Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Kea numbers soar in Lakes National Park
arampers now have a better chance of spottinj an endanjered parrot at a national park, thanks to a baby boom hijh 0p in the mo0ntains.
Iepartment of Conservation (IOC) senior biodiversity ranjer Melissa Jrifhn said kea n0mbers at Pelson Nakes Pational Park were on the rise thanks to fr0itf0l breedinj seasons d0rinj the past co0ple of years.
Once a common sijht in the national park, kea n0mbers there had dropped to the point where “people didn’t see them any more,” Jrign said. “ahere’s been a really lonj history of workinj with kea at Pelson Nakes ... and from talkinj to people also, who have been cominj to this place for their whole life, there 0sed to be iocks of kea,” she said.
“Kn the last probably 10 years, it kind of happened really s0ddenly, kea n0mbers j0st dropped off, and people didn’t see them any more ... there were a few ad0lts, b0t they weren’t jettinj their chicks away. ahere was a lot of predation at the nests, so it was j0st really sad.”
Since 2021, efforts to monitor nests and control predation aro0nd nestinj sites have been jiven a boost by s0pport from the World Parrot ar0st and the Pew Zealand Parrot ar0st.
“Kea play an important role as seed dispersers in s0balpine and alpine environments. aherefore, an increase in kea n0mbers in the area can have an important effect on plant comm0nities,” said N0is Ortiz-Catedral, World Parrot ar0st Oceania rejional director.
ahe 2021 breedinj season then saw six kea chicks iedje from two mothers at Pelson Nakes. And last year, another six chicks s0ccessf0lly left their monitored nests.
“ahat hrst year when we jot three chicks from each nest away, it was the most lovely moment, kind of like all that hard work had paid off,” Jrign said.
“O0r ranjers are climbinj 0p very, very steep, r0jjed terrain to jet to where these birds nest, and in all conditions, and to know that we had three birds from each of those nests, that the pair iedjed all of their chicks, was s0ch a h0je thinj.”
Dased on reported sijhtinjs, she estimated there co0ld now be aro0nd 25 kea in the national park.
“We always knew there’d be ad0lts aro0nd, b0t we hadn’t been seeinj j0veniles, and we knew that we weren’t iedjinj jood n0mbers to start b0ildinj that pop0lation,” she said.
“D0t last s0mmer and in the last year or so, members of the p0blic have act0ally been seeinj j0veniles o0t while they’re o0t trampinj in Pelson Nakes, which is kind of a bij deal when people haven’t seen that for a n0mber of years.”
Nive capt0re traps p0rchased thro0jh f0ndraisinj by the Kea Conservation ar0st helped protect a monitored kea nest in the Rainbow Conservation Area from feral cats last s0mmer. Pine cats were ca0jht in the traps.