NB: This talk will be held at Unitec, Carrington Road, Mt Albert. Gate 4, Building 115, Ground Floor Room 1023. Doors open 5:45pm for our AGM before the talk.
A koha of $5 is welcomed to support the Society's work fostering understanding, respect, responsibility and love for the natural world.
We are delighted to invite you to our next Zoological Society of Auckland talk:
Tara iti NZ Fairy Tern Conservation; hand rearing and release programme, presented by Devon Nicholls, Senior Bird Keeper at Auckland Zoo.
New Zealand Fairy Tern Tara iti, are New Zealand’s most critically endangered bird species. They face many threats in the wild - they nest on low lying shell and sand banks which leaves their nests and eggs vulnerable to storms and adverse weather. It also leaves the eggs open to predation and disturbance by off-road vehicles, dogs and humans. These factors combined have left the species in a critical condition. Despite intensive management, tara iti have teetered on the brink of extinction since the 1970s. With fewer than 40 adult birds alive today, they have a current conservation threat status of ‘nationally critical’. Over the last five years, Auckland Zoo and the Department of Conservation have been developing a conservation strategy that involves proactively pulling eggs from the wild, incubating and hand rearing at Auckland Zoo, before release into the wild, a world first for tern species.
Devon is a senior bird keeper at Auckland Zoo, in the past 11 years she has worked with a range of avian species both at the Zoo and in the wild. Being able to utilise her skills in the field, to contribute to projects that have positive conservation impacts has been an enriching experience for her. Devon notes that being a part of the team developing the tara iti rearing project and watching its growth over the last five years has been a career highlight for her. Devon’s talk will go in depth into this unique conservation project and give us some insight into what it has been like to be a part of such meaningful work.
Following Devon's presentation, we invite you to connect and network with fellow attendees over tea/coffee.
At 6pm, before Devon's talk we will be hosting our AGM. All are welcome to attend both the AGM and talk or to simply arrive for the talk but only financial members can vote at the AGM.
