Kiwi making an appearance in Upper Hutt?

Published on 09 February 2024

Recently, residents in Whiteman’s Valley on the border of Upper Hutt have been hearing kiwi calls at night, providing evidence that the kiwi are moving closer to Upper Hutt. Kiwi live in native forest, regenerating scrub, and in plantation forest. They sleep in burrows in the daytime and feed during the night.

Their peak calling time is during the night in their mating season in May and June so we the team at Pest Free Upper Hutt are hoping to help advise the community to prepare for their arrival.

Kiwi are very susceptible to dog attacks, and their chicks are susceptible to rat and stoat attacks. In 2006, the Remutaka Conservation Trust released a small population of kiwi into the Remutaka Forest Park near Wainuiomata. Since then, the kiwi population has been steadily increasing, leading the kiwi to expand their habitat towards Upper Hutt.

A group of students studying at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States of America have come to Upper Hutt to work with Pest Free Upper Hutt to help prepare residents of Upper Hutt for the arrival of kiwi.

To ensure the kiwi’s safety in Whiteman’s Valley and Upper Hutt, they are surveying the public to gauge their interest in the kiwi’s survival, and to understand the willingness of residents to take measures to help protect these unique birds. 

If you’d like to have your say or to find out more about this project, please click here

This survey will be completely anonymous, but you are welcome to leave your contact information at the end if you’re interested in having a follow-up conversation with them about kiwi or this project.