Missing Media Studies Teacher Report 2

By Scott Mouat | Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026

One week down, one week to go.

So far, we've been very lucky with the weather. It took a couple of days to get my head around what was going on and what we could achieve in the time here, but a plan soon came into being.

One of the main things requested of this shoot was that we get low-light colour footage of kākāpō at night. This has only really become possible over the past few years as camera technology has advanced. However, the male kākāpō on the tops were not too happy with the low-level LED light, but the females on nests were a little more accommodating. So, with one week down, we have colour footage of a female kākāpō and chick on her nest behaving naturally.

There is still much to do in the last week, but progress is being made on the film. For my Year 13 Media Studies students, I hope you too are making progress on your films!

I'm obviously not alone on the island. Eleven people are here working on a variety of things. Chick and nest checks happen nightly, with a close eye kept on the health of the young chicks. I'm on the island with a group of hard-working rangers, the kākāpō scientist Dr Andrew Digby, a vet from the USA, a vet nurse from Auckland Zoo, and most importantly, a rather wonderful cook from Rakiura.

We also had a DNA scientist here from Gisborne who has perfected the art of taking DNA swabs from young chicks and using the sample to determine the sex of the chick (something that used to take weeks now takes 40 minutes in the island’s lab, and the rangers have been trained to do it).

The weather is about to change here over the next day or two, with some good old Fiordland-level rain forecast. The main effort during that time is making sure the gear stays dry.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to seeing the wonderful work my students (all my students!) have been putting together when I get back next week!

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