Kakariki, the red-crowned parakeet, could be back in the Bay of Islands this winter. Photo / Bernard Spragg
A brightly coloured native parakeet could be back in the Bay of Islands this winter after an absence of more than 30 years.
The once common kakariki, or red-crowned parakeet, was driven to extinction in mainland Northland by rats, stoats, weasels, feral cats and possums by the mid-1980s.
They are
still seen occasionally as they fly over from pest-free islands such as the Poor Knights and the Hen and Chickens, but none have been recorded nesting on the mainland in more than 30 years.
This winter, however, Project Island Song - a community-driven project to restore native wildlife in the Ipipiri islands of the eastern Bay of Islands - hopes to bring the colourful bird back.
Project co-ordinator Richard Robbins said bringing back the kakariki was the most exciting and ambitious native species reintroduction since the restoration programme began in 2009.
It was also riskier because there was no guarantee the birds would stay put on the islands where they were safe from pests - but that had advantages too because it meant people living on the mainland Bay of Islands were likely to see the bright-green and red birds flying around. Other birds reintroduced to the islands, such as the toutouwai (North Island robin) and the tieke (saddleback) won't fly over a large expanse of water.
