Snow collapses roof on black stilts

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Three rare birds are missing from a Twizel aviary after heavy snow caused the aviary roof to collapse.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has a captive breeding programme for kaki (black stilts) in Twizel.

About 40 centimetres of snow caused the roof of one aviary to collapse on Thursday night.

Three of the 12 birds that were inside are still missing, while the others have either been re-caught or spotted nearby.

A second aviary was badly damaged and DOC staff were moving 19 young birds to safety.

Temperatures on Monday night plummeted to -20 degrees Celsius in the region.

DOC services manager Dean Nelson said it was lucky most of the hand-reared birds were safe, including two breeding pairs.

Christchurch-based Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust had offered the use of two spare aviaries to house the displaced birds.

'This solves our immediate problem of housing the birds until they can be released into the wild in the Mackenzie basin in spring,' Nelson said.

'It's too early to know the impact of losing two out of three aviaries from the captive breeding programme, but thanks to Isaac's we will get through this winter.'

The third aviary, which was newer than the two wooden arch structures that were damaged, was not damaged by the snow. It housed 40 young kaki.