Kea In the News
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News Articles
Cheeky kea steals tourist's passport
By MARK HOTTON, Southland Times
Last updated 05:00 29/05/2009
Te Anau police have identified a thief who brazenly stole a British man's passport, but will not pursue an arrest or attempt to recover the document.
A police spokeswoman said a Scottish man reported the theft of his passport from a bus heading into Milford Sound earlier this week.
The passport had been in a coloured courier bag that attracted the attention of a cheeky kea when the bus stopped at the Chasm on the Milford road.
While the driver was in a compartment beneath the bus, the kea grabbed the package. When the driver turned back, the startled kea flew off into the bush with the package. It has not been recovered and considering the size of Fiordland, is unlikely to be.
The Scottish man, who did not want to be identified, said he had been waiting for about a month for the passport to be returned from Wellington.
"Being Scottish, I've got a sense of humour so I did take it with humour but obviously there is one side of me still raging," he said.
"My passport is somewhere out there in Fiordland. The kea's probably using it for fraudulent claims or something. I'll never look at a kea in the same way."
A replacement from the British High Commission in Wellington could take as long as six weeks and cost up to $400.
"I was planning to go home to Scotland in August so I'm hoping to get that sorted pretty quickly."
He said the bus driver did not know what was in the package but his "pale expression" convinced him he wasn't joking that it contained a passport.
The Scotsman did not hold the driver or the company responsible. "They do us a great service by bringing stuff in and it was just one of those unfortunate things. It just happens.
"You can't make that sort of stuff up."
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Endangered keas are fun birds
The Whangarei Report
Gerry Brackenbury
I am currently reading a book called Beak of the Moon by Philip Temple, a writer and mountaineer. It telss of the trials and tribulations of the Worlds only mountain parrot the kea. Being parrots, kea are highly intelligent animals and have a strong social hierarchy. They are long lived and biegn bright they know how to have fun.
Unfortunately, these positive attributes ahve been the kea's undoing.
(The rest of this article will be downloaded shortly)
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Help needed in kea count
By Felicity Wolfe on Thu, 7 May 2009
The Regions: Otago
Otago residents are being asked to help count keas, the world's most intelligent - and possibly cheeky - bird, this winter.
Keas are also classified as endangered, and to get a better idea of how many there are, the Kea Conservation Trust is calling on people from around the South to take part in its annual winter kea count.
Known for its ability to strip a car of shiny trimmings, and ransack tramping boots of laces within minutes, the egregious kea is unique to the South Island.
The trust's chairwoman, Tamsin Orr-Walker, said the birds were quite high on the New Zealand endangered species list, but they were seen as a low priority.
Often spotted hanging around Wakatipu's skifields, the mountain-dwelling parrots are not found in the North Island and are an important attraction to visitors as they interact closely with humans.
Whether this is a beneficial relationship is not known - there is evidence there are as few as 1000 to 5000 keas left in the wild.
Though considered guardians of the mountains by Maori, early European settlers found the birds to be a stock-worrying pest.
There was even a bounty paid out by government for their beaks until 1971.
Ms Orr-Walker said as many as 150,000 of the birds were killed during that time and it was still unknown how the numbers had regenerated.
"They have mostly been left to themselves," she said.
The trust has been organising biannual counts of kea populations for the last two years - last winter more than 70 people registered across the South Island.
However, most of those were from around Nelson and Canterbury.
Very little information has been logged on the Wakatipu and Central Otago kea populations yet.
Ms Orr-Walker said the winter counts were "a fun thing to do - kea move down from higher places as food runs out; and they are also in their nesting phase".
Most keas people saw were either juveniles or adult males in lower areas such as in Arthurs Pass and around skifields where they knew there was a steady supply of food.
Last winter, the Arrowtown Scouts combined a winter camping badge exercise with a kea count in Mt Aspiring National Park.
They saw about five keas over a weekend - fewer than the previous year.
Mrs Orr-Walker hoped people would come to better understand the habits of the birds.
For forms and information about participating in the Kea Conservation Trust winter count, visit www.keaconservation.co.nz
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Curiosity kills the kea, study shows
The Dominion Post
Last updated 12:59 22/04/2009
HEAVY METAL: Science student Clio Reid found kea were sometimes getting a lethal dose of lead when nibbling at buildings or sneaking into wheelie bins.
A science student is calling for lead nails to be removed from old buildings in alpine area, after she found they pose a threat to curious kea.
Clio Reid found kea were sometimes getting a lethal dose of lead when nibbling at buildings or sneaking into wheelie bins.
"Many kea live near human- populated areas so they are at risk from all sorts of hazards when they go exploring, the main one being lead poisoning. Young kea are like little kids - they'll get into anything. Exposure to lead paint or nails in old buildings can kill them."
Ms Reid, a masters of science student at Victoria University, has just completed a study on kea in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park that focused on the relationship between the personality traits of kea and the level of lead in their bloodstream.
"Once lead is in their bloodstream, it can do a lot of internal damage and even kill them.
Ms Reid found that although kea with curious personalities are more likely to have high levels of lead in their blood, the less explorative ones are at risk too.
"You'll often find that a really explorative kea will take the first step and check out new objects like lead head nails, and then the others will follow. Replacing lead nails in old buildings, refraining from feeding kea, and securing objects like wheelie bins will help keep them healthy and safe."
To explore the personalities of kea, Ms Reid presented different wild birds with a bright fluffy toy and watched their reaction.
Originally from Canada, Ms Reid has been fascinated by kea since her first encounter with one.
"They are always doing things that you don't expect, they are hilarious. They do somersaults, play tug-of-war and do all these crazy things.
"They are a unique species and most people know them for their clownish behaviour."
Retrieved on 22nd April from
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/2354964/Curiosity-kills-the-kea-study-shows
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Plea to give kea a chance
By MELISSA MCDONNELL - The Press
Last updated 05:00 20/03/2009
 Drivers are being warned to watch out for kea on South Island alpine roads after several of the endangered birds were killed in Arthur's Pass.
Freelance photographer Andrew Walmsley this week saw a large truck run over two kea as they fed on the state highway near Arthur's Pass.
He said the truck was travelling at a normal speed and did not attempt to stop.
"The birds were in the middle of the road and the driver made no attempt to slow down. He didn't even touch the brakes, but just ram-roaded straight through.
"It was so shocking to see."
Another kea had been killed on the road in the past two weeks, and there had been several near-misses recently, the Kea Conservation Trust reported.
It wants signs warning drivers about kea placed in townships along the trans-alpine route.
The endangered alpine parrot is unique to the South Island, where 1000 to 5000 live in the wild.
The trust believed the number of kea had substantially reduced after about 150,000 birds were culled in the 1970s.
Trust chairwoman Tamsin Orr-Walker said the recent deaths were distressing, considering the low kea population and the environmental pressures on the bird.
"The unknown number of kea being killed by lead poisoning, 1080 poisoning, road incidents and accumulative human interaction could be having a larger impact than we know."
Orr-Walker said there was a public perception that kea were pests, despite the 1986 wildlife order "to absolutely protect the kea throughout New Zealand".
Orr-Walker hoped to raise awareness for drivers entering the kea habitat. She acknowledged "a driver's own safety is always the first priority, but on these often quiet, rural roads there is no reason why a vehicle can't beep its horn and give the birds a chance to fly to safety".
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Kea numbers may be in decline
Updated at 1:29pm on 22 February 2009
The Kea Conservation Trust says the birds may be declining in number.
Keas were counted at 90 sites in Nelson Lakes National Park, Arthur's Pass and the Borland Range in Fiordland last month.
Compared to data collected by DoC in the 1990s, trust chair Tamsin Orr-Walker says there seems to be a major decline in their numbers and the birds may be under much more serious threat than first thought.
Threats include predators such as possums, and lead and 1080 poison.
Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand
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Possums take toll on kea at Nelson Lakes
By SIMON BLOOMBERG - Nelson | Saturday, 21 February 2009
The kea population in Nelson Lakes National Park appears to be under serious threat from possum predation, with the latest surveys suggesting that numbers of the alpine parrot have declined significantly in the past 10 years.
Last month, 50 researchers and volunteers from the Kea Conservation Trust and the Department of Conservation surveyed kea numbers at 90 sites in Nelson Lakes National Park, Arthur's Pass in Canterbury and the Borland Range in Fiordland.
Although the three-year study is being conducted mainly to compare populations between the three locations, kea numbers at Nelson Lakes appear to be much lower than those recorded in an earlier survey.
DOC researchers Josh Kemp and Graeme Elliott found that there had been a high level of kea nesting success at Nelson Lakes from 1993 to 1999. They identified 36 nesting sites, and also found that predation of the birds was low during the study period.
In contrast, only 12 kea were caught and banded at Nelson Lakes during last month's survey.
The researchers said it was also a concern that only three fledglings were seen during the 10-day observation period.
Mr Kemp said the main reason for the apparent decline in numbers was predation of kea eggs and chicks.
Possums were thought to be the main predator, because they lived in the same types of holes and crevices kea used for nesting, although stoats and rats also preyed on the parrots.
"There were possums in the vicinity of all the nest sites we surveyed this summer, and we saw possum sign and dead possums in some of the kea nests.
"The requirements for possums and kea nest sites are very similar, so we think the possums go in there to live and find the eggs and eat them -- they aren't actively seeking out the eggs."
The decline in kea numbers was consistent with an increase in the number of possums at Nelson Lakes, although more surveys were needed to reach a definitive conclusion, he said.
Tamsin Orr-Walker, of the Kea Conservation Trust, said lead poisoning of kea ingesting nailheads and flashings on buildings might also be a problem closer to settlements.
Although kea in other areas had been inadvertently poisoned by 1080 baits laid for pests, this wasn't a problem at Nelson Lakes, where 1080 poisoning in areas inhabited by kea was minimal, she said.
She said researchers were hoping to gain an insight into the reasons for the decline after fitting a satellite transmitter to a one-year-old kea and a fledgling at Nelson Lakes. Two adult females were also fitted with VHF transmitters to enable their progress during the next breeding season to be tracked.
She said researchers were also trying to develop a bird repellent for 1080 baits.
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1080 solution to avert kea deaths
By HELEN MURDOCH - The Press
Last updated 23:08 28/01/2009
DAVID HALLETT
ENDANGERED NATIVE: Bird repellant may be added to 1080 pest bait to prevent kea deaths.
Bird repellant may be included in 1080 pest bait this year to prevent more deaths of the endangered kea.
Seven monitored kea died after an aerial 1080 drop in the Franz Josef area on the West Coast last year during a preliminary Department of Conservation (DOC) study on the impact of 1080 on kea.
The deaths jolted DOC, the Animal Health Board and the Kea Conservation Trust into committing to the annual $250,000 study.
DOC Nelson science officer Josh Kemp said the study used radio-tagging and kea counts to monitor populations at various pest-control sites.
Bird numbers illustrated the impact of combinations of pest-control methods used at the sites, including aerial 1080 drops and trapping, he said.
Applications have been lodged with the Environmental Risk Management Authority to run the trials and have repellants included in the bait.
The two repellants registered in New Zealand would be trialled next spring.
"The hard part will be putting kea off taking the baits without putting off rats and possums," Kemp said.
If the registered repellants were ineffective, research for alternatives could take five to 10 years, he said.
Kemp said he had been worried about the impact of aerial 1080 operations on kea since the 1990s.
The Franz Josef kea deaths had "shocked and stunned" DOC, he said. Kea were susceptible to trapping and poisoning because they were inquisitive, intelligent, not scared of new food and a similar size and weight to possums, he said.
One thousand to 5000 of the ground-nesting alpine parrots range across three million hectares of the South Island. One million hectares is rotationally treated with 1080.
"If kea populations are on the slippery downhill slope, we need to assess the role of 1080, the need for a bird repellant and if a repellant works," Kemp said.
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The Kea Parrot: New Zealand's Distinct Bird
By Angela Pham - Jan 2009
"Famed for its olive-green plumage, scarlet underwings, keen intelligence and its rare attempts to feed on both dead and live sheep, the unique kea parrot of New Zealand draws attention from bird lovers and conservationists throughout the world"
"Inarguably, humans play a significant role in the population numbers of kea birds. [Josh] Kemp said that lead poisoning, car accidents, entrapment in garbage bins, angry farmers, critter traps and pet poisons have all contributed to kea deaths in past years. However, introduced predators like the stoat, a ferret-like animal, also threaten ground-breeding birds like the kea, [Gyula] Gajdon said.
Thankfully, conservation and research efforts have been extended recently to help ensure that kea parrots are thoroughly studied and can thrive safely in their forested environments."
"In collaboration with the Kea Conservation Trust and the Animal Health Board, we [DoC] will be radio-tracking four lots of 20 to 30 kea parrots through four aerial 1080 operations next winter," Kemp said. "Then, at two of the sites, we will be monitoring nesting success after the aerial 1080 and comparing it with nesting success in adjacent areas where pets are not controlled."
Kemp recommends visiting the KCT website for more details on the upcoming projects."
For the full article visit www.birdchannel.com or follow the following link to the article:
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-january/kea-parrots.aspx
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Kea in the News
