This is Bird Note.

Every night during hiking season at Lake Mackenzie Hut in Fjordland National Park,

New Zealand park ranger Evan Smith dusts off a taxidermied stout,

which is a kind of weasel, and starts his nightly hut talk.

These checks here are very good climbers, just like the wreck they climb to the very tops of their trees.

Ranger Smith is, according to one visitor, a bit of a legend.

Hikers in the hut's common room grown with shock as he describes the stout's predatory skill.

New Zealand is home to many unique birds, from the endangered Kia, a species of alpine parrot,

to the tiny, delicate rifleman, the smallest native bird in the country.

But when ranger Smith began working on the rootburn track hiking trail 20 years ago,

he didn't see or hear many birds. Instead, there were possums, rats, and yes, the stout.

The stout was initially brought to New Zealand in the 1880s to reduce an overpopulation of rabbits

introduced by the Europeans. But unfortunately, those predators quickly learned

that our birds were much easier caught because they had no idea what these animals were.

Since 2011, ranger Smith has raised money during his nightly talks to install predator traps

on the trail. The rootburn project has raised over $200,000. And summer by summer,

it's beginning to make a real impact. So not only can I see more bird life on the rootburn track

and around McKenzie hut that you can now hear more birds on and I just absolutely enjoy seeing

the bird life back. For bird note, I'm Josephine McRobbie.