Chatham Islands, New Zealand

Remote camera gear installed at the Sweetwater Conservation Covenant in the south of Chatham Island has recently captured images of an adult taiko visiting the site, confirming that the seabirds are being attracted to the site by a sound system playing taiko calls.

Image: DOC

The Chatham Island taiko, or Magenta petrel is one of the world's rarest seabirds with a total population of about150.  The Department of Conservation and the Taiko Trust are working twith private landowners to ensure the long-term survival of this species through the establishment of a secure breeding site for taiko within a predator-fenced area.  The early success of this project can be attributed to the willingness of the organisations to work together, the co-operation and enthusiasm of landowners, and major funding for the fence supplied by the Government's Biodiversity Condition Fund.

The camera was installed by DOC staff because tell-tale barriers at the entrances to some artificial taiko burrows below the speaker system had been knocked down.  To the delight of everyone involved, the taiko was filmed the night after the camera was installed. It is hoped that through the use of the speaker system and the transfer of chicks to the site that a breeding colony can be established within the next 5 years.

Taiko, once numerous on the Chatham Islands, were though extinct until rediscovered by ornithologist David Crocket in 1978.