Bird Care in Dunedin

Practising bird care in Dunedin

Dunedin has an unusual range of birds to observe within the city boundary. At Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula, the only mainland royal albatross breeding colony shares the headland with about 10,000 other seabirds, including kororā/little penguins and Otago shags, a species found only between Oamaru and the Catlins.

North of the city, Orokonui Ecosanctuary has reintroduced South Island kākā, South Island robins, takahē and Haast tokoeka kiwi behind its predator-proof fence. Volunteers there put out supplementary feed and help with monitoring, which gives a practical sense of routine care for native birds in a managed habitat.

For clinical care, the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital at the Otago Polytechnic School of Veterinary Nursing treats hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins) as its main patients and has also treated kererū, red-billed gulls, northern royal albatrosses and other native species.