Accessing the canopy of trees can be difficult but also rewarding when three kokako eggs, like these ones, are found in a nest.

Over the summer, kokako specialists have been at work on Mt Pirongia locating the kokako released in June and checking on nesting activity.

Volunteers have been helping with that as well as dactylanthus fieldwork and the usual pest control activity.

A total of 16 of the kokako released in June have been found which is an 80 per cent success rate, and of these only one was outside the almost pest-free control area covering 1000ha operated by Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society.

Although four kokako were not found, this doesn't raise red flags as trans-located birds can be shy and not respond to surveyors.

There is every chance they will turn up in following years.

Before Christmas only one nesting pair was identified, and this triggered additional traps being set up around the tree they were nesting in.

A single fledgling was observed being fed by its parents at the end of January and another nesting pair has been found containing three eggs.

The society's chairwoman, Clare St Pierre, said her team were ecstatic.

"Earlier in the month we thought the first nest had been lost due to hawk activity so to have a fledgling confirmed has us over the moon. It highlights how precious and vulnerable any chicks are and we are all hoping and praying that both nests stay safe."

Preparations are continuing for the next tranche of kokako translocations around May thanks to funding from Waikato Regional Council, Pacific Development and Conservation Fund and the Department of Conservation's Community Fund.

The highlight will be the release of birds with Pirongia DNA thanks to a successful captive breeding programme with some of the last kokako saved from Mt Pirongia in the 1990s.

"This will be a profoundly moving experience for those of us who have been working for over 15 years to make our maunga safe for the return of lost species and we are totally grateful to all our supporters and funders who have made this possible," St Pierre said.

"We still have some more fundraising to do, with a Pirongia Pub Quiz night planned for February 27."

Donations can also be made via their website www.mtpirongia.org.nz or Givealittle page.

Over the past two months, excellent progress has also been made on research into the flowering habits of an obscure, endangered native plant still present on Mt Pirongia: dactylanthus taylorii.

Waikato University student Monique Hall has been monitoring sites near the summit while their flowers make them easier to see.

She is aiming to shed light on what pollinates these plants that grow almost entirely below ground and what factors maximise seed set.

Funding from the Len Reynolds Trust has made this work possible.

The society welcomes new volunteers and has a range of opportunities coming up, from monitoring kokako and dactylanthus, bait station clearing on Mount Pirongia or at Okahukura, Pureora Forest.

For more information, please contact chairperson Clare St Pierre (clare.stpierre@gmail.com or 027 324 8195) or Dianne June (djune@xtra.co.nz), volunteer co-ordinator.