Saddlebacks hop on to island haven

The saddleback, or tieke, tree-hops or bounds across the forest floor.

A noisy and inquisitive bird with an aversion to flying is now living closer to Auckland than it has for a century.

The saddleback, or tieke, a mid-sized bird with a distinctive orange "saddle" on its back and an orange-red "wattle" at the base of its beak, became extinct on the mainland around 100 years ago but yesterday arrived at its new home on Motuihe Island in the inner Hauraki Gulf.

A total of twenty saddlebacks were released by students from Epsom Girls Grammar, members of Ngai Tai and Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard.

Saddlebacks became extinct on mainland NZ around a century ago after the introduction of rats, cats, possums and stoats.

There are now about 6000 on offshore islands.

The Motuihe Trust, which is behind a project to transform the island from a popular boatie and barbecue spot to an open wildlife sanctuary like Tiritiri Matangi, aimed to have kiwi on Motuihe by the end of the year.