It has been a most successful breeding season for the 9 North Island robins that have remained in the Windy Hill Rosalie Bay area following the release of 30 birds in April 2004. The field managers on the pest management projects at Windy Hill and Benthorn Farm, Kevin Parsons and Dean Medland, have been vigilant with feeding the birds through the winter and monitoring the progress of the pairs through locating nests, observing the chicks, and then banding the young for identification purposes. From four and half pairs ( 4 females and 5 males) of birds a total of 16 chicks have come through to fledgling stage with only one of these eluding capture for banding. There have been two nests with a total of 9 eggs lost to predation by rats – one in the area managed for pests and one just outside. It has been necessary to surround the area of each nest with extra traps and to also protect above the nests with ferns to lessen predation by hawks and moreporks.

The robins dispersed fairly widely in the month following their release at Windy Hill – several were heard or seen in Tryphena, Medlands, and Cape Barrier. A banded bird was seen this January on the Peachgrove track leading down from Mt Hobson.

We are learning a great deal about these birds which were last reported on Barrier in 1860. None of the original pairs translocated from Tiritiri Matangi have stayed together, the current pairs are all new. One female has raised chicks with both her mate and the single male in an adjacent territory. The birds monitored right through the winter have had 3 or 4 nests a pair and gone from 2 chicks initially to 3 in the following nests. One pair was discovered well into the breeding season so just one of their nests has been seen through to banding the young. These birds had not been seen since the day of release yet came in to the tape-recorded call and fed immediately on the worms given to them. So, we know they have memory.

The adult birds are now starting to moult their tail feathers which signals the end of breeding. Young are now being chased out of the parent’s territory and we hope to keep track of them. Birds will continue to be called in over the winter and fed to encourage them to stay in the area and to keep them in condition. From such a successful season we hope that these birds remain in the protected area and begin to form the basis of a viable Aotea robin population.

Special thanks for the assistance received from Tim Lovegrove at A.R.C. and appreciation to Halema Jamieson from the D.O.C.for the initial banding.