26 Nov 2014

In Search of Taiko

The Expeditioners who flew into Waitangi with Air Chathams and boarded the Spirit of Enderby on a picture perfect day yesterday, today experienced some of the windy and wet weather more typical of the Chatham Islands, but still enjoyed a visit to the Awatotora reserve.  The group was welcomed by the reserve staff and members of the Taiko Trust who explained the community based efforts to conserve critical habitat for the Taiko and other native birds.  An amazing amount of work and effort has been put in to protect and increase the numbers of Taiko (also known as the Magenta Petrel).  A few passengers enjoyed a trip to Sweetwater to view a bird in its burrow while the rest of us had great views of the endemic pigeon and warbler as well as several other bird species.  The rain let up to reveal another wonderful afternoon aboard the ship as we made our way around the island in the evening.  A pod of Bottlenose Dolphins accompanied us for over 45 minutes as we patrolled the waters searching for the elusive Taiko.  Just after sunset those still out on deck were overjoyed to catch a brief but close view of a single bird just off the stern. It was a perfect way to cap off our first day of the expedition.