Snow collapses aviary, killing rare birds

Two rare wading birds are dead and one missing after Monday's heavy snows collapsed an aviary at the black stilt breeding centre near Twizel.

Three large aviaries house captive breeding black stilts or kakis until they are old enough to be released into the wild.

Kaki aviculturist Emily Sancha said that it had started snowing steadily in Twizel on Sunday evening.

Department of Conservation staff heard a loud bang early Monday morning.

"When I arrived here early Monday I couldn't believe the shambles and expected the worst," Ms Sancha said.

"There were 24 kaki trapped inside the collapsed aviary under a pile of twisted steel, netting and fresh snow. Remarkably most of the kaki actually survived the collapse," she said.

"We were amazed when we found three juveniles alive after being buried under snow-laden netting for over six hours."

Only two birds were found dead and one bird is missing.

A breeding pair of adult birds escaped but were caught two days later by aviary staff. They have been reunited with their three juvenile offspring.

The young birds were due to be released in September, but are now being held in temporary accommodation until they can be relocated to Peacock Springs in Christchurch.

The collapse was a huge setback for the recovery programme, DOC Biodiversity Programme Manager Dean Nelson said.

- NZPA