<- Homepage: Kōkako: restoring bird song to Mt Pirongia
Web conferences and kōkako experts
Web conference 1
The following questions from Ilam School and Korokoro School are answered by Clare St Pierre and Dave Bryden:
Questions from Ilam School
- When and where do the kōkako sleep?
- How many and what sort of predators were there before they took the kōkako off and how many birds did they take away from Pirongia.
- We saw different coloured bands on the kōkakos’ legs. What do the different colours mean and how do you monitor them?
- We saw an image of a kōkako on a hinau tree and read about them eating the big berries from the tawa tree. What other trees and parts of trees do they eat?
- What is the mist net made out of and how do you make sure the birds don’t get hurt when they are captured?
Questions from Korokoro School
- If you release kōkako chicks, do the adult birds try to hurt them or do they adopt them?
- How many kōkako are you hoping to find and how will you find them, what methods do you use to track?
- Have you used this method of translocation on any other species of bird, did it work?
- When you are relocating birds from one area to another, how do you make sure that the bird you are taking in is healthy even if it looks healthy?
- How do you keep an eye on the kōkako to make sure they are okay?
Web conference 2
The following questions from North Street School are answered by Clare St Pierre:
- Why did the kōkako become extinct in the South Island, but not the North Island? Jade
- If the South Island kōkako was rediscovered would there be a breeding programme for it? Charlotte
- Why do Europeans call the kōkako the blue wattled or orange crow? Jade
- How many kōkako are left in total in New Zealand? Chayse
- Will the kokako develop to be flightless? Logun
- Are there more bird predators in the South Island compared to the North Island? Isobel
- We live in Feilding which is the Manawatu- how can we get kōkako here?
- Why are kōkako more often heard than seen?
- What have been your biggest threats/problems with trying to help the kōkako survive?
- Would you like us to run a sausage sizzle to help raise money to save these birds, or do you get funding for this?
Web conference 3
The following questions from Karori Normal School and Cambridge East School are answered by Clare St Pierre:
Questions from Karori Normal School
- What will you do to the habitat: are you going to plant the trees that kōkako like?
- How will you protect the kōkako and their eggs from predators?
- How much will it cost and where does the money come from? Which organisations will help?
- How will you track them once they are back in their habitat?
- Are you sure that the South Island kokako can't be brought back?
Questions from Cambridge East School
- As we live close to Mt Pirongia what is it that we can do to help? - Regan
- Will the kōkako be okay with the other birds that live on Mt.Pirongia? - Analise
- What native plants are best for the kōkako to live in? - Kush
- Is it okay to feed banana to the kōkako even though it is not their natural diet? - Emma
- How can we protect the kōkako if we go to visit Mt Pirongia? - Malakai.
Meet Clare St Pierre
Clare chairs the community group returning kōkako to Mt Pirongia - More.
Meet Dave Bryden
Dave is a conservation ecologist - More.
Meet John Innes
Dave is a scientist working with kōkako - More.