More chicks, but we've lost our friend Bill

The weekend proved to be a busy one for us all with the successful hatching of three eggs!!

First up was Sue’s chick just before midnight on Friday, then on Saturday afternoon Cyndy’s first egg hatched followed closely by Aparima’s miracle egg which had been saved from the rain one stormy night (It's a kakapo rollercoaster!).  Those three chicks plus the two we already had are all really strong and keeping their human foster mums and dads busy with round-the-clock feeding.  We are now awaiting the arrival of our last two chicks, due to hatch in the next few days.

But a huge loss was felt by all the team when Tristan discovered the body of Bill, one of our favourite adult males.  His death was a shock as he was in great condition, had been booming well all season, and even when found looked to have been in mid stride munching on a rata leaf!  His legacy lives on however, through the first ever known kakapo grand-chicks, from Rakiura.