12 August 2015

Black stilt release boosts numbers in the wild

The Department of Conservation is set to release nearly 100 young black stilt/kakī into the wild at sites in Canterbury’s Mackenzie basin after a record chick-rearing season.

About half of the juveniles (49) will be set free today at the Cass River near Lake Tekapo and the remainder (50) next week on the Tasman River delta.

This follows the early release of 43 birds in January due to avairies being at capacity.

The birds were successfully raised at DOC’s aviary complex in Twizel and The Isaasc Conservation and Wildlife Trust’s facilities at Harewood in Christchurch.

Boosting the small wild population of this critically endangered species with birds from the captive breeding programme is essential for its survival, says DOC Conservation Services Manager Dean Nelson.

“The number of kakī we raise has been increasing each year, which is resulting in a steady increase of adult birds in the wild.”

“Our challenge this coming season is to maintain this momentum with our capacity to raise birds affected by the damage of two out of three of our aviaries in Twizel this winter.”

In June more than 40 cm of snow caused the collapse of one wooden-arch avairy and damaged another. DOC is currently looking at replacement options and whether the damaged aviary can be repaired.

In the meantime, the kakī team is exploring ways it can manage the captive breeding programme this coming spring and summer to maintain numbers of birds raised.

The wild black stilt population has increased from a low of 23 birds in the early 1980s to an estimated 77 adult birds last summer.

The threat from predators such as stoats and feral cats over large areas of braided river habitat where kakī live is a key difficulty in conserving this species.

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