Kākāpō

Happy Hatchday to JEM (*2008), my 6th adopted kākāpō! 🥳🥰💚 I dedicated her to @jemaineclement.bsky.social - as a thank you for his work of which I've been a big fan since 6 years ...and because I just had to bring together 2 New Zealanders who share almost the same name. 😉

Two more #kakapo matings on Anchor: JEM 💚 Awhero Kohengi 💚 Tuterangi Currently at least 12 females have mated on Anchor, 10 on Whenua Hou, and probably 2 on Te Kahahu/Chalky. Plus 2 new nests: Marian on Anchor and Tohu on Whenua Hou. #conservation #parrots #kakapo2026 Here's Awhero.

We checked on #kakapo Flossie on her nest on Pukenui/Anchor yesterday, and found her on 3 eggs. We'll return later to determine if they're fertile. #kakapo2026 #conservation #birds

Today we found 6 year old #kakapo Madison and Verity on nests on Pukenui/Anchor Island. Madison had "lost" her three eggs down a hollow at the back of her nest. We retrieved them, but all were probably infertile. It's a good nest though, so she might get a foster chick later. #kakapo2026 #birds

The second #kakapo chick of the #kakapo2026 breeding season hatched this morning: Hine Taumai-A1-2026 on Ako's nest on Te Kākahu. We transferred the egg from Anchor two nights ago. This is Ako's first-ever chick, which is just a few hours old in this video. #conservation #birds #parrots

Female #kakapo Dusky on her nest on Te Kākahu/Chalky Island. We've just spent a few days on the island ensuring all 10 nests have at least one fertile egg. This is part of our trial to assess how well they can raise chicks without our help. #kakapo2026 #conservation #birds #parrots

Female #kakapo Kohengi on her nest with a newly-hatched chick and an egg (unseen). We removed the egg from underneath her and gave it to another female (Phoenix) who had infertile eggs. We're trying to ensure each female on Anchor Island has 1-2 fertile eggs to hatch. #kakapo2026 #conservation

Female #kakapo are utterly focussed on their chicks. Stella came back to the nest while I was checking her very young chicks two nights ago. Apparently unconcerned by me being there, she jumped in and started brooding them in front of me. #conservation #parrots #birds #kakapo2026

Eva at her nest tonight on a very wet Pukenui/Anchor Island. Her chick Evohe-A2 is doing ok and her foster egg underneath her is about to hatch. #kakapo #conservation #kakapo2026 #birds

Transferring 5 #kakapo chicks from Whenua Hou to Anchor this week means that some more two-chick nests were created. With a more reliable food supply, most chicks on Anchor are growing fast - like these in Hine Taumai’s nest. #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots #birds