Kakariki 'wiped out' in the North

GONE: The kakariki, no longer found in the North. PICTURE/SUPPLIED

International bird scientist Dr Luis Ortiz-Catedral, an expert in parakeets and island restoration, has blamed a lack of pest control across Northland as playing a key role in the disappearance of the kakariki, the native red-crowned parakeet, which is now extinct north of Kawakawa.

"As recently as 25 years ago there were anecdotal records of kakariki scattered across Northland from Cape Reinga down to forest patches near Paparoa," he said.

"This means in one human generation they have gone: your grandparents might have seen these birds, but your parents did not. This is a rapid collapse."

The most recent record of kakariki in Northland was along the Maungataniwha Range by the famous native bird photographer and author Geoff Moon, but there was a high likelihood that those last birds had now gone.

Kakariki nest in holes from ground level right up to the forest canopy in old trees like puriri, taraire and kahikatea, exactly the same places that rats and possums like to make their dens. Both rats and possums, along with feral cats and stoats, had no problems killing nesting kakariki adults or chicks, or smashing and eating eggs, Dr Ortiz-Catedral said.

"Many people confuse kakariki with the rosellas from Australia that are now common in the North, but rosellas are multi-coloured with mostly red heads, while kakariki are almost totally bright green," he added.

Northland Conservation Advocate for Forest & Bird, Dean Baigent-Mercer, said as Northland's native forests had been left to collapse, so had the native bird life.

"Without pest control targeting all the pests, many native trees have died and are dying and native birds have been wiped out," he said.

"This is happening all over the country, which is why we need a government commitment for five million hectares to come under total and sustained pest control nationally, and funding a 10-year recovery plan for Northland's forests.

"We are hoping there are still some wild kakariki in Northland, and would like to know of sightings," he said. Forest & Bird was inviting people to send photos or sound recordings of kakariki and their locations in Northland native forests to farnorth.branch@forestandbird.org.nz

Flocks of kakariki used to be so common that early European settlers used their feathers to stuff mattresses, Mr Baigent-Mercer said.

"Now you need to go to the pest-free Poor Knights, Three Kings or Hen and Chicken Islands to see kakariki. They are flying from these islands to Whangarei Heads but can't survive on the mainland unless there is on-going multi-species pest control that targets all the introduced animals that will kill them."

Established populations on Tawharanui Peninsula and at Zealandia, in the middle of Wellington City, bore testimony of the bird's resilience on the mainland once predators were kept at bay.

Dr Ortiz-Catedral said there was still enough habitat in Northland to satisfy the kakariki's needs, but if they and other native birds were to be restored to significant numbers, "and become part of our lives again," introduced pests needed to be reduced and kept at low levels.