In 1984, 24 tīeke/saddleback from Cuvier Island were released on Tiritiri Matangi. They quickly established themselves with the help of nest boxes, roost boxes and regenerating bush. This year marks the 40th anniversary of their arrival, and, to celebrate this, Barbara Walter shared with me her experiences and stories from the early years. Dr Tim Lovegrove (Auckland Regional Council Heritage Department scientist) coordinated the translocation from Cuvier Island. The 24 tīeke, comprising six breeding pairs and 12 juveniles, came from five different areas of Cuvier Island and had distinct dialects. In order to preserve these distinctions, they were released in five different areas on Tiritiri Matangi: Bush 1, Bush 2, Wattle Valley, Bush 21, and Bush 22 (see Figure 1).

At the start, 360 nest boxes were made by the North Shore Forest and Bird branch, coordinated by Eric Geddes, who used to travel to the Island on a small runabout from Army Bay. There were some differences in how the boxes were made. Some were short and some were long, both types having a V shape for the opening. Later a grill was added to the opening to prevent mynas and ruru from getting in, especially ruru, as they were getting in and stealing the eggs. John Craig and Marijka Falenberg were the first to monitor the tīeke, and when Marijka finished John asked Barbara to continue with the project. She remembers going out at night with John and Marijka to monitor the nests, and she couldn’t keep up with them because they had longer legs than her.

Barbara was tasked with the responsibility of checking the boxes once a week during the season, and twice a week when eggs were hatching. This was quite a laborious task, which required a great deal of dedication, attention to detail, and physical exertion. Ray prepared dinner for them on the days when Barbara was occupied with checking the boxes. Barbara and Ray also used to band the tīeke chicks in the nest boxes.

A thriving tīeke population

During the early years, tīeke used to lay three or four eggs per nest. However, over time, Barbara noticed that the number of eggs laid gradually decreased. It is now known that this decrease in egg-laying is a natural mechanism that helps regulate the population of tīeke. By laying fewer eggs, tīeke can ensure that the number of chicks hatching each year is balanced with the available resources in their habitat.

By the 1990s, the tīeke population was thriving. As the trees grew taller they had more natural places to build their nests, such as in the punga and harakeke/ flax bushes. In 1991 there were 60 pairs who produced 117 chicks and during the next season, there were 147 chicks. As a result of this productivity, the Island became a source for translocations to other sites. Barbara described how mist nets were put up and tīeke calls were played to attract the birds to catch them for translocations. The first translocation, to Otorohanga, took place in 1990, and many successful translocations followed (see Figure 2 above). Barbara remembers Ray being asked to go with the tīeke to Moturoa in the role of kaumātua.

Barbara said that she found herself busy with the planting and handed the monitoring over to Morag Fordham, who had been outstanding and, without
her help, the Island’s tīeke programme would not have been the huge success it has turned out to be.