TMCnet News
HUTTON'S SHEARWATER CHICKS GET NEW DIGS TO ENCOURAGE BREEDING(New Zealand Press Association Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Wellington, March 13 NZPA - Conservationists have moved Hutton's shearwater chicks from the Kaikoura mountains to the coast in the hope they will establish a new breeding colony. The chicks have been flown by helicopter from their main breeding colony in Te Uwerau Nature Reserve in the Kaikoura Mountains to new digs at the south-eastern end of Kaikoura Peninsula. They will stay in especially constructed burrows over the next few weeks until they migrate to Australia, Department of Conservation (DOC) spokesman Trish Grant said. The oldest chick is expected to fledge within a week, and the youngest expected to stay for up to three weeks. Ms Grant said the aim of the project is to convince the chattering to believe the peninsula is their breeding ground so they will return in future years. Hutton's shearwater is one of the few seabird species that has survived on the mainland of New Zealand. The current population is estimated at 190,000 breeding pairs. NZPA WGT mb ob |