Our next kiwi chick celebration will be held at 11am, 6 January 2019 at the Whakatāne i-Site.
Kiwi chick celebrations offer the public a rare chance to see one of the chicks from the Whakatāne area before it is released into the wild of Ōhope Scenic Reserve. These chicks come from nests in the areas around Whakatāne that are not protected by adequate predator control. If they were left in their nests they would have less than 5% chance of survival due to predation by stoats.
A team of Whakatāne Kiwi Project volunteers monitor the progress of the eggs in the nest and once the chick hatches it is collected and taken to Moutohorā, where it can grow up safe from the threat of stoats. Once the chick reaches the ‘stoat-proof’ weight of 1000gm it can then be brought back to the mainland and join the rest of the kiwi population around Whakatāne.
Once or twice a year the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust holds a Kiwi Chick Celebration to give people a chance to see a kiwi chick for a few minutes before it is taken to the bush and released. These celebrations are a chance to learn more about the work that the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust has achieved and acknowledge the hard work that our volunteers do to help the kiwi population around Whakatāne grow.
We hope to see you at our next Kiwi Chick Celebration!