Alison Ballance spends a week on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, one of three kākāpō breeding islands. She follows rangers from DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme as they go about their daily and nightly nest visits to check on the rapidly growing chicks. All but one of the 23 nests on Whenua Hou have just a single chick, as the rimu fruit has failed to ripen and kākāpō mums are relying on supplementary food to raise their chicks. During the week, the chick Queenie-A3 is found dead, and there is news from Pukenui/Anchor Island of another chick dying in a flash flood that swept through the nest.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected].

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:12 – Sick chick Pearl-B3
05:32 – Chick check at Suzanne’s nest
09:53 – Young male booming
11:18 – qPCR sex testing
14:11 – Chick check at Tiaka’s nest
17:44 - Dead chick Queenie-A3
20:16 - Nest controller and the ‘train station’
24:18 – Supplementary feeding
27:25 – Chick dies in nest flood
29:05 – Heather’s nest check & closing thoughts
33:42 - Update on Pearl-B3
35:22 - Closing credits…

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DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme says that the 2026 kākāpō breeding season is officially the biggest on record, and that all chicks have now hatched. At least 256 eggs were laid in 80 nests, of which at least 106 hatched. There are currently 99 chicks alive, three of which are being treated at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for various health problems. The oldest chick, Tīwhiri-A1-2026, is 46-days old and weighs 1.8 kg, while the youngest chick, Awarua-A3-2026, weighs 26 grams at 2-days old. Operations manager Deidre Vercoe says that preliminary sexing results show that about 40 percent of the chicks are female, and that rangers are starting to give the older chicks a permanent microchip for identification.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected].

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

01:16 – Deidre Vercoe with final nest and egg numbers

05:41 – Final chick hatching numbers

11:09 – Planning ahead

13:45 – Dunedin Wildlife Hospital vet Dr Lisa Argilla

20:32 – Rimu fruiting & its role in breeding

27.30 – Supplementary feeding on Whenua Hou

32:10 - Closing credits

…

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DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme is thrilled to announce the births of 101 kākāpō chicks, with a few more fertile eggs expected to hatch over the next few days. However, kākāpō conservation is a roller-coaster and seven chicks have died from illness or injury. Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor resuscitated one small chick using CPR and timely sutures saved the life of another; both patients recovered well and are back in the nest with their kākāpō mother or foster mother. Scientist Andrew Digby reports that egg fertility was similar on the two main breeding islands, Whenua Hou and Pukenui/Anchor Island, and that artificial insemination has had a significant positive effect, improving the fertility of eggs.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:02 - Death of male Matamua
02:21 – Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor on Kākāpō ER
09:03 - Sarah Manktelow with egg and chick updates
13:32 – Chicks in hospital
16:43 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A1
21:58 - Andrew Digby on egg fertility across islands
26:24 - AI has improved fertility of eggs
29:58 - Closing credits…

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The number of kākāpō chicks has climbed to 54, with plenty more fertile eggs still to hatch on Whenua Hou and Pukenui/Anchor Island. Remote monitoring technology shows that seven kākāpō mums on Te Kakahu/Chalky Island are likely raising chicks as well. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme is using a genetic ranking system to prioritise how much management attention each chick receives – Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura, for instance, is foster mum to a silver chick and also a gold chick. The oldest chick, Tiwhiri-A1, is ranked gold and a ground-breaking new portable PCR that allows rapid sex-testing of chicks on the islands has shown that he is a male.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:00 - Maddy Whittaker with egg and chick updates
03:50 – Males are stopping booming
08:00 – Rimu fruit ripening
08:40 – Chick and hatching deaths
09:30 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A1
14:46 - Andrew Digby on genetic ranking system for chicks
21:20 – Sex-testing chicks using PCR
25:25 – Alyssa Salton with kākāpō egg 101
29:58 - Closing credits…

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Fourteen kākāpō chicks have hatched in wild nests, where they are being cared for by mums and foster mums. More than a hundred viable fertile eggs have already been laid, with more expected in the next couple of weeks. On Whenua Hou, fertile eggs are cared for in incubators to keep them safe and are returned to nests to hatch. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme has placed a Smart Egg in the nest of Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura, to alert her to the imminent arrival of a pipping egg whose hatching should delight the many fans watching the live video feed. Pukenui/Anchor Island is home to the most kākāpō chicks so far but kākāpō rangers expect Whenua Hou to catch up soon.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:15 – Night-time visit to Rakiura’s nest
07:26 - The egg room
11:43 - Seabird danger to eggs
13:05 - Smart Eggs
14:54 – Nest and egg updates
20:20 - Closing credits…

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The first chick of the 2026 kākāpō breeding season has successfully hatched on Pukenui/Anchor Island. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme reports that Tiwhiri-A1-2026 hatched in foster mother Yasmine’s nest on 14 February 2026 and is the first kākāpō chick in four years. Huhū-A1-2026 is due to hatch on Whenua Hou imminently. Sixty-two kākāpō nests have been found so far and the egg tally is nearly 200, of which 78 are known to be fertile. More eggs are expected. Alison Ballance visits Whenua Hou, meets some of the kākāpō rangers and reports on the technology that enables the Kākāpō Team to conduct 24-hour surveillance on each bird.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected].

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:50 - First chick hatches
04:28 – Nest and egg updates
06:26 – Kākāpō technology
07:26 – Nest tech
11:22 - The train station
13:32 - Nest controller
16:09 - Morning updates
18:28 - Closing credits…

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Almost 90% of adult female kākāpō of breeding age have mated so far this breeding season, and two thirds of those are nesting. Some birds have already laid a full clutch of eggs and while some clutches are 100% fertile, others are - as expected - unfortunately infertile. To date there are 55 fertile kākāpō eggs, and that number grows daily as kākāpō rangers find nests and are able to check the developing eggs. Alison Ballance checks in from Whenua Hou, where technical advisor Daryl Eason is nearing the end of the artificial insemination programme. He is excited that a ‘lost’ female has been found and wonders if she is also nesting.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:02 – Nest and egg updates
05:43 – A ‘lost’ bird is refound
08:00 – Waikawa, layer of fertile eggs
08:38 - Closing credits

Learn more:

• Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date
• Watch the livestreaming kākāpō nest cam of Rakiura on her nest
• Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season
• Also listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
• For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter

Guests:

• Technical advisor, Daryl Eason, Kākāpō Recovery Programme

Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme.

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

More than three-quarters of female kākāpō of breeding age have mated so far, and the number of nests is growing rapidly. Kākāpō operations manager Deidre Vercoe tells Alison Ballance that 101 eggs have been laid to date, and while it is early days 38 eggs are known to be fertile. As always, infertile eggs are a major problem, although science advisor Andrew Digby explains that recent research shows that many eggs are in fact fertilised but die in the first day or two. And Deidre says that the Kākāpō Recovery Programme takes threats such as the fungal disease aspergillosis, failure of the rimu fruit to ripen and the possible arrival of highly pathogenic bird flu in New Zealand very seriously.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected].

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:57 – Mating update
03.28 – Nesting update and 101 eggs
09:13 – Bird of the Week: Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura
10:34 – Egg infertility
12:12 – Threats including aspergillosis and bird flu
14:15 - Closing credits…

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

The 2026 kākāpō breeding season is all systems go: nearly half of the females of breeding age have mated and so far 15 females are nesting. Technical Advisor Daryl Eason talks about record-breaking female Ongaonga who, at 4 years-old, is the youngest female kākāpō ever to breed. There are plenty of other first-time breeders as well. Six females were successfully inseminated with sperm from under-represented males. Ranger Maddy Whitaker updates us with the latest numbers, including a single fertile egg so far, and tech expert Jake Osborne introduces the kākāpō nest cam, beaming live from Rakiura’s nest on Whenua Hou.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected].

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

01:25 - Youngest female to mate

04:53 - Daryl Eason on Artificial insemination progress

09:17 - Maddy Whittaker with mating and nesting updates

16:00 - Jake Osborne on the kākāpō nest cam

20:32 - Closing credits…

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

There have been 24 kākāpō matings so far, and the number is increasing as mating action heats up on all three breeding islands. Deidre Vercoe, from the Kākāpō Recovery Programme, tells Alison Ballance that some 7-year-old birds from the 2019 breeding season have mated for the first time. The first female to mate this season, Pearl, has laid infertile eggs, but nightly activity monitoring shows that three more females have started nesting. Technical Advisor Daryl Eason talks about the under-achievers, founder kākāpō that either haven’t bred at all or have produced only a few chicks.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:51 – Mating updates
03:06 - Nesting updates
06:27 - Artificial insemination progress
10:40 - Male under-achievers
14:09 - Female under-achievers
15:26 - Closing credits

Learn more:

• Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date.
• Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Also listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
• For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter.

Guests:

• Andrew Digby, Science Advisor, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Daryl Eason, Technical Advisor, Kākāpō Recovery Programme

Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme.

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