Documenting the battle to protect New Zealand’s endangered birds

Southern Lakes Sanctuary field rangers install a line of stoat traps in the Kea Basin. Stoats are a particular threat to indigenous alpine species including Kea, Rock Wren as well as the endangered flightless Takahe which also spend time in alpine areas. Southern Lakes Sanctuary is a consortium of regional conservation groups involved in the suppression of predators that threaten New Zealand's indigenous species. — Rangers setting out to install stoat traps in the Kea Basin, New Zealand

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

Across New Zealand, a vast conservation effort is under way to wipe out invasive species and enable various native and endangered birds to rebound.

Field specialists from The Capital Kiwi Project inspect kiwi recently released into the hills around Wellington. Kiwi have not roamed these hills for many generations. Predation from introduced predators, primarily stoats, have devastated kiwi populations throughout New Zealand. After the laying of 4,561 traps over 23,455 hectares, and years of work, on 19 November 2022, 11 kiwi were released into the wild on the south coast of Wellington. These inspections are the first since their release. — The ground-dwelling kiwi

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

The country’s Predator Free 2050 project, documented here by photographer Robin Hammond, has the bold aim to completely eradicate three species introduced to the island nation by humans: rats, stoats and possums. These have decimated populations of birds, such as the ground-dwelling kiwi (pictured above). The work involves controversial aerial drops of sodium fluoroacetate poison to target the mammals, in addition to setting traps (main image).

Steven Cox, 27, is a Biodiversity Ranger for New Zealand's Department of Conservation in the Tongariro District in the central north island. The Biodiversity Team members control pest species and manage threatened indigenous species, including the North Island Brown Kiwi. Much of Steven's job involves trapping non-native predators. On this day he is releasing young kiwi. The Tongariro Forrest Kiwi Sanctuary is bordered by the Whakapapa and the Whanganui Rivers. The Department of Conservation led research site has been tasked to establish the minimum effective application amount and frequency of 1080 for North Island Brown Kiwi survival. 1080 is a toxic bate that targets rats and possums. It is aerially applied across Tongariro Forrest as a method to increase kiwi chick survival. Stoats, the main predator of kiwi chics, ingest the 1080 toxin through rats. In addition to the poison, ferret traps are laid to protect adult kiwi survival. According to the Tongariro Forrest Kiwi Sanctuary 2021/22 Annual Report, without management, the kiwi population would be locally extinct in 15 - 20 years. — Biodiversity Ranger Steven Cox releasing a young kiwi

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

“It’s conservation through killing. Like, mass killing,” says Hammond. “It’s kind of a grim choice. But doing nothing has a consequence, and that would be the loss of these [bird] species.”

Efforts to raise kiwi and other birds in captivity until they are big enough to stand a chance against these mammals are also under way (pictured above).

Department of Conservation staff and local Iwi elders representing 'Ngai Tahu Whanau Whanui Ki Murihiku' release 10 takahe birds, who have been bred at The Burwood Takahe Breeding Centre, or come from sanctuaries, into Top McKenzie in the Murchison Mountains. They join a resident population of 220-240 birds in the Murchison Mountains. Until 1948 takahe were thought to be extinct. When they were rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains, it is estimated that there were less than 200 birds left. The Burwood Takahe Breeding Centre was purpose built in 1985 as an incubation and hand rearing facility. They have successfully raised and released hundreds of takahe. Continued predation, especially by stoats, means that without the continued breed and release program, takahe would soon become extinct in the wild on mainland New Zealand. The long-term goal of The Burwood Takahe Breeding Centre is to establish permanent and sustainable takahe populations on the New Zealand mainland. — Staff release takahē birds

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

A kiwi egg laid in the wild has a 5 per cent chance of making it to adulthood. But adult birds, such as the flightless takahē (pictured above and below), have a far higher chance of survival.

Department of Conservation staff perform a final health check and attach transmitters on to the backs of takahe before releasing them into the wild. These 10 birds, who have been bred at The Burwood Takahe Breeding Centre, or come from sanctuaries, will be joining a resident population of 220-240 birds in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland National Park. Until 1948 takahe were thought to be extinct. When they were rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains, it is estimated that there were less than 200 birds left. — Performing a final health check and attaching transmitters on to the back of a takahē bird

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

A stuffed Auckland Island merganser (Mergus australis). This waterfowl was a capable diver that chased fish. It became extinct due to human hunting, possible predation by Pacific rats, and predation by Norway rats, dogs, cats and pigs. The last live record of the bird was on 09 January 1902. Many of New Zealand's native animals have been lost since people arrived. Over a period of 750 years New Zealand's vertebrate fauna has been nearly halved, and there have been uncounted losses of populations and species of invertebrates. — A stuffed Auckland Island merganser (Mergus australis).

Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures

It is already too late for some birds, such as the Auckland Island merganser (pictured above), relegated to a museum exhibit since vanishing in 1902. But Hammond says that the efforts are paying off for those that remain, and he now sees populations of native birds like never before. “I see flocks of birds flying around Wellington, which I never even knew existed as a kid,” he says. “And you can hear the bird song, which wasn’t there before.”

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