A combined Tokyo Channel six filimng expedition and department of Conservation Snipe transfer the transfer project. Snipe from the Snares Islands in the New Zealand Subantarctic were relocated to Codfish island.
A snipe being fed glucose solution to avoid dehydration on its trip from the subantarctic Snares Islands to predator-free Codfish Island, west of Stewart Island. Photo by DOC.
Newly-released Snares Island snipe are doing well in their new home on predator-free Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, the Department of Conservation says.
Staff report regular sightings of the birds following the second-only transfer by Doc from the subantarctic Snares Islands three weeks ago, which bodes well for establishing a new breeding population, Doc's manager of outlying islands Pete McClelland said.
''The birds are settling in well and should be ready to breed next spring and summer. We're excited about the prospect of this new population improving the chances of survival for the species.''
The snipe, also known as tutukiwi, is about the size of a thrush and has a long beak. It prefers to live on the ground, rather than fly.
Snipe were once widespread throughout New Zealand but were wiped out on the mainland and many islands by predators, mainly rats.
A total of 30 snipe were captured in hand-nets on the Snares Islands and transferred by boat to Codfish Island before being released on December 20. The transfer was funded by Tokyo Channel Six, which had a film crew making a programme about penguin behaviour around the Snares.
''This is great example of the department and commercial enterprise working together,'' Mr McClelland said.
''The film crew get their wildlife programme and we get to do our important work with species under threat.
''They were enthralled by what we were doing. They even took time out from their project to film ours.''
The transfer was the second, he said. Birds transferred from the Snares to Putauhinu Island off the southwest coast of Stewart Island in 2005 had grown to an estimated population of more than 500 birds.
It was hoped the newly-established populations would ensure the survival and genetic diversity of the species, he said.
While individuals from the Putauhinu Island population could have been harvested for the transfer to Codfish/Whenua Hou, best practice was to go back to the original stock to maximise the genetic diversity of the new population.
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Pete McClelland, Programme Manager Outlying Islands, Southern Islands Area Office: +64 3 2112425 orThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Date: 11 January 2013
Newly released Snares Island snipe are doing well in their new home on predator-free Codfish Island/Whenua Hou after their recent transfer.
Department of Conservation staff on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou report regular sightings of the birds following the second-only transfer by DOC from the subantarctic Snares Islands recently. According to manager of outlying islands, Pete McClelland, this bodes well for establishing a new breeding population.
“The birds are settling in well and should be ready to breed next spring and summer,“ he said “We’re excited about the prospect of this new population improving the chances of survival for the species.”
Story continues below image
Snipe being fed glucose solution to avoid dehydration on the trip
The snipe, also known as tutukiwi for its long beak and ground living habit, was once widespread around New Zealand but was wiped out on the mainland and many islands by predators, mainly rats.
A total of thirty snipe were captured in hand-nets on the Snares Islands and transferred by boat to Codfish Island. The transfer was funded by Tokyo Channel Six who had a film crew making a programme about penguin behaviour around the Snares.
Story continues below image
The Tokyo Channel Six film crew
“This is great example of the Department and commercial enterprise working together,” says Mr McClelland. “The film crew get their wildlife programme and we get to do our important work with species under threat. They were enthralled by what we were doing. They even took time out from their project to film ours!”
The previously transferred snipe, taken from the Snares to Putauhinu Island off the south-west coast of Stewart Island in 2005, have grown to an estimated population of over 500 birds.
It is hoped that these newly established populations brought from the subantarctic islands will ensure the survival and genetic diversity of the species.
The transferred snipe on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou will continue to be monitored, with DOC staff on the look-out for un-banded fledglings next summer.
Snares Island snipe (Coenocorypha huegeli), Threat Classification D.4. Naturally Uncommon: Island Endemic, Range Restricted, Sparse (Miskelly et al., 2008).
Snipe are about the size of a thrush with a long beak, which presumably lead to its Maori name of tutukiwi.
While individuals from the successful population on Putauhinu Island could have been harvested for the transfer to Codfish/Whenua Hou, best practice is to go back to the original stock to maximise the genetic diversity of the new population.
It is hoped to establish the bird on other titi islands.
They were once widespread around New Zealand but as they are ground-living and usually reluctant flyers were rapidly wiped out from the main islands by introduced predators, mainly rats.
South Island snipe (a separate sub-species) found their last refuge on Taukihepa/ Big South Cape Island. In the 1960’s this sanctuary was also invaded by rats and, despite a last minute attempt to save them by transferring a few to a nearby island, the South Island snipe was gone forever.
While over-nighting at Easy Harbour, the transfer team were visited by Vaughn Fisher, a crayfisherman and a mutton birder on Taukihepa, who became interested in the transfer and is keen to see Snipe back on his island. With the rats gone, this is a real possibility sometime in the future although the presence of weka and dogs would be problematic.
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Newly released snipe are doing well in their predator-free home.
The birds, from the Snare Islands, 200 kilometres south of New Zealand, have been transferred to Codfish Island by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
DOC staff have reported regular sightings of the little subantarctic birds in their new home.
Outlying islands manager Pete McClelland said the sightings could signal the establishment of a new breeding population.
"The birds are settling in well and should be ready to breed next spring and summer," he said
"We're excited about the prospect of this new population improving the chances of survival for the species."
The snipe, also known as tutukiwi, for their long beak and ground-dwelling habits, were once widespread around New Zealand but were wiped out by predators, mainly rats.
Thirty snipe were captured in hand nets on the Snares and transferred by boat to Codfish Island, west of Stewart Island.
McClelland said the transfer was funded by Tokyo Channel Six, which had a film crew making a programme about penguin behaviour around the Snares.
Snipe were transferred from the Snares to Putauhinu Island, off the southwest coast of Stewart Island in 2005, and had grown to a population of more than 500 birds.
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