Hello
We have some very exciting news! No, we haven't found the South Island kōkako yet, but we have some very big guns coming in to bat for us!
Re:Wild has given the search for the South Island kōkako a massive boost by including New Zealand's most evocative forest songbird in its new global list of top ten Lost Birds.
Re:wild is a movement to build a world in balance with the wild. They work to protect and restore biodiversity, the primary solution to the triple threat of climate change, extinction and pandemics. Their innovative Lost Birds initiative springs from collaboration with the American Bird Conservancy and BirdLife International, two towering authorities in global bird research and conservation. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (creators of eBird, a bird-sightings platform used here and abroad) are also firm supporters of the List.
Nigel Babbage, chairman of New Zealand's South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust, is immensely encouraged to see the South Island kōkako listed internationally.
"Global acknowledgement of our mission to find the South Island kōkako before it is too late is precisely what this bird requires now. The listing lifts and validates our cause. We hope that our search expeditions in New Zealand's southern forests will benefit from practical and financial assistance as a result."
The Trust commenced its searching in 2010. Its investigations of encounter reports aim to be more systematic and sustained than was possible when relying solely on part-time volunteers. In 2017, the Trust made headlines at home and overseas after launching its $10,000 reward campaign for definitive evidence of the kōkako's survival.
Since then, says Nigel, the Trust has received around 300 reports of historical and more recent encounters with the bird. All reports are followed up, ranked for probability and prioritised for field investigations.
"The more publicity our bird receives, the more we hope our back-country users will remain alert for the signs and sounds of its survival."
You will have heard about these reports, many describing a bird call so unlike others that they are stopped in their tracks. A mournful, haunting, melodious note or harmonics differing from the more familiar calls of tui, bellbird, kaka and others. Sightings are reported less frequently. (See our Search Blog and our map for more details.)
Nigel applauds the work Re:Wild has done with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to compile the initial list of 2000 species lost or of uncertain survival worldwide.
"It really says something for New Zealand's efforts to recover the South Island kōkako that the bird has been chosen from such a tragic list of other vanishing species. Re:Wild was impressed that we are actively searching for the bird, using imagination, mobilising the back-country public, and adopting ground-breaking new detection methods. Their hope is ours too - to return the utterly compelling song of this bird to our southern forests."
I've mentioned Re:wild in our newsletters before, but here's a bit more about this extraordinary organisation which believes biodiversity is the solution:
Re:wild's mission is to protect and restore the wild to build a thriving Earth where all life flourishes.
"Re:wild is a movement to build a world in balance with the wild. We work to protect and restore biodiversity, the primary solution to the triple threat of climate change, extinction and pandemics.
"We are inviting the world to rewild the Earth with us for a future where wildlife thrives and ecosystems support the wellbeing and prosperity of all wildkind. Re:wild protects and restores the diversity of life on Earth through innovative collaborations among individuals, communities, Indigenous peoples, governments, scientists, and businesses to drive the most pressing nature-based solutions to our planet's urgent crises. Radical change requires radical collaboration.
"Re:wild is our—and your—science-based vehicle to make a difference. With a focus on actions that will build a world in balance with the wild, we are committed to equipping all those yearning to be a part of the solution with the tools they need to make the change."
And from Leonardo DiCaprio, Founding Board Member, Re:Wild
"Re:wild offers a bold vision to amplify and scale the local solutions being led by Indigenous peoples and local communities, nongovernmental organizations, companies, and government agencies, to help increase their impact around the world. The environmental heroes that the planet needs are already here. Now we all must rise to the challenge and join them."
Read the press release from Re:wild here and find out about the other nine top lost birds.
Inger Perkins
Manager, South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust