Te Anau Bird Sanctuary

Take a peek at some of Fiordland’s special birds that are difficult to see in the wild. A great family friendly place to visit.

Location and getting there
Punanga Manu o Te Anau/Te Anau Bird Sanctuary is set on the shores of Lake Te Anau, and is an easy 15 minute walk from the Te Rua-o-te-Moko/Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre.

Open times and cost
The sanctuary is open to the public from dawn to dusk. There are public toilets, picnic tables and a drinking fountain. Entry is free for self-guided visitors, but a donation is appreciated to help with the running of the sanctuary.

Birds you can see at the Sanctuary
Takahē
Takahē are the stars of the show at Punanga Manu O Te Anau and meeting these prehistoric-looking characters is a 'must do' for Fiordland visitors. Join a DOC ranger as they feed Tara, Mohio, Tumbles and Kawa each morning. Tara and Mohio arrived a few months ago from the Burwood takahē centre.

Originally they were from Mana and Tiritiri Matangi Islands respectively. Both sanctuaries are a large part of the success of the Takahē Recovery Programme. Tara and Mohio successfully hatched a chick in November 2019 from an egg that originated at Burwood Takahe Centre near Te Anau.

Kawa and Tumbles are an infertile pair however they play a unique and important role in the takahē breeding programme – they still have all the instincts for making a nest and have successfully hatched and raised chicks from other takahē pairs. These foster parents do an incredible job raising their young and were celebrated as New Zealand Goodsorts (external site) in December 2017.

Kākā
The Kākā is a beautiful native forest parrot, generally heard before they are seen. They have olive-brown feathers with brilliant flashes of orange and scarlet under their wings.

Chicks hatched at the Sanctuary are released into the wild to further boost kākā population.

Other birds you might see
You can also enjoy close-up encounters with kereru/New Zealand wood pigeon, tūī, ruru/morepork and paradise shelducks.

Silvereyes, grey warblers, tomtits, bellbirds and fantails are often seen feeding in the bush while the crested grebe and little shags can be seen at the lake's edge. The abundance of birdlife makes Punanga Manu o Te Anau/Te Anau Bird Sanctuary the perfect place for practicing wildlife photography.

The birds held in aviaries here have either been injured and cannot survive in the wild, or they are involved in captive rearing programmes. The injured birds are rehabilitated and if possible, released back into the wild.