New home for birds

Press, 29 March 1980, Page 7

New home for birds

An exciting development in protecting New Zealand’s rare and endangered birds is in its final stages. Operation Saddlebacks will begin at the end of this month. It will move up to 30 South Island Saddlebacks from Stage Island, near Stewart Island, to Maud Island in the Pe-' lorous Sounds, said the Director of the Wildlife Service (Mr R. T. Adams). The service has been preparing Maud Island as a “safe” island for rare and endangered species, of birds, and this’ was the first liberation of the endangered birds to be taken there he said. A helicopter will take the birds to Invercargill, then they will be flown to

Wellington by Air New Zealand, and finally taken by float plane to Maud Island. The only places the South Island Saddleback are found are a few islands off Stewart Island. Because they are small islands, they 'Carry only a limited number of the birds. The Saddleback is a noisy, active bird, predominantly black with a chestnut-coloured back. For some years the service had planted trees on Maud Island to assist bush regeneration there, said Mr Adams. Maud is naturally ver-min-free with no cats, dogs, stoats, rats, mice, or other predators. But the island (115 hectares) does have tui, fan-

tails, pigeons, grey warblers, riflemen, and the brown creeper, and will be able to carry a greater bird population.

If the liberation is successful it was hoped to be able to take the progeny from Maud Island to other islands, said Mr Adams. The service concedes there are some risks involved in transporting the birds such a long way. However, Maud is a suitable island for them to be resettled on, and it is hoped that a good proportion of the birds will survive and breed.

Operation Saddlebacks is in the charge of Mr R. Nilsson of Dunedin, and Mr W. Cash of Blenheim, both protected-fauna officers with the Wildlife service.