Pidge the kererū after he returned to Rainbow Springs Nature Park in September. Photo / Supplied
Pidge the kererū after he returned to Rainbow Springs Nature Park in September. Photo / Supplied
A lockdown love story is brewing between a couple of feathered friends behind closed doors at the Rainbow Springs Nature Park complex in Rotorua.
Pidge, believed to be one of New Zealand's oldest kererū, has been getting ready for the next phase in his retirement - finding a companion for his sunset years.
Pidge made headlines six weeks ago when he returned to his birthplace at the park 24 years after he was released into the wild, still wearing his tattered ankle band.
Records identified him and indicated he was 29 years old, making him likely the most senior of his native species - also known as the New Zealand pigeon - usually known to live around 20-25 years.
He was in bad shape when he arrived back at the park and has since been in the care of wildlife experts at Rainbow Springs, home of the National Kiwi Hatchery.
Pidge the kēreru after he returned to Rainbow Springs Nature Park in September. Photo / Supplied
Assistant wildlife manager Thomas Knight said Pidge started out in an isolation facility where the team worked to bulk him up and get him back to being able to fly.
He has so far put on about 100g on a diet of mainly rice, fruit and vegetables, weighing in at a little over 500g.
When the isolation space became too small for him, he was moved into the airlock of one of the public aviaries, where he could fly a bit and interact with other birds through the fence without the risk of being bullied or injured.
Knight said the spot was also chosen to introduce Pidge to one of the two other wood pigeons in the park - the friendlier of the two.
"The other pigeon definitely has some anger issues - that's not what an old pigeon needs to deal with right now."
Pidge quickly hit it off with his betrothed, who is believed to be female but this is not a confirmed fact. The bird is estimated to be about 23 to 24 years old.
Rainbow Springs staff believe this photograph, taken in 2005, is Pidge. Photo / Supplied
"The two of them started to spend quite a lot of time close to each other, down on the ground which is not usual for pigeons," Knight said.
The team built them neighbouring perches.
Pidge was briefly moved to another aviary at the far end of the park so the team could check he did not have a partner in the wild missing him - kererū do not mate for life but a pair may mate for a couple of seasons, and "do quite like to have partners", Knight said.
Pidge, however, did not seem happy in the new aviary and stopped eating.
"I think he was missing his friend."
With no sign of any lovesick mates on the outside, Pidge was moved back to the airlock where he continued getting to know the bird next door.
Pidge currently resides in an airlock next to a public aviary. Photo / Supplied
"We watch them very closely and there is a lot of interest between them. I suspect it may be a budding romance," Knight said.
"It's cute, the two of them have been cooing back and forth to each other."
Pidge will be kept in the airlock for another few weeks so the team can continue building his body weight back up and monitoring him, before moving him into the aviary.
Knight said he did not want to "jinx anything" but it seemed promising the two would partner up.
The National Kiwi Hatchery is the only part of the park open to the public at present, having reopened on Labour weekend with tours operating Thursday to Sunday.
The wider park, owned by Ngāi Tahu Tourism, has been closed since April as a result of the impact of Covid-19 and closed borders on the tourism industry.
