NZ Raptor Trust calls on community to help complete falcon enclosures

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

NZ Raptor Trust chairperson Jenni Fraser outside the facility that has been built from shipping containers and would eventually house five falcon breeding pairs.

The New Zealand Raptor Trust is calling for community donations and volunteer painters to help finish falcon enclosures in Timaru before its first resident arrives.

The trust holds a Permanent Captive Holding for Species Management permit, which was the third of its type established in New Zealand after approval from the Department of Conservation.

Trust chair Jenni Fraser said the first New Zealand falcon/kārearea for the breeding programme, named Iana, was scheduled to arrive from Rotorua on May 26.

That arrival had created a deadline for the remaining construction work on the new facilities, Fraser said.

“At this stage we are holding off on the operations room and will be focusing on making sure the enclosures are ready for the birds.

“There’s an urgent need to get this done before the breeding season gets under way.”

Fraser inside the captive falcon breeding facility in Timaru on Friday.

Fraser said the trust was also running “a little low” on funds.

“We are hoping to get some financial donations, and we are also hoping for some painters who are willing to donate their time to paint the enclosures.”

The trust planned to pair Iana with another falcon, named Bonnie, which had been in the trust’s rehabilitation programme since she was found with an eye injury in a Woodbury chicken coop in 2025.

Two other birds, Stella and Jet, were expected to arrive in early June and would be housed in the neighbouring enclosure.

“Iana and Bonnie have not paired yet so they would need more time for that to happen and we need to get the enclosures ready for them,” she said.

The facility had been built using shipping containers, and would eventually house five breeding pairs across six enclosures. The trust hoped to add another enclosure on the site in the future, she said.

Angie Tidy from the raptor trust is currently looking after Bonnie until Bonnie moves into the new enclosure under construction. (File photo)

While the doors and CCTV mountings were now in place, the project still required a mesh roof and exterior and interior painting.

“It’s slowly coming together and we’re on the home stretch so we’re really pushing it now.“

Despite the current pressure to finish the facility, Fraser said the project has seen significant growth since work began in June 2025.

“I have photos from back then and when I go through them I just go ‘we’ve come a long way’. We’re very excited for this.”

The Timaru programme ensured that falcons unable to live in the wild could still contribute to the population.

DOC has approved the trust to release chicks at 11 different sites across South Canterbury in the future, Fraser said.

“Any falcon chicks released to the wild would make a big difference for the species.”

The project gained early momentum following the rescue of Stella, who was found injured at Cannington in 2023.

Because of permanent health issues, Stella could not return to the wild and has been living at the Kārearea Falcon Trust in Blenheim with her partner, Jet, since 2024.