Saddlebacks released on island
An island on Lake Manapouri is fast becoming a stronghold for endangered wildlife as a second species of vulnerable bird has been shifted there for safe keeping.
Seven saddleback (tı¯eke) birds were released on Rona Island on Wednesday as part of a translocation project aiming to shift 60 birds to the island.
Pomona Island Charitable Trust secretary and volunteer project leader Viv Shaw said DOC had approved the translocation because the island was pest-free, which was crucial to the survival of the birds.
Saddlebacks were quite vulnerable to rats and stoats and the trust had to ensure the island was a completely safe environment before the birds could be released, Shaw said
‘‘This is a really significant milestone. We’ve been wanting to do this for six years.’’
The trust looked to do a transfer of birds to the island in 2012, but a check of the trap network on the island found six stoats on the island, Shaw said.
‘‘It was a long wait, but well worth it.’’ The Leslie Hutchins Conservation Foundation gave $12,000 to the trust to fund the transfer.
DOC had taken the birds from Anchor Island and Breaksea Island in Fiordland.
Saddlebacks were not great at flying so there was little chance the birds would migrate to the mainland, Shaw said.
For 12 years the volunteer-run trust has worked to restore Pomona and Rona islands to their natural state before the introduction of pests.