Massey professor discusses bird re-introductions at Whanganui's Bushy Park

People came to watch hihi being released in Bushy Park in April. Photo / file

Re-introducing native birds to places they have vanished from takes a tremendous amount of work.

How will it help conservation in general, and what can the public do to support it?

Those are questions Professor Doug Armstrong may touch on in Whanganui's next Nature Talk. It's at 7.30pm in the Whanganui Regional Museum's Davis Lecture Theatre on July 17.

A world-class scientist, Armstrong is a Professor of Conservation Biology at Massey University. He has observed the re-introduction of three threatened bird species to the Bushy Park Sanctuary: North Island robin, North Island saddleback and hihi (stitchbird).

After the re-introductions he and his students studied the result. He can talk about whether they have been a success, and what has been learned in the process.

He'll be able to say how the arrival of the birds has affected other species in the predator-fenced sanctuary, and what still needs to be done to keep them safe.

The talk is part of a series put on monthly by Whanganui bird, plant and conservation groups. It is free, but a koha will be appreciated.