Facts about Hutton's shearwater/tītī
Recovering Hutton's shearwater chicks
from burrows high up in the Seaward
Kaikoura mountains for translocation
to the Kaikoura Peninsula
Hutton's shearwater/tītī were first described in 1912 but it was not until 1965 that their Seaward Kaikoura mountain breeding grounds were re-discovered by Geoff Harrow, an amateur Christchurch ornithologist.
The adult population of Hutton's shearwater is around 460,000, but the species is classified as 'nationally endangered' because of its rapid rate of decline.
About the size of a common red-billed seagull, Hutton's shearwater are thought to live for about 30 years.
Where they are found
Hutton's shearwater spend the winter in Australian waters, returning each August to the Kaikoura Ranges to breed.
They breed in steep and rugged locations in the Seaward Kaikouras, 1000-1600 metres above sea level. One colony is in the Uerau Nature Reserve in the Kowhai River catchment, the other is on private land at the head of the Puhi Puhi Valley.
Historical records suggest the species once bred from at least eight sites in the Inland and Seaward Kaikoura Ranges. Most of these colonies have since disappeared, probably due to wild pig predation.
During spring and summer, large flocks can often be spotted just offshore from the Kaikoura coastline flying low over the sea or rafted up in large groups on the water.
Breeding
Hutton's shearwater spend most days
at sea feeding on small fish and krill
Birds arrive at their colony from Australian coastal waters in late August onwards then spend about two months competing for burrows and mates. The male and female take turns to incubate the single egg, laid in a burrow up to three metres long between late October and late November. Incubation takes about 50 days.
Each day adult birds travel approximately 20 kilometres to the sea, to eat fish and krill which are later fed to their young. On their downhill flight they travel at up to 154 km/h, reaching the ocean in as little as seven minutes. The return trip takes around 38 minutes, with 1200 metres or more in altitude to be gained with a bellyful of fish.
When the young fledge in March and April, they migrate with other Hutton's shearwater to fish-rich waters off the Australian coast. Young birds stay there for three or four years then return to Kaikoura to breed at five to six years old.
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