Yonga, the fluttering shearwater who has returned to Cape Farewell after three and a half years at sea. Photo: Supplied / HealthPost Nature Trust
The first fluttering shearwater has returned to Cape Farewell after being translocated from the Marlborough Sounds three years ago.
The bird, named Yonga, was one of the first 50 fluttering shearwater, or pakahā, chicks translocated from Long Island in the Marlborough Sounds to the Wharariki Ecosanctuary in Golden Bay in early 2022.
Once the birds fledge they spend three to six years at sea before returning to land to breed.
Since the first translocation in 2022, nearly 150 more birds fluttering shearwater chicks have been translocated to Cape Farewell as part of a joint effort by the HealthPost Nature Trust, the Department of Conservation, and Manawhenua ki Mohua to re-establish seabird colonies along the Golden Bay coast.
HealthPost Nature Trust co-ordinator Marian Milne said she was delighted to see the thriving seabird colony beginning to take flight.
Yonga means kangaroo in Noongar, an Australian Aboriginal language, and was chosen by Alec, one of the trust's regular volunteers.
The bird was first transferred to an artificial burrow in the sanctuary in January 2022 weighing just 370 grams.
He was fed sardine smoothies for just under a month, before his maiden flight to sea and he has spent the last three and a half years travelling between New Zealand and the southeast coast of Australia.
Fluttering shearwater once bred on the mainland, but their breeding colonies are now mostly found on offshore islands.
Milne said the team are hopeful this year would be the first chicks hatch naturally at Cape Farewell.
The ultimate aim is to restore the coastline to its former abundance with thriving seabird colonies playing a crucial role in ecosystem health, helping to enrich the soil and supporting coastal biodiversity.
There are currently six eggs being incubated in burrows at Cape Farewell by immigrant seabirds that have also chosen it as a nesting site.
At night, audio recordings of active colonies are played to encourage returning birds to settle, with burrows closest to the speakers proving especially popular.
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