More than 100 tīeke were released at Orokonui Ecosanctuary Te Korowai o Mihiwaka late last month in a major move more than five years in the making. PHOTO: TAYLOR DAVIES-COLLEY
Orokonui Ecosanctuary Te Korowai o Mihiwaka operations manager Elton Smith said the release of the native birds, also known as the saddleback, was five years in the making.
The release marked a return of the rare birds to the Valley after they were wiped out by stoats a decade ago.
"It's really exciting," he said.
"It's the first transfer of its type, really, at that scale, and the treatments that we've done for them to try to establish them here.
"If we pull it off, it's going to be a fantastic achievement."
The move was a partnership between the Rakiura Tītī Island Administering Body, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and the ecosanctuary.
The birds were released in two tranches late last month after the project was given final clearance on January 15.
After the Rakiura Tītī Island Administering Body approached the ecosanctuary five years ago, the Department of Conservation approved the move three years ago.
However, it was not until last month that the systems were put in place to receive the birds and the environment was deemed appropriate that the project received "absolute confirmation", Mr Smith said.
A team was sent to an island sanctuary off Rakiura-Stewart Island to ensure there was no bird flu present "and there wasn't, and then we were all go since then".
The first lot of about 50 birds were trapped in mist nets and then taken in a 30-minute helicopter flight to Bluff before the three-and-a-half hour drive to the ecosanctuary north of Dunedin, where they were released on January 25.
A second group of about 50 birds from another island near Rakiura was released on January 28.
The first sign of whether the project was a success would be in September when the birds started to nest, Mr Smith said.
Each bird was individually banded. If 30 or 40 of the 100 remained to nest behind the predator fence at Orokonui, the move would be a success.
There would be weekly monitoring on site.
Staff would look after the fence, hope for a mild winter "and then see what happens".
"It's all about getting a critical mass.
"You need a certain number of individuals to establish a population," Mr Smith said.
Tīeke were previously released in smaller numbers in 2009 and 2013 at the eco-sanctuary.
But in 2015 a major stoat incursion at the ecosanctuary wiped out the estimated population of 45 birds.
At present, 35 birds were being housed in an aviary in a restricted area at the ecosanctuary and a further 25 birds had their wings clipped, all in an attempt to "anchor" the birds in the Orokonui area, Mr Smith said.
Previous moves had worked.
Through such moves, the ecosanctuary now had one of the most protected and robust populations of robins on the South Island.
It had the only breeding population of kākā on the east coast of the South Island, he said.
And it boasted the only mainland breeding population of tuatara.
"Tīeke were an obvious gap, obviously missing from the ecosystem. And they're a very charismatic little bird," Mr Smith said.
Lyn Carter, of Kāti Huirapa, said tīeke were a "manu taoka" for Kāi Tahu.
"This event will reconnect their whakapapa with Kāti Huirapa and our takiwā."
