Natures Gifts.
The Kereru.
The rehab aviary is working well. In the two – almost 3 – years since its establishment we have had over 50 birds come in for help. Some died, some had to be euthanased but the majority have survived and been rehabilitated. The need became apparent for a second, smaller aviary on site, so with generous funding from Dunedin’s branch of Forest and Bird, it arrived this July – a little ahead of another much wanted arrival, Nik’s first child, Matthew!
Kereru that are ‘on the mend’ need length for flight practice rather than height. Keeping them slightly confined at first is essential, so that we can monitor them and assess their progress. An amazingly HUGE donation was also made to this project by Watties – no less than 600kg of frozen peas as supplementary food for the birds in our care. Thankfully another local company came to our aid and have donated space in their huge freezing plant to store the peas until we need to replenish the freezer full that Nik has at home!
Having a second aviary meant that a couple weeks ago we were able to do a task that was long overdue. We moved the remaining bird into the smaller aviary (where there were three others) and opened the end doors up, so we could remove all the floor covering, scrape it clean and disinfect the whole area thoroughly. It took 7 of us 2 hours to complete the task, but it felt good to finally achieve what we knew was needed to ensure that this years intake remain healthy.
These photos show the aviary as it was when finished and with the four birds back in situ! They love the trees and are feeding happily on the leaves and flowers.
I’d like to give a special mention to three young women who donated time, energy and compassion to help achieve this goal.
Nicola, Suzanne and Vickie – thank you from Project Kereru and the birds themselves. Your hard work and effort will give new intake a better chance of survival and remaining healthy. And with the final photo you’ll see just how important your help will be. We’ve had our first baby brought in . . .
This little fella came in this morning. It was found beside a road, possibly knocked from a nest by the wind, or just a casualty of Kereru ineptitude when it comes to building nests! They tend to just throw half a dozen sticks together and hope the egg and baby don’t fall through! Sadly that’s exactly what does happen sometimes, and with them only raising one squab at a time it’s a struggle to keep the babies alive. Thank goodness Nik is still on three hourly feeds with Matthew – this little chap will need the same care – and similar food! We use warmed baby vegetable or fruit puree for them when they are this tiny! Give it 2 or 3 weeks and it’ll start on the peas though! More news later so do check back!