Kākāpō Recovery has discovered two kākāpō mums nesting on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island – the first time in three years – but it will be another week before it’s known whether their eggs are fertile.

“We are really starting to fizz, with seven females already having mated. That includes Huhana who, at just five-years-old, is the youngest female we’ve ever known, to mate.”

The two known nests belong to Lisa, an experienced kākāpō mum, and Tumeke who has bred before but had infertile eggs.

Kākāpō breeding on Whenua Hou is triggered by the amount of rimu fruit available on the island. It’s the food mother kākāpō feed their chicks and although it seemed patchy in places the females were obviously convinced there was enough around to raise their babies.