A possible Haast encounter of an elusive bird with a $10,000 bounty on it is the latest to get the South Island Kōkako Trust excited. Trust manager Inger Perkins, of Hokitika, said six possible encounters in Fiordland, Mount Aspiring National Park, South Westland and Kahurangi National Park were reported between late March and July that they found ‘‘very encouraging’’. ‘‘One was even with two of the cryptic birds,’’ she said. The last confirmed sighting of the South Island kōkako was in 1967. In 2008, the Department of Conservation (Doc) declared the bird extinct. However, in 2013 Doc moved the kōkako out of the extinct list and into the ‘‘data deficient’’ category. The trust, which has been leading work to record sightings, has also offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can provide solid evidence of the bird’s existence. The most recent report come from the northern end of the Haast to Paringa Cattle Track just a few weeks ago. The haunting call of the kōkako has been likened to tolling cathedral bells and the trust’s latest newsletter states the couple who reported the encounter stopped in their tracks after hearing ‘‘a remarkably different sound’’. ‘‘We both stopped and looked above us in the trees, hearing a very unusual bird call, not like that classic kōkako haunting song but more chatty sounds and warbling plus a few random sounds that honestly after all of the years I had spent living in Franz or on the Coast, I had not heard before. ‘‘We heard the bird flying from tree to tree a couple of times and were trying to see it but couldn’t get a good idea of where it was. ‘‘When it flew in towards us, I thought ‘heck, that’s a big tui’ just from the noise of its wings and definitely too small for a wood pigeon ... as we went through the swampy ground I caught a glimpse of the bird flying through the trees heading back towards the Windbag Creek area — absolutely wasn’t a pigeon, but I didn’t see it for more than a second, just a silhouette. ‘‘[Later] I looked at a map of kōkako reports and when I saw two blue dots exactly where I was standing saying what the heck is that bird, I decided to report the sighting.’’ The encounter was about 1.75km into the track from the northern end. In early April, a report was also received from the Waiatoto River area, near Jackson Bay, of a ‘‘grey bird with long tail’’ on the ground. The colour and length of the tail, as well as the quail-like shape of the wings made the observer take note. The trust said the hunter had taken a jetboat up the river with Waiatoto River Safaris and they were keen to hear from more people exploring the area. ‘‘We have two reports in our records from less than a kilometre downstream of this report, from 2012. ‘‘Perhaps there’s a kōkako, or even better a pair, hanging on there.’’ Ms Perkins said they needed an image or video of the missing bird.
