localmatters.co.nz
October 23, 2019
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Kiwi Hugh’s rescue team, from left, rangers Amy Waldmann and Larissa Bickers- Cherrie, senior ranger Matt Maitland, SOSSI volunteers Maree Johnston and Filona Fee, and senior ranger Jason Maguiness.
Kiwi found in home garden Shakespear Open Sanctuary at the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula has always wanted to be a source of native birds that will spread further down the peninsula and into residents’ gardens – they just didn’t think the flightless kiwi would be the first! Hugh, a little spotted kiwi, recently escaped the open sanctuary and was found, on October 2, in an Army Bay
resident’s front garden, hiding under some shrubs. Homeowner John Kelly had no idea that he had a kiwi on his property until he saw half a dozen anxious people on his front lawn, aerial transmitter in hand. “Someone came rushing up and said they were looking for a kiwi,” John says. “My dog isn’t allowed in the front garden, which is probably just as well.”
This kiwi was affectionately named Hugh after one of New Zealand’s foremost kiwi scientists Hugh Robertson. He is known for wandering long distances around the park, as he looks for a mate. He was one of the little spotted kiwi introduced to the open sanctuary from Kapiti Island in 2018. Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society continued page 2
Inside this issue Makeup tricks for Halloween
page 31