She is not keen to reveal her technique, however, to protect the birds.
She has been studying and tracking the falcon over the past eight years while working on her Massey University PhD thesis — "The non-breeding ecology of the New Zealand falcon in a pine plantation forest" — and more recently as part of research funded by the forestry industry to better understand the bird’s breeding habits.
This past weekend she headed to Ferny Hill on the North Taieri with a group of interested foresters and their families, aiming to capture a local breeding pair.
"The male was off hunting but we managed to capture and band the female and one male chick," she said.
The four-year study, run by Parker Conservation, has counted and banded an estimated 40 breeding pairs in and around Otago pine plantations.
Dr Horikoshi said she was happy to take groups along to help create understanding of the bird and its habits.
"It is an amazing opportunity to educate people about their habitat.
"We really don’t known much about them, or how forest operations affect their survival or ability to breed."
The birds are known to be very protective around their nesting areas, something loggers in forest plantations are well aware of.
City Forests chief executive Grant Dodson, who took his family along to the latest tagging expedition, said dealing with falcons was an everyday part of harvesting.
He said the research was important as a way of mapping the area and taking precautions for both the falcons and the loggers.
"Typically, we’ll move the harvesting crew, or other forestry operations including roading, windrowing or planting, away from the nest until the chicks fledge, to avoid disturbance."
While this could generally be accommodated by simply moving operations to the other side of the block, occasionally it did involve an expensive crew shift to another forest area clear of falcons.
He said a move of this nature could cost up to $20,000, making it a big investment in the success of a single nest.
"So the work Chifuyu is doing now to collect this kind of data is invaluable."
