Kākāriki karaka - another nest

A perimeter-monitoring volunteer at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary found a kākāriki karaka nest on Friday; she saw an adult feeding nestlings at the nest entrance. So I passed by yesterday to record the nest and add it to the database. An hour after I arrived the male arrived, fed his babies for a few minutes, so I took a few photos and recorded a video. [A few seconds after I started recording the light went from deep shade / cloud to bright sunlight, so my settings were all wrong and the video was washed out.]

So I decided to wait for the next feeding visit and leave video settings on 'auto' (white balance, ISO etc) and increase the chances of getting something worthwhile. I wasn't aware that the male was one of those infrequent nest visitors (who visit their babies less often, with probably more food in their tummies). It was two hours before his next visit. However, while I was waiting the nestlings made a few appearances at the nest entrance to keep me busy photographing and filming. The nest watch was 3 1/4 hours all up. I got back to the sanctuary office at 5.30pm (after an 8am start).

Above is Dad feeding his nestlings, and a nestling having a nibble on a stick between feeding visits. There were at least four nestlings in the nest. They are at the pre-fledgling stage, so are probably ready to leave the nest at any time; very likely within the next few days.

Here's a five-minute composite video of my few hours at the site. It includes the nestlings on their own waiting for their dad to bring them lunch, and then the whole feeding visit (about three minutes' worth). I edited out about twelve seconds where the camera completely lost focus (probably trying to focus on the darkness at the back of the nest). Turn your volume up to hear the babies' cute begging calls. Also make sure you select 1080p (under "settings" / "quality") on the video or it may default to 720p.

This is not one of my better nestling videos, but not too bad for first attempt at this nest. I was unfamiliar with where the nestlings were likely to be and where the adult was likely to stand, so I found I had to pan a few times. Lighting was difficult as previously mentioned. Focus was also a problem as there were effectively five birds one behind the other, well outside the 30mm depth of field. Anyway it's more cuteness for those who can't get enough of nestling videos. 😊