View video footage of DOC rangers banding South Island robins translocated from the Routeburn Track to the Matukituki Valley in Mount Aspiring National Park.
A short helicopter flight in 2008 for 22 South Island robin/kakaruai began an exciting project to re-establish the species in West Matukituki Valley after an absence of 30 years.
Three years on monitoring has shown that the robins are thriving. In September 2011 DOC staff re-sighted 17 of the original birds along with their third or fourth generation offspring, of which eight were caught and banded.