A flight path of resilience - good news for tara iti!

Image: Tara iti at Te Arai flying, Department of Conservation

One of the captive reared tara iti has been on an adventure. This bird hadn’t been seen since Cyclone Vaianu made landfall in April, so there were concerns for her whereabouts. However, this week she put in an appearance at Te Ārai which meant DOC staff were able to check out her latest travels.

Since the beginning of this month, this little tara iti has spent a lot of time in the Kaipara and also flew down to Port Waikato, as you can see in the picture. On her way back north, she also visited West Auckland – quite close to State Highway 16!

Image: Tara iti flight path

And there’s more good news.

For the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle, the tara iti population has climbed past 40 adult birds. That official count only includes birds over one year old — alongside them are another 10 younger birds out exploring and finding their place.

This is a very small bird – with a big range, showing steady signs of recovery.