Good news for New Zealand’s endangered bird: Australian terns (Sterna nereis) have had a remarkable breeding season. There are only ten breeding pairs left in the world and eighteen healthy chicks have now hatched.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) announced on Wednesday that a total of 22 eggs were laid, from which 18 healthy chicks hatched. These are significant numbers, as there are fewer than 40 specimens of these white-gray birds with their distinctive black top of the head and black-rimmed eyes in the Pacific country today.
Only five breeding sites in all of New Zealand
The “fairy terns” or “tara iti”, as they are called in their homeland, breed at only five breeding sites in the north of the country. “What is special this year is the higher chick survival rate, combined with the lack of adverse weather conditions in previous breeding seasons,” explains DOC Ranger Alex Wilson.
Last year, five adults and all but one chicks were killed by Cyclone Gabrielle. This year, however, 13 young pigeons have already fledged.
Chicks are raised by hand
The chicks were hand-reared at Auckland Zoo before being moved to a purpose-built aviary in a predator-free enclosure. “Here the chicks go through crucial developmental stages and improve their flying and foraging skills in a natural environment,” Wilson explains. They have to slowly get used to life in freedom.
Source: Krone
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