“On Miramar Peninsula we’re seeing that recovery begin to happen in real time. Native birds are breeding more successfully, spreading into new areas, and establishing in neighbourhoods where they haven’t been seen for generations. “I’d never seen a kākā on the peninsula before,” says Te Motu Kairangi (Miramar Peninsula) resident Anne Dowden. “If the current trends continue, native birds will begin to outnumber exotic birds in our Miramar Peninsula bird counts within the next five years. “We’ve created the conditions for native birds to come back – now it’s about protecting that progress.