Mangatāwhiri Galah Tips

[Brendan T]

Does anyone know the status of the galah population around the Mangatāwhiri area? (i.e. current flock size, whether there's been any culling, in particular any locations they like to frequent at the moment,etc?)

There aren't a lot of eBird reports from 2024, and I've given a somewhat cursory look every time I drive through on the way to Miranda but haven't been able to sight any.

I'm also unsure if there's much seasonal movement of the population here? (in Aus, they're somewhat nomadic, more in response to food availability, but are so abundant that they're basically just everywhere, whereas here they keep giving me the slip, so any help much appreciated).

Cheers

[paradoxdinokipi]

I think they all go and breed on Ponui/Chamberlain Island in the summer and then are occasionally visible on the fields in the Waikato regions in the winter.

[Brendan T]

Cheers Andy, good to know about the seasonal movements, appreciate it

[les]

maize stubble fields between bombay and kaiua during winter would be worth a look?
if they are there easy to spot!

[Mike Bickerdike]

Yep, wait for winter Brendon. I saw one earlier in the year (June I think) in the tall firs behind the old 'Castle Cafe' (now unused and a bit derelict). This seems to be the most common spot to see them.

[Brendan T]

It took three attempts during winter, but I did finally get onto the Galahs at the Old Castle Cafe, where I recorded six, the same number recorded by all others in 2025.

(227.55 KiB) Viewed 10452 times

I'm still interested, in particular, in numbers and movement. The information from New Zealand Birds Online reads: "Galahs are uncommon and localised in New Zealand, with probably fewer than 100 individuals present. A flock of up to 50 birds formerly occurred on Ponui Island, but is currently less than half this size."

From this, I'd assume there's less than 25 birds in the Ponui Flock, which seems to be the only flock - all other records seemingly escapees. So, my question is, does anyone know:

a) if this ~25 figure is still current?
b) would the remainder of the Ponui Flock remain on the island during winter, or would they be out there somewhere else on the mainland, feeding on other macrocarpa or maize fields etc?
c) Do those birds who visit Mangatawhiri roost nearby at night, or return to the island each evening? (It seems a long way to fly each day, though I did spend a few hours at Lookout Point, Kawakawa, last evening, just to put this theory to the test and see if I could see any birds flying back to the island as the day ended. I first wondered about this after arriving at Mangatawhiri at 3:30pm one evening a few weeks back, and the birds having already disappeared from the trees).

Maybe we just don't know the answers to these questions, but there seems to be very little info out there other than that the flock lives on Ponui Island, and some visit Mangatawhiri each winter.