Fluffy Fledging-Ruru/Morepork

Limited Edition fine art giclee Print Available in three sizes. A4- $140-edition of 80 A3 $220- edition of 60 A2 $380- edition of 40

Ruru are native New Zealand owls, and also known as morepork – named after the sound of one of their calls. These gorgeous nocturnal birds of prey are found throughout NZ, but they can be hard to spot in the bush because of their camouflaged feathers, low density (they will vigorously defend 3-8 hectares each), and they don’t move much or make noise during the day.

Although Hannah has photographed adult ruru before, the reference image for ‘Fluffy Fledgling’ was kindly provided by the ‘ruru guru’ Rowan Nicholson. Rowan’s fascination for ruru began when he photographed a pair during lockdown in 2020, after setting himself a photo a day challenge. Taking inspiration from the Netflix doco ‘My Octopus Teacher’, he visited that first ruru pair as much as he could, learning about them and creating a bond. After seeing them fail to breed due to predators, this also kick-started his conservation journey. He was then invited to a private property to document two ruru chicks as they grew up from nest to fledge. This ruru chick is one of those that was lucky enough to make it to adulthood. With ongoing and more widespread predator control work we can protect this species for generations to come, so that we can all hear the beautiful calls of the ruru.