Zealandia in the Morning

Zealandia was beautiful in the morning. The birds were out and about, their volume turned up. A kereru rose high over the lake and I hoped it was going to do a 'swoop' display, but no, it flew with squeaky wings up to perch on one of the tall pines.
I saw a large tuatara male basking in the early sunlight and several little robins bopping about on the path up to my nest sites.

                                      The large male tuatara

                                      A robin perfectly camouflaged

Another kereru spotted on the track

A kaka nest box hidden among the trees

 After checking my kaka nests for signs of re-nesting I met up with a volunteer who showed me the routine associated with one of my new roles which will be takahe feeding and giving a talk.
We weighed out the pellets and headed to their territory on the lawn by the bottom lake. Mr and Mrs Takahe were waiting for us at the pontoon gate. They have just abandoned their nest with one egg in it after 53 days of constant incubating.  T2 (Mr Takahe) sat on the nest all night and Puffin (Mrs Takahe) sat all day. But alas their egg was infertile as it has been for the last eight years. Takahe mate for life. As there are only 250 or so left on the planet they are perhaps genetically compromised, and our two have only produced three babies over the last fifteen years one of which survived to adulthood. This daughter though, has done well in Maungatautiri Sanctuary near Hamilton with her Maude Island partner and have produced five chicks for far.

Still, I feel for T2 and Puffin who have just put in  tremendous effort yet again to no avail. They eyed us up as they knew it was tucker time. We were a little early so had to wait while they pottered around our feet. They are originally from Mana Island where they occupied a prime territory. It was decided to move them on to a retirement home (Zealandia) so that a younger, more virile couple could move in to their space. They now live here in splendour with no pressure from other takahe and with people like me to feed them every day. They have now reached the grand old age of 18  and19 which is getting on for takahe.

Mr Takahe plus long green poo. (They produce metres of the stuff per day.)
Also note antenna back pack enabling them to be tracked.

I shook the food container and they perked up and dogged - well takahed me to the feeding station. They have large prehistoric looking beaks and have been known to draw blood in their enthusiasm to get to the food, so I was a little cautious but completed the operation fingers intact.
An audience had gathered so we talked and answered questions. This is the role of Mr and Mrs Takahe now. They are advocacy birds for their species. They help to educate and inform people about the precious animals in New Zealand that need our help to survive.
After eating they preened themselves, had a postprandial nap then wandered off for a dabble in the lake and we wandered back to clean up.

Nap time. Note feeding station in background.