Although the spring - summer - autumn season is the time for most of their nesting, kākāriki karaka can also breed over winter if food is in plentiful supply. We had evidence for seven nests beginning (laying) in April, May, July and August of 2022. None of the nests were found, but adult birds were subsequently spotted feeding fledglings, clear proof of successful nests!
During about two weeks in August (while housebound with my broken ankle) I processed about 130,000 trail-cam images. This involved flicking through the images as fast as possible identifying kākāriki karaka from their leg bands. This information was then used to update the DOC database. I went at my own pace (a rather rapid one) and concentrated on the key data: birds fully identifiable from their leg bands. The database is now up-to-date with information on feeder habits (how often they visit feeders, which feeders, which other birds an individual likes to hang around with etc). And also which birds are considered 'missing'. I ignored what I considered lower-value data (partially identified birds, i.e., where only one colour band was seen) and did not sort images into folders based on content (a folder for images with parakeets, another for images of other species etc). My aim was productivity maximisation: to extract the core data from the images as fast as humanly possible.
While the job was mundane at times, it was also nice to unexpectedly encounter a bird previously considered 'missing', and update the bird's status on the database to 'alive'. There were also some funny or cute photos at times. A few examples below. (Note that some of these photos post-date the post date; I continued processing the feeder-camera images once the backlog had cleared and have posted a few of these photos here for convenience.)
Courtship feeding.
When birds appear on a feeder like this you know they are a pair.
Ice-skating on a frozen water bath.
Looking cute.
A pair of fledglings (left, note the absence of frontal bands) and a pair of juveniles.
Other birds also use the water bath. This includes native ruru, kārearea, kererū, riroriro, kakaruai and warou.
Kārearea (NZ falcon)
A pair of ruru (morepork)
Kererū (NZ pigeon)
A bit of bad news for me today, but good news in another way. I broke my ankle heading down from Kākāriki Hatch to the aviary. It occurred only about 30 seconds after entering the hatch. I started slipping (a layer of dead leaves over super-slippery clay on a short but steep bank), and with hindsight, was trying to protect my camera on my hip. This meant I landed facing sideways instead of facing out. I heard and felt two clicks, and immediately felt a sore ankle. It didn't seem too bad though and thought that a bit of use would help out, and I'd be OK to continue on the day's tasks. We (myself and Peter Hayes) continued down to the aviary. I took my boot off for a look, and immediately knew I was in trouble. My ankle was swollen big time, about 15 minutes after the accident. Peter fortunately had a constrictive bandage which we used to wrap my ankle. Peter is also a vet, so had more knowledge of such things than I did. I had never had a broken limb, or even a sprain before now.
I knew I had to get up the hill and back to the vehicle while I could still walk so promptly but carefully headed back up. End result, Weber B fibula fracture and I was in plaster by the end of the day and facing six weeks on crutches.
Long story short, I made an offer to DOC that I use my six weeks immobile to process the backlog of trailcam data; it would mean we'd all have the data and I'd avoid dying of boredom/frustration. It would also mean I'd be still very much entrenched in the lives of my little green friends, although via a PC screen. DOC agreed and arranged to send me the data.
A water bath was installed (with a trail-camera) when the feeders were installed. This provides a source of water for drinking and bathing. And a source of entertainment for visiting humans.
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My favourite stage of a kākāriki karaka nest is the last week or two before the nestlings take their first flight and become fledglings. Nestlings are growing (or have grown) feathers, and have become active inside their nest. They will be climbing up the nest walls (which of course we never see) but commonly they will poke their heads out the nest entrance and beg for food when they hear their dad arrive. (Mum will likely have already moved onto their second nest.)
Nestling waiting for Dad to supply lunch
When Dad arrives at the nest he will usually announce his arrival from up to 10m or so away. It could be a loud call, or perhaps a soft call is all that is needed. Fledglings will pop their heads out and compete with one another with the cutest begging calls. Dad will feed them until he's empty then leave.
This video was taken from about 10m from the nest entrance, which is about 12m off the ground. I took in a tripod, set the camera up and waited. I started recording when I saw and heard Dad arrive, he is calling from about 7m away to the right. The nestlings start calling immediately. The video is just over two minutes, and covers the entire feeding visit.
I started packing up the camera gear, then realised the light was a bit flat, and wondered if it would be better later when the sun hit the east-facing nest entrance. So I waited an hour and a half for the next feeding visit and also filmed that one. Right at the perfect moment a plane flew overhead and spoiled the sound.... After the feeding visit Dad spends the next few minutes in the tree to the right attempting to call off his babies. He thinks they're ready to fly. A few times one of them comes mostly out of the nest, and seems ready to fly, but then chickens out. I was willing the bird to come out and take its first flight but it was not to be. Perhaps the nest fledged an hour later, I'll never know. Next time I visited (a couple of weeks later) the male was in the canopy nearby in flight-training mode with his fledglings. Another successful nest.
Today the fifth batch of kākāriki karaka were released from the temporary-release aviaries, bringing the total number of released birds to 104 (20 birds per translocation, with one of 24). That brings to an end (for this season) the transfer of birds bred in captivity to the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. For the most part, kākāriki karaka born this season in captivity at Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, Orana Wildlife Park, and Auckland Zoo have been translocated to the Brook. Now we'll monitor them, hope they remain inside the fence, and fill the place up with more of themselves.
It is worth noting the absolute success of the translocation methodology. All 104 birds, once boxed, transferred to the airport, flown to Nelson, helicoptered to Third House, driven to Kākāriki Hatch, carried down the spur to the aviaries, then released from the aviaries two days later, flew out the aviary doors to freedom.
The first nest discovered in the sanctuary (nest was confirmed 21st December 2021) was not far from the temporary-release aviaries. It received regular nest watches. Male was GP-S (green pink silver) and female S-RP (silver red pink). A few weeks after nest confirmation (during what should have been the incubation period) it appeared the nest had become inactive. No activity recorded on 12th January 2022. Another watch the following day confirmed the nest had failed (for unknown reasons).
Shortly after this (18th January) GP-S was seen with a new mate (S-BW) at a new nest site (the third nest found in the sanctuary), so it was presumed that something had likely happened to his first mate S-RP (taken by a falcon, or perhaps she became unwell) thereby ending the nest and her partnership with GP-S.
But, I was at the aviary watching the feeders today (27th April), and guess who turned up? You got it, S-RP!
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She was looking a bit bedraggled, and wherever she'd been she seemed to have had a hard time. It was good to see her back though, and to know that whatever went wrong with her nest it was not terminal for her. We officially named her Phoenix.
There's a footnote to this story. GP-S's nest with S-BW fledged in early April. We don't know what subsequently happened to S-BW (perhaps she'll turn up again one day), but GP-S was subsequently seen regularly with his old flame S-RP (Phoenix) from about June. It was clear they were back together again. Clearly whatever went wrong there were no grudges held, he was probably happy to see her again like we (the humans) were.
Over the next few weeks more of our nests fledged. Adults were seen with groups of 2-4 fledglings in 'flight training' mode. They'd fly from tree to tree, call the fledglings over if they were lagging behind, and show them how to find their own food. During this time they're given supplementary food by parents, but it doesn't take them too long to become food-independent, perhaps a few weeks or less.
Commonly the fledglings or juveniles (when they're no longer being fed by adults they're referred to as 'juveniles') would fossick around on the ground under the auto-feeders snacking on bits of sunflower seed. It made for some nice photographic opportunities.
Fledglings/juveniles snacking on sunflower seed scraps
Fledgling/juvenile (front) with adults
Fledgling (note the developing orange frontal band)
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Fledgling snacking on rimu fruit less than two weeks after fledging
It was a happy time to be a kākāriki karaka monitor. These birds were once again living, feeding and breeding in original beech forest, free of cages, and most important of all, free from being killed by stoats, weasels, ferrets, rats, possums and cats. Within four months of the first translocation we had quite a few birds who had never known a cage, and the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary was the only home they'd ever known or would ever know.
While watching one of our kākāriki karaka nests, I'd been on the lookout (or 'listen-out' I guess) for their second nest (if they had one). I'd heard chatter from down below on a few occasions (in rather unforgiving terrain and bush). So on this day I approached the rough location from below and walked around listening out for chatter. Silently a rather unusual bird glided down from directly above me and landed on a branch a few metres away. I was unsure what it was. It was clearly green, but did not look like any bird I'd seen before. I scratched my head and rapidly went through ideas such as mutated bellbird etc (none of which made any sense!).
For the previous few months we'd been watching kākāriki karaka nests, and closely observed the adult behaviour. But none of us had even seen an egg, let alone a hatchling, let alone a nestling being fed at a nest entrance, let alone a fledgling! It took me a lot longer to work out what I was seeing than it should have. This bird had no leg bands, pink legs, no orange frontal band, so did not look like our 'normal' kākāriki karaka. When the penny finally dropped, I was kicking myself, as my camera was in its holster by my side, zipped up, lens cap on, lens hood reversed. I stayed as still and quiet as I could while frantically getting my camera ready to fire. I was silently begging this precious creature to stay exactly where she was.... please, please, please...... She did. She was in no hurry to move. She was a wide-eyed youngster taking in her new environment. She'd look one way, soak up the information, look another and soak that up too. She didn't pay me any attention other than as part of the scenery to digest.
It later occurred to me that the tree she alighted under happened to be the same tree I'd heard parakeet chatter from a month or so earlier, high in the canopy about 20m up. At the time I thought a pair were stopping there while travelling / feeding etc. But looking back on it with greater knowledge and the benefit of hindsight, what I heard was likely nest chatter. My guess is it was a nest we'd missed, with unidentified occupants. This fledgling likely came from that nest. It's possible she'd been out of her nest for a day, but unlikely to be longer. It's also possible she'd only been out a few minutes, I may have witnessed her first flight. Anyway, she stayed where she was for a few minutes more, long enough to fire off a few photos, and I breathed a massive sigh of exulted relief. Three and a half months after the first translocation we had babies!
The first kākāriki karaka fledgling spotted in the Brook
Anyway, the excitement was shared when I got back to the sanctuary base. Needless to say, it was a story, and this wee girl ended up in the Nelson Mail a week or two later.
A kākāriki karaka nest goes roughly:-
Nests can contain anywhere from one to ten eggs.
During the incubation and hatchling period, the male does not enter the nest. He will provide most of the food that the female and hatchlings need by feeding the female outside the nest. She will then pass the food onto her hatchlings.
About two weeks after hatching, the male may begin to enter the nest and feed the nestlings directly. The female will begin to leave the nest for longer periods and the pair may then start their next nest. For the last couple of weeks the male may be solely responsible for feeding the nestlings, this will initially be done inside the nest, but as the nestlings get ready to leave they will commonly be fed at the nest entrance.
Once the nest has fledged, the male (and perhaps the female if she isn't moving onto her next nest) takes care of the fledglings for a few weeks teaching them how to fly and find food. Within about six weeks they're pretty much independent.
If food is plentiful, nests will commonly overlap. So while the male is feeding the nestlings at Nest 1, the female will be preparing and laying at Nest 2. This is a busy time particularly for the male, as he will be gathering food, feeding his fledglings at Nest 1, then onto Nest 2 to feed his mate (or the other way around). Then when Nest 1 fledges, he'll be looking after his fledglings and also responsible for feeding his mate in Nest 2 while she incubates.
The below graphic shows roughly the chronology of two nests (although in a season this could become Nest 3, then Nest 4....)
