Walkers asked to report Bream Head robin sightings

Media Release

15 May 2016

People using Whangarei’s Bream Head Scenic Reserve can now experience the rare treat of spotting North Island robins (toutouwai) as they walk its bush tracks, and are asked to report their sightings to a dedicated Facebook page.

Forty robins were released in the Reserve in recent weeks as part of a long-standing Bream Head Conservation Trust programme to return the Reserve to its natural, pre-colonised state.

The robins are the first part of a translocation programme that has been many years in the making. Extensive predator control and habitat restoration was required before the Trust could achieve its aim of returning the dawn chorus to Bream Head. Some species, such as the kaka, have self-relocated from offshore islands now that predators have been reduced to low numbers. However, the reintroduction of the robins, along with the whiteheads expected to be translocated in 2017, has been a well-planned exercise.

Bream Head ranger, Adam Willetts, says the extensive preparation necessary to bring the robins to Bream Head began with creating an environment that would support toutouwai and help them to thrive.

“We then had to secure funding, write and present a translocation plan to the community and seek Department of Conservation permission for the translocation,” Adam said.

“The first batch of 20 robins released onto the Reserve on 8 April came from the Pureora Forest and required a number of pre-feeding visits to create an association between humans and food to make monitoring their post release progress easier.

“For the purposes of genetic diversity, the 20 robins released this month came from Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf where they were also pre-fed, weighed, sexed and banded before being placed into individual boxes and driven in the cool of night to the Bream Head Scenic Reserve for release.”

The Bream Head Conservation Trust now wants Reserve users and Whangarei Heads residents to help keep track of the birds and their condition.

“Anyone who is in the Bream Head Scenic Reserve or its surrounds can post reports of sightings or the individual band combination of any robin they see on our dedicated Facebook page, ‘Bream Head Robin Monitoring’,” Adam says.

“The bands are found on the robins’ legs and we would appreciate details of the colour combinations, but if all people can get is a sighting, they can tell us the approximate location of the bird, and we’ll check it out.”

Likewise, people hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these endearing birds can go to the ‘Bream Head Robin Monitoring’ Facebook page to see where they have been seen recently.

Adult North Island robins are slightly larger than a house sparrow. They have long, thin legs, an erect stance and are a dark slate-grey in colour with a pale grey-white lower breast and belly. Exact colouring depends on age and sex, with males older than three years of age being almost black over the upper parts, and females and most males less than two years old being mainly pale to dark grey above.

“Toutouwai often come within a couple of metres of people, so they are generally easy to see if they are around,” Adam says.

“We encourage people to enjoy the unique experience of watching these rare birds in the wild, and then get to Bream Head Robin Monitoring as soon as they can to tell us about the bird and let us know how it is doing.”

ENDS

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