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One of Aotearoa’s rarest birds, the hihi or stitchbird, has had a major boost with 277 fledglings recorded this past season on Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

“They are one of Aotearoa’s rarest and quirkiest birds. There is a total population of only around 2000 nationwide, and they require a lot of special attention,” Nick Fisentzidis, Department of Conservation Tiritiri Matangi ranger, said.

Forty of the young birds have been relocated to the Shakespear Open Sanctuary at the regional park on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, joining a small but thriving population translocated there in 2024.

Fisentzidis said co-operation between iwi, DoC, the council, and community made positive outcomes possible.

“We work side by side with Ngāti Manuhiri, Auckland Council, Hihi Conservation Charitable Trust, Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi, Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society and conservation research institutions to care for these taonga,” Fisentzidis said. “It takes a village!”

The nationally threatened birds have been restricted to just one naturally surviving population on Te Hauturu-o-toi Little Barrier Island since the 1880s due to habitat loss and predators, said John Ewen, Hihi Conservation Charitable Trust trustee and Professor of Conservation Science at the Zoological Society of London.

An additional 60 chicks fledged through the recent summer will help bring genetic diversity to the hihi present. Photo / Department of Conservation

There are now small managed populations of hihi on Tiritiri Matangi and Kāpiti islands, Zealandia in Wellington, Bushy Park Tarapuruhi near Whanganui, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, Rotokare Scenic Reserve and Shakespear Open Sanctuary thanks to significant recovery efforts.

“This season has been superb on both Tiritiri Matangi and Shakespear, likely due to lots of natural food,” Ewen said. “Flax and cabbage trees, in particular, were abundant.”

Forty hihi were translocated to the Shakespear sanctuary in May 2024. An additional 60 chicks fledged through the recent summer and the relocation of additional birds will help bring genetic diversity to the hihi already present, and greater security and resilience for the species, said open sanctuary senior ranger Matt Maitland.

“It’s not an easy journey, being moved to a completely new site, but we are working together to give the birds a better chance,” he said, adding that the support from volunteers through the Shakespear Open Sanctuary Societyhas helped to ensure the birds can flourish.

 Councillor Mike Lee says the reintroduction of hihi to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula enables more people to see and hear them in their natural habitat.

“Thirty years ago, I was present when the ancestors of these hihi birds were introduced to Tiritiri Matangi,” Lee said. “To be able to help release their descendants on the mainland is a conservation dream come true.”