Civis tries to keep an eye on both shadows and sunlight.
This week, the light wins out.
Their conservation story, New Zealand’s longest running, is outstanding.
Trampers may now be lucky enough to encounter them in the wild and if a possible Matukituki Valley release goes ahead, even more people will have the chance.
Takahē may resemble pūkeko at a glance, but takahē are bigger, brighter and more striking.
Their modern story begins in 1948, when Invercargill doctor Geoffrey Orbell and his party rediscovered the species in the Murchison Mountains, half a century after it had vanished.
By the early 1980s, numbers had collapsed. The Burwood breeding centre opened in 1985. Wild eggs were artificially incubated and "puppet" reared before birds were returned to the wild.
Handlers used adult-shaped puppets to feed chicks and avoid human imprinting, a practice dropped in 2010, so young birds could instead learn from real takahē and be better prepared for life outside captivity.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, the Department of Conservation concentrated on building numbers on four predator-free islands.
A devastating stoat plague in 2007 halved the Murchison Mountains population. Since then, takahē have been returned to Kahurangi National Park (2018) and to Ngāi Tahu’s Greenstone Station near Lake Wakatipu (2023).
The Greenstone birds are said to have settled well. Because takahē need vast ranges and breed slowly, establishing multiple wild populations is crucial.
The 18 birds released into the Rees last month form the fourth such group, with two more releases planned. The valley could eventually support around 80 birds.
The release was only possible because of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust’s predator control work.
So, let us take a moment to celebrate: takahē numbers have passed 500 and are rising at roughly 5% a year, with more than half now living in the wild.
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Civis is sparing fewer words for another great avian comeback — the kākāpō. Not because they don’t deserve it, but because they so often steal the spotlight.
The world’s heaviest parrot has become a global media darling, and all 236 individuals are named and tracked.
There’s a monthly Doc newsletter, an RNZ podcast (Kākāpō Files II), and even a 24/7 webcam trained on one bird, Rakiura. When Civis checked, she was dozing on her nest beneath the roots of a rātā on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island off Stewart Island (Rakiura).
And of course there’s Sirocco, the celebrity kākāpō and this country’s official conservation ambassador.
He shot to fame after his memorable attempt to mate with a zoologist on the BBC’s Last Chance to See.
Because kākāpō breed only every two to four years, the hatching of the first chick since 2022 was cause for celebration. With more than 170 eggs laid, the population of 236 is set for a healthy jump this year.
What a far boom from the nadir of 1995, when the species had dwindled to just 20 females and 31 males.
The kākāpō has twice won Bird of the Year — in 2008 and 2020.
It’s time the takahē had its turn.
