Native parrot pays a visit
‘‘We expected he'll look around, have a little to eat, and then go find a population.’’
Accountant Mark King, who lives near the Aratiatia Dam, was alerted to a racket outside last Wednesday.
‘‘There was a heck of noise… squawking. I heard it and thought ‘holy heck what’s that?’’’ he said.
King then saw the native Kaka in a tree outside his house, about three metres away.
‘‘They’re about twice as big as a magpie, so they’re very noticeable.’’
The kaka first appeared on Wednesday, but returned to King’s garden each day until Sunday before disappearing.
DOC ecologist Jess Scrimgeour said several young kaka seemed to pass through Taupo at this time of year.
‘‘We don’t have a resident population of kaka in or around Taupo, but we do get the occasional bird passing through,’’ she said.
‘‘My guess is that it’s a juvenile from the last breeding season which has come from a nearby population – possibly the Whirinaki forest or Pureora forest [west of Mangakino] – and is having a look around before deciding where to settle.’’
Kakas tended to settle where other kaka are present, she said.
‘‘We expected he’ll look around, have a little to eat, and then go find a population.
‘‘Most species tend to do that. When you release a kiwi into the bush, they tend to settle near other kiwi – even if they’ve got the whole expanse of bush choose from. It makes sense, because the chance of your offspring finding appropriate mates is much higher.’’
Although the Whirinaki Forest is around 100km away near Murupara, Scrimgeour said it was common for kaka to ‘‘disperse’’ over large distances in search of other bird populations.
‘‘For example, birds from the kaka population at Mt Bruce, north of Masterton, often turn up at Zealandia in Karori, Wellington. From a genetic perspective, when we’re thinking of captive populations and genetics, we consider the North Island kaka population as one.’’
King said he had lived on the farm north of Taupo for 28 years, but had never seen Kaka before.
He was used to avian guests though.
‘‘We’ve got a tui feeder, which attracts tuis and bellbirds. But we’ve got Aussies coming too – loud, rude and over dressed. They’re true Aussies, the Rosellas.’’
* Report native bird sightings at http://naturewatch.org.nz/