Spring has arrived

Spring has arrived on Motuora with its characteristic burst of plant growth, continuous blustery westerlies, and birds nesting. In the last few days we have noticed a few new arrivals to Motuora’s bird population. These include five little paradise ducklings, two dotterel chicks, numerous little blue penguin chicks and one welcome swallow chick.

The first two dotterel chicks hatched at home bay this spring

We have also welcomed new arrivals from further afield. Seven kiwi chicks have been released already this spring, with more due to come. The kiwi eggs are collected from bush around the Whangarei area and hatched at Auckland Zoo. The young kiwi are then brought to Motuora as part of ‘operation nest egg’. Motuora is used as a ‘kiwi creche’, meaning the young kiwi will live on the pest free island until they are big enough to fend off predators on the mainland.

One of the seven kiwi chicks released on Motuora so far this spring