Bush Haven

09/05/2026

Update on Keith!
Thanks Project Kererū!

This little kid is a rehab collaboration between myself and Bush Haven in Invercargill.

He came into care at the end of March after his nest was accidentally destroyed (the tree it was in was cut down) so he's been in care for four weeks.

The team at Bush Haven were in the situation where this little kid was the only Kereru in care at present. On one hand - a good thing....but for this wee one, not so much. Being in an aviary on his own and being so young put him at risk of imprinting on humans. Having no natural fear of people puts him at even more risk when released.

I've currently got 4 in temporary residence and at least one (the little kid who fell from his nest at Botanical Gardens) will be over-wintering until it's old enough to be released when there is more food around.

By temporarily transferring the little guy up from Invercargill it means he not only has company of his own kind, but he will learn how to eat trees, fly and have very little human interactions (only when I go in to feed once a day) as he grows over the next few weeks before he goes back down to freedom.

When we all work together we can have greater outcomes for our wildlife, and for me, this is what it's all about.

Right now, this little kid just needs to learn "how to Kereru".

28/04/2026

Keith the Kererū update..

Well would you look at Keith now …. 355 grams of chonky handsomeness. Eating well and will soon be in a fight aviary preparing for release. 💕

15/04/2026

Update: You might remember Keith the kererū who came in as a young chick on 28th March. Well Keith has been under the care of Jo and today has decided to try feeding himself for the first time. His feathers are coming in beautifully and he is regularly flapping his wings to strengthen the muscles ready for his first flight. Video of his first self feed for your delight.

28/03/2026

It’s late in the season but we are still getting young kererū and Tui in to raise. This wee kererū was delivered to one of our rehabbers this afternoon.
Just a reminder our permit only allows us to take NATIVE birds and we cannot take any sea birds.
We now have a dedicated phone that is checked by a rehabber as their jobs and life allows. The number can be found on our website. The best way to reach us is to text with a photo of the bird and a rehabber will get back to you as soon as possible.

https://bushhaven.org/contact.html

16/02/2026

Just a thank you to all the members of public who take the time to get help for our native birds. All of the rehabbers have had people contact us lately with birds found on roads that have been hit by cars, injured by a cat or hit a window. We appreciate you taking the time out of your day to phone us or DOC to get help for the bird. You can also take it to any vet.

Thank you from the Bush Haven Team.

02/02/2026

Double Glazing could be a reason why we have so many bird strikes on windows. What are your thoughts?
What have you found effective to stop strikes?

A Dunedin wildlife hospital suspects double glazed windows could be to blame for an increasing number of serious injuries in Aotearoa's native wood pigeon.

Read more ⬇

06/01/2026

Please only contact Bush Haven if you have an injured "NATIVE" + "BIRD". We are a VERY small volunteer group. This is a particularly busy time of year, and our exceptional caring volunteers have been putting in a lot of hours rehabilitating native birds - including juvenile kereru, baby tuis and owls (some babies requiring round the clock care). Phone calls regarding non native birds like starlings or other wild animals like hedgehogs are not in our scope, and beyond our resourcing (currently averaging 5 non-relevant calls a day). So please do not contact us about these, thank you for understanding.

If you do have an injured native bird - visit our website https://bushhaven.org/contact.html and contact the volunteer according to the type of native bird you have.

Lastly; The video features two juvenile kereru, we received following the wind storm back in October, one has been successfully released back in December, the other younger chirping one is still with us, doing well, hopefully fledging soon.

03/01/2026

And just like that Busby the tui is released. He has been released into an area of farmland and native and exotic forest where there is predator control for wild cats and no humans for 7 km. This is so he can turn completely wild again as he is so used to humans. There are other tui nearby.
Over the last few days he was readily feeding from flowers and catching spiders and flys on his own not to mention flying well. He will be checked in on over the next few days and food left for him just in case he needs some supplements. Farewell Busby, fly free and wild . ❤️
Donations to Bush Haven are always welcome so we can continue to do work like this. Information for donating can be found on our website www.bushhaven.org on the About page.

28/12/2025

Update 5: Busby is self- feeding off flax flowers and bottlebrush. Eating small berries, bugs and cut up fruit and having supplementary feeding 3 x a day but lessening in amount each time. He is flying successfully around my office and will soon be released into an aviary ready for a soft release - where he can come and go from an aviary as and when he requires food until he stops returning.

17/12/2025

Update 4: Young Busby growing fast. Perching, flapping wings and drinking nectar in between feeds all by himself has happened in the last few days. Still being fed 4 hourly but can go the night now without a feed. Whew! Colour can be seen on wing feathers. Next step sourcing native flowers for him to start sourcing his own food. Flax is a tui favourite and lucky it’s a great season for flax flowers.

14/12/2025

Update 3. Doubled weight from last weekend. Decided he can perch today. Had his liquid food and then a mealworm for dessert. Nickname: Busby ( shortened from bush baby , as he was found at Ryall Bush) suspect he is a he as males generally weigh more than females and he already weighs more than the average female)
We limit contact to meal times and weighing only as we do not want them human friendly for their own safety. Once he’s in an outside flight cage and feeding by himself, contact will only be to place food.
Video of Busby eating a mealworm