The Owl and the Pussycat

My owl and my pussycat didn't head to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat, but they did keep me entertained for a half hour or so yesterday.

Every morning before heading anywhere I check my rat traps for catches. The trap on a shelf under the eave in a shed above the creek near the house is my most prolific rat catcher by far. So yesterday I checked it as per usual. I was rather surprised to see my resident ruru (who I've named Olly the Owl, who could be Oliver or Olivia, I have no idea) perched next to the trap. Olly glanced at me briefly then eyes narrowed and he/she went (mostly) back to sleep. Needless to say I went inside for my bird camera and fired off a few shots. A moment or two later I was joined by my cat Tinker. Olly paid a lot more attention to Tinker than to me. I think Olly regards me as at worst, harmless, perhaps interesting, or maybe in some way we're friends (or is that just my imagination?) but wasn't quite so sure about Tinker.

I headed inside again to get my other camera, as the 180-600mm bird lens is way too long to get Olly and Tinker in the same shot.

There's nothing quite like being stared at by a ruru.

The owl and the pussycat.

It's not clear unless you zoom right in on the photo, but Olly is peering down at Tinker. Tinker is either disinterested in Olly, or perhaps he has no idea Olly is there.

Here's a close up of Olly not letting Tinker out of his sight.

Olly seems to be asking me "Are you sure he's a good cat?" Actually, Tinker is a good cat. A very good cat. He's a savage beast, and loves to kill mammals. In New Zealand that's a very good thing. Other than pekapeka there are no native land mammals in New Zealand and most introduced mammals do far more harm to the native fauna and flora than good. So when Tinker kills mice, rats, weasels, stoats, rabbits and hares he gets my full seal of approval. His hunting method involves power and speed rather than stealth (he's large and visible), and I think he learned when he was young that it's a waste of energy stalking birds. I have witnessed a few of his kills of large animals (hares) and they are horrifyingly violent, reminding me of a puma with a guanaco, or a leopard with a gazelle.

Olly deciding it's time to chill out.

After a bit of excitement, it's time to go back to sleep.

Tinker also.

By the way, I decided I didn't want to take the chance that Olly would enter the cage trap and get caught in there (no harm would come to him/her but would sure not like it) so I have retired the trap from that location and ordered a bird-safe box with trap from the Predator Free NZ store.

Kākā

On Tuesday, 10th March 2026 three kākā (more are on their way) were translocated into the dedicated kākā aviary at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. Six weeks later (28th April) the aviary door was opened and they were given their freedom. They are fed daily nearby while they become accustomed to surviving on natural food.

Their six weeks in the aviary is considered a 'soft release'. The purpose is to ground them to their new location. They grow accustomed to the area, and are fed daily so associate the place with food and comfort. (A 'hard release' were they to be released directly from their transport containers to the freedom of the forest would likely have resulted in their departure, as they tried to head 'home'.)

On Sunday I saw them for the first time since their translocation (I'd been busy elsewhere in the Sanctuary, and was also happy to wait until they were free birds before paying them a visit).

Some photos from Sunday. Lighting is poor, most of these were shot in the 40 - 64,000 ISO range, hence the 'smudged' look of the areas lacking detail (grey feathers etc).

Here one of the males snacks on provided food from one of the feeders.

He's looking for more under the feeder tray.

Claws are hands in the parrot world.

A feather detail of his neck band from the first photo in this post. I like the fiery colours.

Even more fiery underneath.

Snacking on apples.

Kākāriki karaka - feet are 'hands'

As a useful tool for grounding the original kākāriki karaka during the reintroduction in 2021 - 2023, auto-feeders were emplaced to distribute sunflower seed up to four times daily. Most have since been removed, but there is some benefit in keeping a feeder active, for two main reasons. When the females stop using the feeder in spring it suggests that nesting has begun (the females will be on nests). Also, the life-expectancy of this species in original beech forest is not known, and continued monitoring of the translocated birds via the trail-camera (until none remain) will allow a calculation of life expectancy. This is likely to require monitoring for quite a few years to come. It's not essential data, but is on the 'nice to have' list. The feeders are used mostly by translocated birds (with leg bands) and a few unbanded birds who developed a sunflower-seed habit. The feeder is not essential, we could remove it tomorrow with no adverse consequences for any of the birds, but some of them like a daily (or weekly, or less) snack on sunflower seed out of habit.

Anyway, the feeder is a good place to watch our birds... feeding. 😊 Here's a sequence with one of our Sanctuary-born birds snacking on sunflower seed and using his claw in the same way a primate would use a hand.

He takes a whole sunflower seed.

Then he cracks it.

I missed the next shot with the husk dropping off the edge. Now he's got the edible part of the seed in his beak ready to grab the bottom half while he bites off the top half.

He firmly holds half the seed in his hand - I mean claw - while taking the first bite. Reminds me of a primate (monkey, or human etc) eating a banana.

He's dropped a bit. It may drop on the ground and be eaten by something else (mice probably) or if it's dropped on the tray then it'll be eaten by himself (or another kākāriki karaka) or a finch.

Looks like he's finished that mouthful. Ready for the other half.

He grabs the other half with his beak and eats it.

Kākāriki karaka - Update on the eggs sent to Isaac

On Thursday 2026-2-12 we sent five kākāriki karaka eggs gathered from a nesting pair in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary (see post below from Feb 19th) to Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust. The purpose was to reintroduce genetics from the Brook population back into the breeding programme to maintain genetic diversity.

Here is an update. But before that, I feel the need to address an issue about clutch gathering. A few asked (after my earlier blog post) for more information about the nesting pair who 'supplied' the eggs, whether they were left with any eggs in the nest, and if not, then why was the whole clutch taken? I'll do my best to answer these questions.

In an ideal situation, the pair would have laid eight or more eggs. In that case, perhaps four or five eggs would have been taken leaving the pair with three or four and they could have been expected to have taken the nest to completion (incubated the remaining eggs and raised the chicks).

Let's step back here to the prime objective: extinction prevention. Kākāriki karaka are critically endangered and have been declared (incorrectly, thankfully) extinct twice. The extinction of this gorgeous, charismatic and utterly delightful species is a concept that I find so utterly horrific that I don't even want to write about it. It would be an appalling, gut-wrenching, unmitigated tragedy. Being a member of the species directly responsible for the extinction is also not something I want to contemplate.

We (the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary kākāriki karaka monitoring team, there are six of us) had spent several months (since September) looking for a source of eggs to send to Isaac. As of early February no nest had been found that was suitable, until this one. In this case, there were five eggs present. Given the time investment to date, and the investment required by the DoC crew (two staff traveled to Nelson for four days with a flight south with the eggs), not to mention the subsequent investment by Isaac staff, it would have made no sense at all to have taken any less than the full clutch of five eggs.

So, what happens when a pair of parakeets lose their eggs? This would be a completely 'normal' thing to happen outside the fence, where predation would likely destroy the eggs or hatchlings, and perhaps the incubating adult female also. Inside the fence, we have had plenty of kākāriki kakara nests lost to natural processes, principally flooding. Off the top of my head, I can think of six nests likely lost for this reason, there will certainly be many more. The 2021-2022 spring and summer (the first season for kākāriki karaka in the Brook) was dry, likely leaving most cavities dry and appealing for nesting. Then in early February we had 400mm rain in three days. Three of the eight confirmed nests were lost to this event. In the case of two pairs, we were never able to find where they re-nested (one of the pairs was Floyd and his mate). In the third case, we found their new nest not long after the rain event, unsurprisingly the site they chose was slightly overhanging and completely rain proof. Their new nest was successful that season, and the pair used the same nest hole successfully yearly for the next few years.

The pair whose eggs went to Isaac last month were on their second nest for the season; at the time of the egg gathering the male had fledglings in tow. Sure, they'll be upset at the loss of their second nest as any bird could be expected to be, but nature will take its course, the female's breeding cycle will continue and there is a good chance they are right now on their third nest of the season. [Dummy eggs are not used (to replace the taken eggs), this would have been a well-intentioned act of cruelty, there is no point having a pair spend a long time incubating eggs that will never hatch. It is better for the pair that they 'move on' as soon as possible.]

Anyway, three of the five eggs sent to Isaac hatched, the birds were raised and all three have now fledged. They are flying birds. Three of five eggs hatching and the chicks fledging is probably a good outcome (five of five would have been a great outcome).

Obviously I have no photos of these birds, but Isaac kindly provided some photos of the nestlings a couple of weeks ago. Photos courtesy of Cage Cardon at Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust.

Before declaring "mission accomplished" these young birds will have to grow up, pair up, and begin breeding, that will likely not happen until spring. If I could identify their parents (no chance as they're unbanded), and speak to them in their language, I'd explain to them the importance of the small sacrifice they made for the much-greater good of their species. Their first nest of the season was a success. Their second nest of the season - unbeknownst to them - was also a success as is evident from the above photos (their eggs were incubated, hatched, and chicks raised by surrogates). Hopefully their third nest (their possible/probable current nest) will also be a success, but we will never know.

Pīwakawaka - black morph

Pīwakawaka (fantails) seen in New Zealand are commonly the pied morph. In the South Island we see the black morph pīwakawaka reasonably often, they make up about 5% of the species (in the North Island it's more like 1%). Usually they're not exactly 'black', although from a distance can look quite dark. They're more of a chocolate brown.

This one I saw in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary last weekend was as black as they get, particularly the face. A very hyperactive wee fella, as they commonly are, and it took me one or two hours to get this shot. Naughty bird would not sit still!

Ngirungiru - tomtit

A friendly ngirungiru (tomtit, Petroica macrocephala) is a common encounter in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. They're curious and come quite close on occasion. Usually the males. Here are a couple taken over the last few weeks.

By the way, the genus Petroica contains 14 species, and the tomtit is the only one that doesn't contain the name 'robin' in their name. A tomtit is as much a 'robin' as the South Island robin, Black robin, Flame robin etc.

Tūī

It seems to have been a month since my last post, and I have far too many bird photos in store. Perhaps a rainy weekend is needed so I can catch up. In the meantime here are a few tūī photos that I like, all from the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary from the last couple of months.

"You lookin' at my bird?"

Snacking on a juicy-looking coprosma berry. (For the photographers here, these were shot at ISO 64,000.)