Rotorua's newest kiwi named after Dr Ashley Bloomfield

Newly hatched kiwi chick Bloom has been named after director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / Getty Images/Supplied

The first chick of the season at Rotorua's National Kiwi Hatchery has been named after a man who has spent much of 2020 in the spotlight.

Newly hatched kiwi chick Bloom is a tribute to director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and has arrived in time to celebrate the start of Save Kiwi Month.

Bloom hatched on Tuesday, September 29, weighing in at 353 grams and has a unique white marking above her eyebrow. Save Kiwi Month is held annually in October.

National Kiwi Hatchery manager tumu kaitiaki kiwi Emma Bean said: "It's rare to have a kiwi with such a large white patch like this. The last significantly white-feathered chick hatched in 2017."

Save Kiwi Month is a Kiwis for kiwi initiative with the goal being to raise funds to help safeguard kiwi populations and ensure these taonga are here for generations to come.

The National Kiwi Hatchery reopened to manuhiri (visitors) late last month in time for the school holidays, with adjusted opening times and discounted entry. The Ngāi Tahu Tourism-owned hatchery had been closed to visitors since the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.

All money from hatchery tour ticket sales goes back to fund the hatchery's work.

Newly born kiwi Bloom has a unique white marking. Photo / Supplied

Visitors to the hatchery may get a glimpse of Bloom on the daily 10am tour as the birds will have their daily weigh-in and health check at that time.

The National Kiwi Hatchery is the largest kiwi hatchery in Aotearoa, having hatched more than 2000 chicks since 1995.

Team members are leaders in kiwi husbandry, egg incubation systems, hatching techniques and kiwi chick-rearing, and visitors can learn all about this on a guided tour.

Each year the team incubates and hatches more than 100 kiwi chicks with 125 hatched last year.

Only six of those chicks would have survived if they had been left in the wild. Last season 72 per cent of all brown kiwi hatched ex-situ nationwide came from the hatchery.

The hatchery is located at the Rainbow Springs Nature Park complex, however only the hatchery is reopening. Rainbow Springs does not yet have a reopening date.