Birds delight during lockdown

An ‘‘unusual’’ sighting of a ka¯ka¯ in Motueka has brought joy amid Covid19 isolation.

Melanie Boon and her daughter first noticed a large bird fly past them while they were in the garden of Boon’s house, in the centre of town, last Saturday

They thought it might be a hawk, until it landed on an old aviary on her property, Boon said.

‘‘I didn’t know what sort of bird it was. It flew up into one of my trees and so I got a wee bit closer, not too close, and I was just talking to it and it made these amazing sounds.’’

She called the Department of Conservation (DOC), which advised her not to get too close or feed the native parrot, unless it looked injured.

Boon had seen native birds including moreporks, young falcons and wood pigeons at her house next to the Thorps Bush reserve – a block down from Motueka’s main street – but never a ka¯ka¯.

The bird’s visit, for about half an hour, was the first time she had seen one in the flesh. ‘‘I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. I was feeling quite down and out not having the social contact . . . . It really made me feel quite positive again.’’

Boon questioned if the ka¯ka¯ came into Motueka because the town was quieter due to the lockdown.

Thorp St resident Max Tait photographed a ka¯ka¯ on his property two days later. He assumed it was the same bird, as his partner and her son had spotted a ka¯ka¯ in the area and at a neighbours on Saturday.

It was the first time they had seen a ka¯ka¯ in Motueka since moving there about six years ago. ‘‘It was a wonderful experience.

‘‘It was on our property for quite some time . . . it didn’t seem to mind us at all.’’

DOC could not say whether birds were becoming bolder in urban areas because fewer people were out and about. DOC ranger Ivan Rogers said while there had been reports of ka¯ka¯ in places like Brightwater and Moutere in Tasman district over summer, it was unusual to see ka¯ka¯ in Motueka.

The bird was not one of the 24 released in the Abel Tasman National Park with Project Janszoon last year, because it didn’t have a leg band, he said. It was likely from the Flora area of Kahurangi National Park, where predator trapping and 1080 predator control was helping increase ka¯ka¯ numbers.

Ka¯ka¯ would come into urban and rural areas to feed on nectar and fruit, Rogers said. ‘‘With people at home during alert level four, people are noticing native birdlife around them more. Having . . . the native birds in our gardens is an unexpected bonus.’’

DOC asked people to admire the ka¯ka¯ from a distance, and take care not to disturb them.

Motueka’s Max Tait captured this ka¯ka¯ on a flame tree on his boundary during the Covid-19 lockdown on April 6.

A rare sighting of a ka¯ka¯ was just the tonic for Motueka resident Melanie Boon’s lockdown blues. Her daughter, Elsie-Anne Groovy, captured the bird at an old aviary on Boon’s property.