Orange-fronted parakeets relocated to island sanctuary

[Michael Szabo]

A predicted plague of rats and stoats has forced the relocation of rare native parakeets from Canterbury to a Bay of Plenty island sanctuary. Eighteen critically endangered orange-fronted parakeets, or kakariki karaka, are winging their way to safety today. The birds have been bred by the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust at Peacock Springs on the outskirts of Christchurch. They will will be released on Tuhua/Mayor Island where a trust board has worked with the Department of Conservation to make the island predator-free since 2002:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11222585

[Neil Fitzgerald]

That article is misleading. It says the birds were moved because of imminent pest plague, but also that they are part of a captive program always destined for pest free islands. So these birds were not part of the population threatened by rats or stoats, unless they were at risk in the aviaries.

[Glen Webber]

I read the article thinking the same thing Neil.

[Steps]

Its as if he has decided to pad his article out on his own 'initiative' from previous Herald articles and hasnt a clue what he is talking about.
Which happens far too often without any repercussions or good editorial input

[David Riddell]

I was on Mayor Is yesterday, didn't have a lot of time, but we did the walk in to the crater lakes. Found two OFPs high in tall pohutukawas very close to where we found them on the OSNZ conference field trip a couple of years ago - near the north-eastern corner of Lake Aroarotamahine (Green Lake). This was the release site for the most recent birds, apparently. We walked back along the eastern side of Lake Te Paritu then up Ruru Pass, but didn't come across any more. A woman on the island told us there have been issues with harrier predation, that some of the local birds have taken to active hunting through the canopy almost like falcons, and several parakeets, as well as kaka, have been lost in this way. After several years parakeet numbers still seem quite low. The same can't be said for the bellbirds and robins, which were so loud they may have contributed to our difficulties in picking up parakeets; we also saw a flock of five kaka flying over, and heard several more.

As an aside, there were very few seabirds to be seen in transit, and almost nothing close to the boat. A few flesh-footed shearwaters, a pair of Buller's shearwaters right by the island, one of the party saw what was probably a fluttering shearwater, everything else was too far away to ID.

[rukuhia]

Was out on Mayor Is. today on a clear and calm day. We walked a loop of the island amongst a beautiful forest of pohutakawa.
Robins and bellbird were very common with 6 kaka. No sign of any kakariki though. Lots of c. diving petrel and grey faced on trip in and out.

[Davidthomas]

Hi Bob,

Sorry to hear you didn’t catch up with any OFPs, last id heard the release was a complete failure with them only recording a single bird summer last year in a few days searching. So don’t feel too bad for having missed them!