Best breeding season for decades almost doubles rare orange-fronted parakeet numbers

Wednesday, 17 July 2019

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage talks about the success of the breeding of kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet. (Video first published July 2019)

The beech mast has been blamed for an explosion of predators but finally it has brought some good news – a sharp rise in the number of New Zealand's rarest mainland forest bird, the orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said at Peacock Springs Wildlife Park in Christchurch on Wednesday morning that 151 chicks had been born in the wild so far this season.

That potentially doubled the current population to about 300.

An orange-fronted parakeet at Peacock Springs Wildlife Park in Christchurch , where Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage shared good news about the significant success of the breeding season, thanks to the beech mast.

'This year's epic breeding provides a much-needed boost to the kākāriki karaka population. It is great news that this year there are more than three times the number of nests compared to previous years,' Sage said.

**READ MORE:

A kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet chick with transmitter. The beech mast has had a positive effect on the number of wild-born chicks.

* Native birds becoming confined to higher altitudes by climate and pests

Critically endangered orangefronted parakeets/kākāriki karaka were released into a Canterbury high country valley.

* Local bird extinctions possible in mega mast 'crisis' unless more 1080 funding

* This bird is as threatened as the black robin, but few New Zealanders know it

* DOC tries experimental system to release orange-fronted parakeets into wild**

The Department of Conservation (DOC) works with Ngāi Tahu in leading orange-fronted parakeet recovery, including providing predator control in their mainland habitats, running captive breeding programmes and maintaining pest-free island populations.

The orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka is New Zealand's rarest forest bird.

The Department of Conservation has found 31 orange-fronted parakeet nests in the wild in Canterbury so far this season – more than three times the number found in recent years.

The orange-fronted parakeet is the rarest of New Zealand's six kākāriki species, found only in the Poulter River and Hawdon River valleys in Arthur's Pass National Park and in the Hurunui River's south branch in Lake Sumner Forest Park.

At least 150 kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet chicks have been born in the wild so far this season thanks to the beech mast - potentially doubling the population to about 300.

DOC figures show 128 birds are currently breeding.

There is also a population of up to 60 birds on Blumine Island in the Marlborough Sounds.

Sage said the birds were expected to continue nesting for several months. DOC staff had found 31 nests in the wild in Canterbury so far this season – more than three times the number found in recent years.

During a mast year, beech seeds dominated the parakeets' diet.

'There has been so much seed on the beech trees the birds just keep on breeding, with some parakeet pairs on to their fifth clutch of eggs. When there's no beech mast, they typically have just one or two clutches.'

The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust had played a crucial role in rearing captive-bred birds for release, Sage said.

This year, 62 birds from the trust, Orana Wildlife Park and Auckland Zoo had been released into the Hurunui south branch.