The man behind Radio New Zealand's daily morning bird call is being
honoured this evening.
John Kendrick, who has done more
than just about anyone to preserve the sights and sounds of New Zealand's iconic
birds, is receiving a special award from Forest and
Bird.
He is 87, but for four decades John Kendrick
scrambled through dense bush for days on end to get bird sounds, like the kokako
of Pukiti Forest of Northland for example.
Mr Kendrick's
memory of each recording is as crystal clear as the sounds he
captured.
He was a pioneer - many of his sound recordings
are still played on national radio as the morning bird
call.
But few are aware of the effort needed to capture
those sounds and sights. He would lug 30kg packs stuffed with what was then
state-of-the-art gear, a tape recorder, two stills cameras, a movie camera and
other paraphernalia.
"I looked like Father Christmas,
definitely," says Mr Kendrick. "Father Christmas with all his bag of goodies on
the back."
He was the first person to record the elusive
kakapo.
"We just simply waited and waited, and then sure
enough came these amazing booms like somebody just beating on a drum, and those
were the first ever recordings of the kakapo... It was just that I happened to
be there first. Somebody else could have done it if they'd been lucky enough to
be there."
But for Mr Kendrick the pleasure was in living
the dreams he had as a five-year-old.
"When you're out in
the bush and the forest where I spent a good deal of my life, in the mountains
and forests, it's never time wasted."
Forest and Bird are
awarding Kendrick with an 'Old Blue', named after the Chatham Islands black
robin who saved her species from extinction.
"Getting the
award was quite a surprise," says Mr Kendrick. "In fact, they may be thinking
some of us oldies, we're liable to fall off the perch, so perhaps they'd better
do something about us before we do."
He is still taking
photos, digital ones. His days of lugging gear into the field are gone, but
thanks to that equipment, not forgotten.
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