Makeover to pull the birds

CLAIR WILFORD

EXTREME MAKEOVER: Mana Island's family of concrete gannets have been given a lick of paint, volunteers hope they will appeal to live gannets who will want to start a colony on the island.

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The Friends of Mana Island are hoping a lick of new paint will help attract gannets back to the island.

Society committee member Jo Greenman said the painted concrete gannets, which were aimed at attracting the birds back to the island, were now 10 years old and in need of a spruce up.

"The idea is that they will appeal to live gannets that will come back and start a colony. It's not been very successful, butwe thought we would give it another go.

"[Gannets] have been seen around the island fishing, but as far as I know they are not nesting on the island."

Mrs Greenman said they were looking for volunteers to help touch up the paintings, during two three-day periods next month. Volunteers were also being sought for native tree planting in May and June.

Attracting the birds back to the island was part of the society's attempts to restore Mana Island's original eco-system, Mrs Greenman said.

The island was one of New Zealand's earliest commercial farms, with farming starting in 1834. It became a sheep breeding station in the 1970s.

Since the mid-1980s, the island had been a conservation reserve and was one of the few places in the country to keep rat-free status.

This had allowed for the relocation of North Island robin, skinks, geckos, kakariki and takahe.

- © Fairfax NZ News