Department of Conservation and Project Janzoon Bird Aviary

Frank Byrne Builders, was approached by the Department of Conservation and Project Janzoon, to help plan a bird aviary within the Abel Tasman National Park, which would host native birds to be acclimatised, ready for future release into the Park. The 10m x 5m galvanised steel aviary was constructed by Waitapu Engineering of Takaka, in fabricated form, to be easily transported to a landing pad for flying to the site. Approximately 90 metres of specialised chain netting was washed with vinegar and water (to remove poison from the galvanizing process, which could kill the birds) and then cut and wired to the frames, ready to erect after site preparation.

The Frank Byrne Builders Team camped on site for 5 days during February 2014, along with the DOC Team and four American ‘Hotshots’ rural firefighters, who were here in New Zealand on exchange within DOC. The first flock of birds hosted in the aviary were kakariki, bred in the Marlborough Sounds and since then, kaka from Southland have been hosted & released successfully into the Park, with repeat hostings planned into the future.

It is hoped that kaka will be hosted this year and other native species into the future. Another challenging and interesting project to be involved in.

*Project Janzoon is a privately funded initiative that works in partnership with the Department of Conservation to help the ecological restoration of Abel Tasman National Park.