As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday, 28 July 2019

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

Jul 17 2019

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage talks about the success of the breeding of kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet.

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.

"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.

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.
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