It's a steep little island. I had to often stop and admire the view while catching my breath. Once at Robin Bush which covers 15ha, work begins monitoring each pair. Monitoring is done by two people and Mr Nelson was accompanied by Mike Ambrose from DOC in Auckland. The time spent with each pair varies.
Some couples have next boxes but most are in a natural environment.
The nesting boxes are checked with a mirror mounted on the end of a telescoping metal arm so inside the next box can be checked. All the birds are banded for identification but even that takes practice to recognise the small bands on the fast moving birds. It took me a while to get my eye in. At about 3pm Mr N lson and Mr Ambrose take the 40-minute hike back to the hut and they keep an eye out for other birds on the way. The parakeet had nesting boxes supplied and these had been made by Mt Bruce wild life centre staff member Allan Elliott.