First Kiwi Chick of the Season!

Pūkaha are thrilled to welcome our very first kiwi chick of the season!

While monitoring our wild kiwi, Rangers noticed that Tia’s transmitter readings showed he was incubating eggs. It’s a little early in the season, but kiwi will nest whenever the conditions are right and food is plentiful.

A fortnight ago, as part of Operation Nest Egg (O.N.E.), our Rangers checked Tia’s burrow after the readings suggested one egg had already hatched. Sure enough, right beside Dad was a perfectly healthy chick!

At just 10–12 days old, this little one had already started venturing out at night and was ready to take on the big wide world. Kiwi chicks leave the nest after only a few weeks, so we carefully brought the chick into our kiwi crèche for safe keeping.

Tiny kiwi are extremely vulnerable to predators until they reach about 1.2 kg, big enough to fend off a stoat or weasel. While trapping helps keep predator numbers low, as an unfenced sanctuary, stoats and weasels do occasionally slip through our buffer zone. That’s why the kiwi crèche provides the best chance for these precious chicks to grow strong and thrive.