The development of a captive rearing program for tara iti
Tony Beauchamp1, Lucy Bridgman2, Ilse Corkery1, Juan Cornejo3, Catherine Francescon3, Troy Makan4, Shelley Ogle5, Gwenda Pulham6, Ayla Wiles1 and Alex Wilson7
1 Department of Conservation, 2 South End Ave, Raumanga, Whangarei 0110, New Zealand (tbeauchamp@doc.govt.nz, icorkery@doc.govt.nz)
2 Department of Conservation, Private Bag 3072, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand (lbridgman@doc.govt.nz)
3 Auckland Zoo, Private Bag 78700, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1245, New Zealand (juan.cornejo@aucklandzoo.co.nz; catherine.francescon@aucklandzoo.co.nz)
4 Department of Conservation, 99 Sala Steet | Rotorua 3010, New Zealand tmakan@doc.govt.nz)
5 Department of Conservation, 18 Takarunga Road, Devonport, North Shore, 0624, New Zealand (sogle@doc.govt.nz)
6 Unit 2/1 Park Hill Road, Birkenhead, Auckland 0626, New Zealand
7 Department of Conservation, 30 Hudson Road, Warkworth 0984, New Zealand (awilson@doc.govt.nz)
The tara iti/NZ fairy tern is Aotearoa’s rarest breeding bird. The species has been managed since 1987 but recently the total number of breeding pairs has remained stable at about 8–10 pairs. In response to a review of the programme in 2017 the Department of Conservation embarked on a structured decision-making (SDM) process to determine the optimal management for this species. This process revealed that in addition to other management components, a captive rearing programme would help to recover the population. However, captive rearing for the release of terns is challenging and as far as we are aware has only been attempted with one other species. Terns have complex foraging behaviours and usually have prolonged periods of post-fledging parental care. In 2022 proactive collection of eggs for a captive rearing programme was trialled for the second time with seven juvenile birds successfully released in early 2023. Short term indicators of success for the programme include hatching of all fertile eggs in captivity, a healthy weight of juveniles at release, and normal behaviours displayed within the aviaries. In the medium-term birds will need to survive and remain in the local area over the winter months. Success in the long term would see captive released birds contribute to the breeding population. Significant achievements to-date include the provision of live fish and chicks developing the skills to feed independently from trays and then pools of water within the aviary. However, more time is needed to assess both the medium- and long-term indicators of success.