The ski season has been upon us for a couple of months now and a range of skifield staff and skiers have been sending in their updates on kea numbers and activity this winter. Things are looking pretty dire at Mt Hutt, with no kea being sighted at all (apart from one kea in the … Continue reading 2018 winter skifield kea update: Craigieburn Range, Mt Hutt and Temple Basin
Our givealittle page expires in a matter of days and we thought it timely to acknowledge all the wonderful generous folks who kindly donated money (through the givealittle page and otherwise) over the past year and a half to get this project off the ground. We could not have done it without all of you … Continue reading A massive thanks to all those who donated to this project
Last weekend we tried a new method to prevent kea from chewing on the lead flashings of an Arthur’s Pass bach. The previous weekend while on a banding trip we watched a fledgling kea (White P on Pink) nibble on the lead. In 2017, five Arthur’s Pass kea were treated for lead poisoning, two of … Continue reading Covering lead flashings on Arthur’s Pass bach
Recently Laura headed up in to the Arthur’s Pass area on a sponsored flight to check on some of the kea that carry transmitters. These transmitters enable researchers to determine kea status (e.g. alive/dead/nesting etc), as well as what they’ve been up to, and some sense of where they are. It’s an important tool in … Continue reading Radio tagged kea update
It’s that time of year for us – some of our team are involved in helping out on various kea surveys in the mountains of the South Island throughout most of January with DOC and the Kea Conservation Trust. It’s the time of year when kea are fledging from the nest cavity and flying around … Continue reading Kea teams head into the mountains for January surveys
Recently, George (Kea Team) and Emma McCool (DOC Nelson Lakes) headed out to check up on mum kea Scuffle’s nest in the Wairau Valley on the edge of the Nelson Lakes National Park. Fortunately, both mum and the two chicks were sighted, the chicks looking ready to fledge the nest with all of their adult … Continue reading Kea chicks in Nelson Lakes
You may see some wonderful interaction and behavioral displays between individual kea – whether it be chicks begging for food, preening, play fighting or aggressive displays – it’s all fascinating to watch. At this time of year, adult females who are breeding will be sitting on the nest inside a cavity in the forest, keeping … Continue reading Recording interactions between kea
