Winter visitors in the Western Bay
Date: 03 June 2008
Watch out for cheeky winter visitors looking for lunch in your garden. Kākā are known to venture into town to feed on the ripened fruit, nuts and flowers in our gardens and orchards in the Western Bay at this time of year. Visiting kākā generally come from Tuhua (Mayor Island), the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island or Little Barrier Islands.
Kākā tend to travel in winter when food is less plentiful in their natural habitat. 'You may find them feasting on your persimmons, walnuts, or macadamia nuts. However in November the kākā should return to their forest breeding sites" says Dave Wills Department of Conservation (DOC) Ranger.
A juvenile brought in from the Katikati area suggests kākā may be breeding in the Kaimai Ranges. "However Bay residents would be lucky to see a kākā outside the Whirinaki and Pureora Forest Parks, so please treat the birds with care," says Dave.
Kākā numbers nationally are on the decline, however during an annual survey of kākā within the Whirinaki Ecological Management Zone (WEMZ) DOC staff counted 365 birds earlier this month. The same survey undertaken last year counted just 157 kākā. The WEMZ core area consists of 1000 hectares of podocarp forest nestled within the Whirinaki Forest Park, located approximately 100km to the south west of Whakatane. Within this area possum, rat and stoat populations are controlled to low levels.
The North Island Kākā is a large parrot, similar in appearance to a brownish kea with a heavier beak. They sport reddish-orange plumage on the underside of their wings. They are approximately four times the size of a rosella. They are typically active throughout the day, gathering in flocks in the early morning and in the late evening.
The kākā is protected and it is an offence to harm them under the Wildlife Act of 1953. Please contact your local DOC office if native birds are causing serious disturbance or if native birds are harmed.