Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  06 November 2025

Nest surveying began in September and so far, the Department of Conservation’s Pukunui Recovery Team have found 12 nests, 35 eggs and five chicks.

DOC Rakiura Operations Manager Jennifer Ross says it’s a promising start to the season and potentially a big boost for pukunui recovery efforts as there are only an estimated 105 left (not including the new chicks) – making them the rarest and most threatened wading bird in the world.

“To see these little chicks emerge brings hope that we can save them from extinction.”

However, there’s no guarantee all eggs will hatch or that the chicks and their parents will survive as they are extremely vulnerable to predation by feral cats.

“In previous years, we’ve lost around 40-50 adult birds to predation, and last year, we lost around 20 adults but gained about 24 chicks,” she says.

There’s cautious optimism that more birds will survive as feral cat numbers have been heavily reduced in an aerial 1080 predator control operation in August covering 40,000 hectares of Rakiura National Park. This included vital pukunui breeding habitat along the Tin Range.

“We are thrilled as camera monitoring in the area has revealed zero feral cat detections for at least six weeks following the operation, however, they will eventually reinvade from areas where 1080 wasn’t applied,” Jennifer says.

“The main measure of success will be the pukunui flock count in April, and also the long-term population trends. Our aim is to grow the population to at least 300 birds by 2035.”

Nest surveying efforts have had a boost in funding this year from the International Visitor Levy. This is enabling the team to more extensively search breeding sites.

“They don’t breed in one big group, they are very widely distributed, so it’s hard to predict where their nests will be or find them as they blend very well into the alpine vegetation,” she says.

“This season, the team have been excited to find a few mystery male birds that we’ve banded at flocking sites but hadn’t seen at breeding sites. This is particularly critical as we estimate there are less than 30 males left. The males play an important role in incubating eggs at night, while females incubate during the day.”

The team is very careful to minimise any disturbance to the birds when nest surveying.

“It’s important when we’re out naturing we keep disturbance to a minimum. Once we are out of the way, pukunui always quickly settle back onto the nest. They aren’t scared away by our activity.”

In addition to nest surveying, the team manages a network of nearly 500 traps. They’ve caught 20 feral cats since May, and just one in the operational area since 1080 was applied.

“Just one feral cat has the potential to wipe out multiple nests in quick succession.”

Before predators were introduced to New Zealand, pukunui bred throughout the Southern Alps, but they now only breed on the Rakiura mountain tops – earning them a reputation as the “underbirds”.

“It’s been tough weather conditions for the birds lately – especially with the recent storm. The chicks will have been spending a lot of their time sheltering under the wings of their parents.”

From January onwards, the survivors will journey off the mountains to Rakiura beaches and Awarua Bay to gather and forage in groups. New birds will then be banded so their survival can be monitored.

“For birds that have fledged, it’s a rite of passage to make their way down and a bit of a test run for their flying abilities.”

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MIL OSI