On Saturday 21 March, ECOED kiwi manager Deb and volunteers Rebecca and Kathy went into the Kaweka Forest Park to find Oji’s nest, where they were shocked to find a lively 9 day old chick inside!
Oji is a 3-year-old first-time nester, and first-time nesters tend to take one or two seasons to get the hang of successfully incubating an egg. His monitoring data indicated that he might have abandoned the nest shortly after hatching, with lots of feeding activity where there is usually a decrease when there’s a newly hatched chick in the nest. Oji (named in recognition of the support that Pan Pac shareholder Oji Group has given us over the years) has proven to be an exceptional first-time parent with good instincts. Ka pai Oji, and ka pai Deb, Rebecca and Kathy for putting in a 10-hour day to locate the nest. Oji’s chick has been transferred to the predator-free creche at Lake Opouahi, where it will live until it is big and strong enough to fend off predators in the wild.
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