There are three recognised 'biological forms' of kārearea: the bush, the eastern and the southern falcon. The small dark ‘bush’ falcons live in forests and are mostly found in the North Island. The large paler 'eastern' falcons live in open dryer habitats east of the Southern Alps but extend from coast to coast in central South Island. Southern falcons are intermediate in size and colouration and live in Fiordland, Stewart Island and the Auckland Islands.

Jet hatched on Christmas day 2020 up at Wingspan in Rotorua to a pair of ‘eastern’ advocacy falcons who originally came from the South Island.

Jet joined our breeding programme and was paired up with female falcon Dash for the 2023/24 breeding season. Although they did not have a chick of their own due to Dash’s decline in fertility, they fostered an abandoned chick. Together Jet and Dash successfully raised the chick which was released to the wild in early 2024.

We are aiming to pair Jet with a new mate during the 2024 breeding season, fingers crossed for some fluffy chicks in 2025!

Jet was named by Witherlea school during one of their visits.

K10955

BRONZE - Arley, Ivy, Zella Morgan, from Blenheim NZ

SILVER - Chlöe Swarbrick, from Auckland, NZ

GOLD - Lynch Family, from Blenheim, NZ

If you would like to adopt Jet - head to our Adopt a Falcon page.