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Observations of Hutton’s shearwaters (Puffinus huttoni) at a natural colony in the Kōwhai River and a newly established by translocation colony at Te Rae o Atiu, Kaikōura Peninsula

  • Publication Type

    Journal

  • Publication Year

    2018

  • Author(s)

    L. Rowe

  • Journal Name

    Notornis

  • Volume, Issue

    65, 1

  • Pagination

    42-50

  • Article Type

    Paper

Keywords

Hutton’s shearwater; Kaikoura Peninsula; Kōwhai River; Puffinus huttoni; Te Rae o Atiu


Observations of Hutton’s shearwaters (Puffinus huttoni) at a natural colony in the Kōwhai River and a newly established by translocation colony at Te Rae o Atiu, Kaikōura Peninsula

Notornis, 65 (1), 42-50

L. Rowe (2018)

Article Type: Paper

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Observations of activities of Hutton’s shearwaters at a natural colony in the Kōwhai River and a new colony at Te Rae o Atiu, Kaikōura Peninsula established by translocations were made during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Weights and wing lengths of chicks at the 2 colonies taken at comparable times were similar, as were the dates of first emergence and fledging. Thus, adults flying an additional 20 km each way and climbing over 1200 m had no noticeable effect on chick growth at the mountain colony compared to the sea-level colony. Pre-fledging chicks visited other burrows as did adults at both sites, especially at Te Rae o Atiu, where a greater amount of data showed they visited other burrows throughout the season. While some adults stopped visits before fledging, others were still present after chicks had gone. Seven birds that were translocated from the Kōwhai River colony as chicks to Te Rae o Atiu in 2012 and 2013 were recorded at the Kōwhai colony and 2 of these had previously spent 1 night at Te Rae o Atiu; 28 more from the same cohorts were active at Te Rae o Atiu.