Takahe

Today dawned wet, windy and cold here in Wellington. Not particularly good weather for the several field trips planned for the day.
Margaret dropped me off outside the Town Hall nice and early. So early I had the chance to have breakfast at one of the many cafes.
The town was quite buzzy even at that time.
A crowd of us boarded our bus around 8.15am and took off on an all day field trip. We spent the morning at Zealandia which is a very special nature reserve set in an extensive bush-clad valley containing two lakes formed by two high dams.
This nature reserve is surrounded by a predator-free fence. There is also an extensive on-going predator trapping program in place. As a consequence the bird life has proliferated amazingly over the last few years. Alas, the weather was not conducive to birds displaying themselves and singing today.
However we got a very close look at the two almost tame Takahe birds that live in a section of the reserve. This is the male bird. He has a radio transmitter on his back.
Takahe are large flightless birds and are larger than the common pukeko birds. We are so lucky to have seen this pair today. It made our day.