The orange fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka is the rarest of our parakeet/kākāriki species…
Continue Reading...Archives For 30/11/1999
Recently Services Rangers Megan Farley travelled to Blumine Island in the Marlborough Sounds to carry out the biennial monitoring of the island’s orange fronted parakeet population.
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Today’s photo of the week is of a red-crowned parakeet/kākāriki taking a bath in a stream in Rotorua. Kākāriki, means ‘small green parrot’ in Māori.
There are five main species of kākāriki. The red-crowned species is distinguished by a bright crimson forehead, crown and a streak extending back beyond the eyes.
Attacks by introduced predators such as stoats and rats are the main threat to kākāriki.
This photo was taken by Jackson Wood | CC BY-NC 2.0.
This photograph of the Antipodes parakeet was taken by University of Auckland scientist, Dr James Russell.
Dr Russell is leading the recently departed expedition to the Antipodes Islands that will lay the groundwork for the removal of mice from this remote nature reserve.
Their research will fill gaps in knowledge about the mice and effects of their removal on some of the island’s special native species, in particular the two parakeets—Antipodes and Reischek’s parakeet—which are found nowhere else. They will also gather baseline data to chart ecosystem recovery once mice are gone.
Follow the expedition to the Antipodes on James Russell’s blog.
You can help the unique ecosystems, native seabirds, plants and insects of the Antipodes Islands
The Million Dollar Mouse campaign aims to raise more than a million dollars towards the Antipodes Islands mouse eradication project. The fund currently sits at $819,000 with all public contributions matched dollar for dollar by philanthropists Gareth and Jo Morgan.
For more information, and to make a donation, visit the Million Dollar Mouse website.
Send us your photos
If you have a great, conservation related photo you want to share with the world (or at least the readers of this blog) send it through to us at socialmedia@doc.govt.nz.
By John Kearvell, Biodiversity Ranger – Orange-fronted parakeet
Tuhua/Mayor Island
On Wednesday 19th December 12 orange-fronted parakeets/kākāriki karaka (9 males and 3 females) were released on Tuhua/Mayor Island. The orange-fronted parakeets were bred at the Captive Unit at Peacock Springs, by the Isaacs Wildlife Trust in Christchurch.
Air New Zealand came on board to help fly the parakeets from Christchurch to Rotorua where a helicopter piloted by Glenn Olliff from Oceana Helicopters Ltd, Tauranga then took the orange-fronted parakeets directly to Tuhua where they were released by Tauranga sponsor Fauna Recovery New Zealand.
John Heaphy, Conservation Officer Protected Species and Islands Tauranga Area Office, releasing the birds
The birds were all caught by 11am at Peacock Springs and all safely placed into their travelling boxes. Their flight left Christchurch Airport at 12.30pm, and on arrival at Rotorua VIP treatment from Air New Zealand whisked them direct to the waiting helicopter; a big thanks to Air New Zealand for the great treatment afforded to these critically endangered parakeets.
The helicopter left Rotorua and the parakeets were released onto the island by 3.30pm, in very sunny and hot conditions. They were released near the Green Lake in the caldera (Tuhua is a volcano) and all flew off fine. They were released in the same area as all other previous releases.
An orange-fronted parakeet on Tuhua from a previous translocation
A grateful thanks must go to all those who helped with another successful transfer of orange-fronted parakeet completed. 83 orange-fronted parakeets have now been released onto Tuhua, over 8 releases since December 2009.
