Seven Black Robins

When we filmed that very first robin being released there was just the sound man [Merv Aitchison] and myself, Brian Bell (the leader of the expedition) and Tony Billing (a Wildlife Service trainee). We saw the box lid open and the little bird flew out. Tony stood back and said, "Oh! Corker! Corker! Corker!"

– Cameraman Paul Donovan on the release of the first black robin on Mangere Island, in 1988 book Wild South: Saving New Zealand’s Endangered Birds, by Rod Morris and Hal Smith

I remember the nerves that came over them once they realised that they had that real black robin in their hands. Those guys changed, knowing what they were entrusted with and what was ahead of them ... Once they had that box with the bird in it, and secured it on his pack, he was just a different person. It was the awesome responsibility of getting that precious bird down that cliff and across.

– Cameraman Paul Donovan on transferring a rare black robin down a 200-metre cliff, en route to Mangere Island, in 1988 book Wild South: Saving New Zealand’s Endangered Birds, page 164

The film seemed to capture people's imaginations. We were frequently asked what was happening to the black robins ...

– Authors Rod Morris and Hal Smith on reaction to Seven Black Robins, in 1988 book Wild South: Saving New Zealand's Endangered Birds, page 166

Although the black robin's survival was far from secure, this island transfer was a vital first step in the story of the robin's rescue.

– Writer Paul Stanley Ward, in his backgrounder on the black robin documentaries