It’s the summer solstice and we are waiting for kākāpō breeding to begin. Alison Ballance chats with island ranger Maddy Whittaker, who reports that on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island all the male kākāpō are in full voice, booming all night to attract the females, who haven’t shown any interest yet. The action hasn’t yet ramped up on Anchor Island. Alison also meets three key people from the Kākāpō Team, and hears about their first-ever kākāpō encounters.

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In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:42 – Kākāpō ranger Maddy Whittaker with updates on what the male birds are up to on the islands

05:09 – Technical Officer Daryl Eason talks about his first kākāpō encounter and what makes these birds so unique

09:41 – Operations Manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme Deidre Vercoe remembers her first kākāpō meeting

13:44 – Science Advisor Andrew Digby talks about meeting his first kākāpō

16:00 – Daryl Eason predicts when the breeding season might begin…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details