Kaki released into the Mackenzie

Members of Te Manahuna Aoraki and the Department of Conservation's Kaki Recovery Programme release 45 juvenile kaki at Mt Gerald Station on Thursday.

In total, 130 juvenile and sub-adult kaki, or black stilts, were released on to the edge of a riverbed in the Mackenzie Basin in batches last week.

Department of Conservation senior biodiversity ranger Dean Nelson said the more than 2200 traps set in the habitat for the world's rarest wading bird by Te Manahuna Aoraki would increase the birds' chances of survival.

"Previously, fewer than 30% of the young birds released in the Godley and lower Cass Valleys were surviving to become adults, whereas in areas with significant trapping like the Tasman valley, the survival rate is 50%," he said.

There are only 129 adult kaki living in the wild.