The Kea Conservation Trust’s lead removal project has been continuing in the Arthur’s Pass and Matukituki/Mt. Aspiring regions. Here’s a short update copied from an email by the Trust’s project manager, Peter Fraser, about the work completed in the Arthur’s Pass area. Rob plans to finish another 4 properties this season before the weather closes … Continue reading Update: KCT lead removal project
Since our project launched to the public in mid–2017, we have had thousands of observations from across Te Waipounamu/the South Island. From tourists crossing the Great Divide, to trampers traversing the furthest reaches of our wilderness; hunters in the backcountry to community conservationists, we are lucky to have had such great engagement in our project. … Continue reading 10000+ kea observations!
You may notice that from today the Kea Database loads much faster than before, and that’s because Kea Database data is now hosted in New Zealand! Courtesy of the open source experts at Catalyst, it’s now living on the powerful GIS Core platform, using the Catalyst Cloud. Founded in Wellington and now spanning the globe, … Continue reading Kea data moves to New Zealand!
It’s that time of year again—Forest & Bird’s annual bird of the year competition is now open for votes (closes 5pm Sunday 10 November)! This year you’re able to vote for your five preferred birds. Our first preference is always going to be the kea, but we’re also keen to support our bird friends such … Continue reading It’s Bird of the Year time again!
Myself and Laura Young were fortunate to be featured in a recent episode of RNZ’s fantastic “Our Changing World” podcast, superbly produced by Alison Ballance. Have a listen to the podcast episode (below), or alternatively read the full article on RNZ. Continue reading Kea featured on ‘Our Changing World’
As of this week, the Kea Database (https://keadatabase.nz) is now the one place for all kea sightings. The database was first launched in 2017 by the Kea Sightings Project team in 2016 (Laura Young, Mark Brabyn and George Moon), and since then has received over 3200 sightings of kea from across the South Island. The … Continue reading One place for kea sightings
If you’ve been browsing the Kea Database lately, you might have seen a few changes! We launched the latest version of the database a few weeks back, including the following new features: Inclusion of the LINZ New Zealand topographic maps (when you zoom in) Band visualisations (visual representation of what the bands look like) Advanced … Continue reading New Features on the Kea Database
Earlier this year the Kea Sightings Project was lucky to be nominated for a New Zealand Open Source Award (NZOSA) in the science category! The Kea Database is built using open source technology, which is where the code underlying the system is free for anyone to use, build on and share. For example, if someone … Continue reading Win for kea at the NZ Open Source Awards
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
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
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