The Story of Rangipo the Ruru.

Owl setting up home in a kaka nest box

Our little owl, Rangipo the ruru has fledged. He was never supposed to be on our nest box route to start with. The nest boxes are set up for kaka, the North Island parrot as Zealandia does not have enough old mature trees to produce places for them to nest in. His mum though was not to be thwarted.

A grid designed to keep out ruru. No doubt curious kaka used their beaks to remove most of the twigs.

The mother to be squeezed in and laid her eggs despite our efforts to keep her out

My nest monitor buddy discovered her setting up home in the of the boxes and despite her best efforts to discourage her she was not to be put off and laid two perfect little white eggs.

Once an egg was laid we gave in and allowed Mrs Ruru to stay. Her penalty was that she ended up being harassed by the paparazzi

Two ruru eggs in the nest box

One hatched and a little bundle of white fluff was produced. The egg looked as if it had exploded rather than hatched with egg shards scattered everywhere. It was if the chick had erupted from a volcanic event. As a result we called the chick Rangipo after the Rangipo Desert near Mt Ruapehu. The desert was named Rangipo by Maori after an eruption which made the sky dark and ominous during the day.

We visited biweekly and watched him grow from a ball of white fluff to a young owl ready to take his place in the night sky. We saw what his mother brought into the nest for him to eat.

Rangipo just hatched. He must have popped out with volcanic force as there are tiny pieces of egg shell everywhere

Rangipo a couple of weeks later with his unhatched sibling and a tasty snack of weta ready for him to eat.

Rangipo getting his adult feathers, ready for fledging.

Poor mother! Each visit we disturbed her and caused her to blearily leave the nest. We were not too concerned about disrupting her as we did not want her to think that kaka nest boxes were the best places to rear her young. Hopefully next time she will remember and choose a natural nest site where humans will not bother her. Also if the tui and kaka spied her out in the day light they descended upon her screeching and attacking. It was as if they knew she might steal their young to feed her own.

Mrs Morepork (ruru, owl) looking distinctly cheesed off about being disturbed yet again

Go away you photo crazy people and leave me in peace!

The little owl was clever though. Once I watched her as she crouched on a short branch tucked up next to a tree. A tui flew in again and again but could not get close enough to get in a peck without endangering itself. It then sat still up above her waiting, hoping she would move. The little owl knew it was there though and would not comply. Instead she called out soft churring sounds to comfort Rangipo and let him know she was nearby and that all was alright.

I was a little sad to visit one day and find the nest empty. Rangipo had gone. I cleaned out the nest box to prevent a second nest to be started and to keep things hygienic.

On night tours now when I hear the morepork cry I will wonder if it is our own Rangipo which we watched grow up before our eyes.

For more information on the ruru and to hear its call go to this link:

I hope Rangipo has a happy and fruitful life in Zealandia, living off the bounty of the forest and does not get harassed too often by either humans or  tui.