With their return to the wintry climate of Whenua Hou looming, the weekend was a great opportunity to show the birds to the people of Nelson.  The display happened was hosted by the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary and about 5000 people came to see the chicks over two days!

It was a fantastic and busy weekend, with displays about the birds, entertainment and demonstrations amusing people until it was their turn to view the chicks.

The chicks were natural stars and loved the attention they received.  Each chick spent at least a day at the Sanctuary over the weekend, with reinforcements being called in as they became tired.  They were quite happy in their large glass enclosure, which had heaps of vegetation for them to climb and yummy berries to eat, along with their usual kumara, apple and carrot treats.  It was a fantastic opportunity to show off the chicks and to teach visitors about them and their habits.  The chicks were pretty tired after their long weekend but after a bit of quiet time and a feed they were back to normal again.  Moving the chicks to and from the Brook was a great opportunity to get them used to travelling in their carry cages, in preparation for their long trip home this weekend.  YAY!, we are finally returning them home as big, green, nearly fully grown birds, though they still have a few more tricks to learn before they are released into the wild.