Robin Booster for Glenfern Sanctuary.

Between 9 and 11 March 2009 a team of 14 people captured 50 North Island robins on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua for translocation to the sanctuaries at Windy Hill and Glenfern on Great Barrier Island.

This booster translocation of North Island robins was planned with the aim of increasing the number of breeding pairs already established from earlier translocations in 2004 and 2005.

Each captured bird was assessed and temporarily housed in adapted cat boxes in the quarantine building for the one to two days it took to capture the full quota. By 9.00am on Thursday 12th March the birds were pre-fed, water containers removed and then carefully loaded onto a boat and taken across the water to the Rotorua mainland. Weather conditions were picture perfect with the breeze having dropped right away. From there the birds were transported by bus to Rotorua airport where they sang in the airport building.

A team of 8 people loaded the birds onto a plane sponsored by Great Barrier Airlines and flown direct to Great Barrier. At Claris airport following the powhiri the robins were transported by truck to Windy Hill, fed, watered and settled for the night by 4.00pm. 1-5 birds were held for a Saturday release as this had been the publicly advertised release but due to the rapidity of the capture process the return to Great Barrier was a day earlier than expected.

This was a most successful translocation in terms of the level of the organisation of the people involved, the speed of the capture, the survival of all birds, and the enjoyment experienced by the team made up of the Windy Hill, community, DoC and volunteer people. Jointly organised by Judy Gilbert and Kevin Parker all aspects of the transfer went extremely well.

Early on Friday 13th March the robins for Glenfern were picked up and transported by van to Port Fitzroy where 19 of them were immediately released on Glenfern Walk by the Okiwi school children. Four more female birds were released at sites with an already established male robin in the afternoon and the last female similarly released on Saturday 14th March.

The release is always a heart warming experience that was enjoyed by local people and school children alike.