Philip, who lives on the Nook peninsular, was chatting on the phone with his brother Mike who lives in Penzance in Cornwall. It was the last week of February 2010 at about 10.10 pm.

Their conversation was interrupted by the piercing call of a male kiwi close to the window where Philip was sitting.  “Listen to this he shouted” as he held the phone outside the open window.  Before the male’s call had finished a female ripped in with her raucous cry.  “Wa-who” it was Spratt and Jackie the local monitored birds.

Mike heard their calls clearly on his phone on the other side of the world.  Twice more during that phone call Mike was able to listen ‘live’ to the call of one of the world’s most precious and endangered species.

Mike now proudly sports a bumper sticker on his car which states ‘I heard a kiwi at Whangarei Heads’.