Conservation biologist and former astrophysicist. Scientist for threatened birds with the #kakapo and #takahe programmes at the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Avatar: @blackmudpuppy.bsky.social
Andrew Digby
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The #kakapo chick Whetu-A3 hatched successfully, but we couldn't weigh it or check its health, and could only look in occasionally to see it was still alive. Worried it might injure itself when it came to fledge, our team built a ramp for it. #kakapo2026 #conservation 📸: Petrus Hedman
We've lost another #kakapo chick. Rata-A2, from Rata's nest on Te Kākahu/Chalky Island, has been euthanised with severe internal diseases. Huge thanks to Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for their care. There are now 92 chicks alive. 📸 Daryl Eason #kakapo2026 #conservation
My favourite #kakapo nest from this year was Whetu's on Anchor: she was 2m off the ground, 2m down a hollow rata trunk, with an entrance so small we had to use a phone camera to see inside. It was the only nest we didn't get into. #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots
A true legend turns 100. We all owe Sir David for inspiring so many people to care about the natural world. And we’re particularly grateful for his support of the #kakapo and #takahe recovery programmes. You couldn’t meet a more enthusiastic - and humble - great man. #conservation #attenborough
This nest wasn't usual: the first ever in which we couldn't access the chick. But Whetu-A3 has recently fledged from the nest in good health. As we transition to less intensive management for #kakapo, more nests will be treated like this (without ramps!). 📸: Petrus Hedman. #conservation
Two months ago, I returned a fertile #kakapo egg (Whetu-A3) to the nest and tried to remove another infertile egg from beneath her. She wouldn't let me take the egg, so I offered her the new one. Tricky to do that with one hand while using my phone to see what I was doing! Luckily she took the egg!
Sir David Attenborough has a soft spot for #kakapo. We named a kākāpō after him (Attenborough the bird is now ten years old, living on Te Kākahu) and he kindly narrated a short video for us about them, which you can see here: youtu.be/5eZVjQowNvw?.... #attenborough #conservation
Listen to the Kākāpō Files podcast to learn more about this year's record #kakapo breeding season, including the details of Rimu's cliff-top nest. #kakapo #kakapo2026 #conservation @ali-ballance.bsky.social
New paper! 🐧
We sequenced 249 hoiho / yellow-eyed penguins across mainland Aotearoa New Zealand and the sub-Antarctic to understand their history and why a deadly chick disease is hitting the mainland population so hard.
#Science #Conservation #Genomics #NZWildlife
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Andrew Digby
Update: please use this link instead. Sorry! www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWeJ....
Joseph Guhlin
Andrew Digby
YouTube video by Department of Conservation
youtu.be
The mystery of Rimu's inaccessible cliff-top nest on Te Kakahu / Chalky Island has been solved!
All is revealed in ep. 16 of the Kākāpō Files podcast.
@kakapo @birds @conservation @digs.bsky.social
www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/wild...
The tally of confirmed living kākāpō chicks goes down with two further deaths, but gets a welcome boost with the confirmation of a living chick in a previously inaccessible nest. This brings the numbe...
