Kārearea pre-fledglings

The kārearea (NZ falcon) chicks are not far off flying. Today I passed their nest on Kākāriki Spur and was greeted by a very chatty youngster. I'm not sure if it was Pebbles or Bam-Bam but was the larger of the two so will assume it was Pebbles. She was standing on the log above her nest screeching at me. I took some photos and video. If I stopped moving she stopped paying me attention and was directing her screech in different directions. I guessed she was calling out for her parents. After a few minutes she jumped off and ran east a couple of metres; one of the parents flew in and suddenly there also was Bam-Bam, he'd been hidden from sight. I didn't see what happened as it was mostly out of sight and pretty fast, but guessed it was a food delivery. After a few seconds the adult departed back the way they'd come (too fast and I didn't see who it was).

Sometime later both chicks were back in their nest. One was pretty quiet, but the other was calling regularly.

I passed by later (after lunch and a kākāriki karaka nest watch) and one had their head in an open cavity at the base of a log, I guessed possibly was eating? The other continued calling regularly from the nest entrance.

In the meantime there had been a couple of other visits by a parent (too quick to tell if it was Fred or Wilma). At one stage I saw both parents perched about 50m apart mid-canopy, presumably on the lookout for food. Fred dropped toward a neighbouring beech, he was apparently after a bird but on this occasion he did not succeed. Here is Fred (below), ever watchful. Note the intense yellow at the base of the beak, around the eyes, and legs (which become vibrant for males during the breeding season).

It would not surprise me if next time I pass by this nest (next week, likely) most of the downy fluff will have gone and the youngsters will be flying, perhaps some distance from the nest. Who knows whether I'll see them again?

It is worth commenting here that getting this close to a kārearea nest is somewhat unusual. A few months ago (when the nest scrape was identified) we roped it off and hoped for the best. The potential nest hole was right next to the spur track, far too close for the comfort of either bird or human. The rope keeps people 20m away at the lower end (where it is possible to look up the track and see into the nest), about 10m away as we walk past, and about 10m away from the top end (where people have a view of the back of the nest log). Kārearea have been known to defend nests up to 500m away from perceived intruders/attackers. Elsewhere walking or biking tracks are commonly closed if the track is perceived to be inside the birds' defended territory.

Yet this nest in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary has gone from preparation to completion over the last few months without any apparent distress to the birds or humans passing close by. No humans were attacked, and the birds appeared to be comfortable with our regular presence. Why was this?

I could speculate. Humans were passing by this nest regularly (a few times per week at a guess) in groups of one to several. We were walking quietly and respectfully in a predictable fashion along the same route - this may be the most important point - outside our roped barrier. The birds trusted us to continue behaving in this predictable manner and chose to leave us alone (as we were leaving them alone). Birds of prey are intelligent creatures (obviously) and this pair perceived - correctly - that we humans were not a threat. As long as we gave them no reason to question the trust that they'd put in us then the mutual respect/trust remained.

It is also conceivable that this pair were already quite used to humans inside their territory prior to beginning this nest. We have known about a kārearea pair resident in this general location for some years, and although it's not certain it's always been the same bird(s) it seems quite likely. It's also conceivable they may recognise individual humans (as trained raptors used in falconry have been known to do). This pair may know us humans better than we think they do, and may not be as wild as we think they are.

Now that you've got this far, here is the link to a video of the chicks chatting to whoever is listening.

I've enjoyed watching Fred and Wilma raise Pebbles and Bam-Bam in the safe environment we've provided for them. Yabba-dabba-do!