Woodhen

Woodhen (Tricholimnas sylvestris)

A flightless bird, once one of the rarest birds in the World. The Woodhen was almost made extinct by wild pigs and man; lucky for some they survived on the top of Mt Gower. They dwindled as low as 17 pairs. In the 1980’s 6 birds were taken into a captive breeding program under the instruction of Glen Fraser. The program worked a treat. Wild pigs had to be knocked out so birds could be put back into the wild. Ray Shick and Gower Wilson were employed by the LHI Board to do the job after a failed attempt by a mainland expert!! Shick and Wilson killed around 200 pigs. The Woodhen rules the ground on Lord Howe common in most resident’s gardens. Numbers now exceed 300 birds.