Island haven hope for endangered birds

SPECIES AT RISK: A very rare orange-fronted parakeet.

Seventeen critically endangered native parakeets have been transported from the South Island to predator-free Mayor Island in the Bay of Plenty.

The orange-fronted parakeets (kakariki karaka) were once common throughout New Zealand but have been brought to the brink of extinction by introduced predators - particularly stoats and rats.

It's estimated there are only 200 of the parakeets left in three areas of alpine forest in the South Island. These last remaining natural populations are in the Hawdon and Poulter valleys in Arthur's Pass National Park and the south branch of the Hurunui Valley in Lake Sumner Forest Park in North Canterbury.

Department of Conservation ranger John Heaphy said the department was moving the birds due to an expected surge in predator numbers in the South Island this summer.

Mayor Island was declared predator-free in 2002 after an extensive predator eradication programme supported by the island's iwi Te Whanau a Tauwhao ki Tuhua and other partners.

The birds were bred at Christchurch's Peacock Springs.

"This breeding programme is an essential part of the work to secure the survival of this budgerigar-sized native parakeet," Mr Heaphy said.

The birds were flown from Christchurch to Rotorua by Air New Zealand as part of the airline's partnership with DOC.

Fauna Recovery New Zealand provided the helicopter that flew the birds from Rotorua Airport to Mayor Island and Te Whanau a Tauwhao ki Tuhua received the birds and are now their guardians on the island.