam hen. They were released by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff with the help of volunteers from the Motuihe Trust.
The small kiwi join other New Zealand natives including kakariki, kereru, dotterels and native skinks that have been introduced since the island became predator-free some years ago.
Overnight calls
Although most visitors to the island are day trippers, it is possible to camp overnight and night time would give people a better chance to see or at least hear the shrill, eerie call of the kiwi. Visitors would hear the kiwi calling just after dusk, said DOC staff.
Motuihe Trust chairman John Laurence said people who chose to stay overnight on the island should look out for kiwi eating sandhoppers on the beach or foraging for bugs in the long grass.
He said ground-dwelling bugs were not the food of choice for other native birds on the island "so the kiwis will have a field day".
Protecting the environment
Department of Conservation spokesman Brett Butland said the new kiwi population was the closest one to Auckland.
Butland said the kiwis should thrive in their new home but to help their chances human visitors should check bags and boats for rats and stoats, and should not take dogs onto the island.
Trust chairman John Laurence said it was great for Aucklanders and visitors to the region to know there were now kiwi on their doorstep and Motuihe Island was shaping up to be a miniature version of New Zealand before humans introduced mammalian predators.
Small kiwi population
There are only about 1500 little spotted kiwi left in New Zealand, most live on offshore islands. Kapiti Island off the west coast north of Wellington has the largest population of the rare birds.
Stoats, cats and larger predators devastated mainland kiwi populations in the 1980s.
A spokeswoman for the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust said the little spotted kiwi population would increase by 7 percent a year if breeding and relocation projects worked.
Motuihe Island
The sandy beaches and native wildlife on Motuihe Island draw thousands of visitors a year.
It has also become a popular destination for conservation volunteers who have helped replant coastal forest at a rate of about 50,000 trees a year.
Since tree planting began in 2003, conservationists have also introduced saddlebacks, kakariki and skinks. Eight pairs of rare dotterels have also settled on the island.
Background: Kiwi - New Zealand native bird
The kiwi is one of New Zealand's unique indigenous birds is also symbol of national identity.
The bird is nocturnal and flightless, with nostrils on the end of its large beak. This endangered species is the sole survivor of an ancient order of birds that included the now extinct moa.
The kiwi has one of the largest egg-to-body weight ratios of any bird as the egg averages 15 percent of the female's body weight (compared to two percent for the ostrich). Kiwis live in pairs and mate for life, sometimes for as long as 30 years.
More information:
Motuihe Island eco-success story
Bird conservation in New Zealand
Iconic New Zealand birds
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