Precious few
Blogger: Kakapo feeder and Forest & Bird’s Fundraiser, Jolene Molloy
As the chopper sliced through the chilled air and we bore down on one of the islands that sat nested amongst the still waters and majestic mountains of Fiordland, I couldn’t help thinking our imperilled giant, green parrot occupies a rather idyllic fortress.
Cleared of all pests and filled with a small army of feeders and baiters, Anchor island one of a trio of islands at the foot of the South island where kakapo eke out their existence.
For the next two weeks, I would be positioned here with two volunteers and three rangers to support, feed and monitor the 40 resident kakapo.
Although kakapo have been on the island since 2006, none of them have got in the family way, so we were waiting with baited breath to see whether the male’s vigorous courtship attempts would result in romance and sprogs.
At present the kakapo population stands at just 120 birds. The team are looking to make this a bumper season by employing volunteers and rangers to mollycoddle & monitor, and scientists to work their magic with artificial insemination (AI).
Last breeding season (2009), two AI chicks were born, but kakapo insemination is not just simply a matter of injecting sperm. For it to be successful, kakapo females have to mate first, so that all their bits are primed. Monitoring is crucial.
Like most parrots, our kakapo is long-lived – some will live up to 80 years – so they’re in no rush to breed. They’ll only breed when the conditions are just right.
This is largely dependent on the abundance of their favourite food – rimu fruit. If the rimu trees are fruiting wildly – they’ll breed. And at the moment, the Anchor island’s rimu trees are bearing 15% more fruit, so that means business time.
To aid the court-ship and baby making process kakapo need to be well-fed. So the three volunteers on the island were tasked with walking through dense bush to do supplementary feeding. This requires the individual birds to be feed a set amount of parrot pellets depending on their weight.
Fortunately, I only had to tramp for 4 hours laden with a 20 kg pack to complete my run of four feed stations.
As I tackled seemingly impenetrable bush, I would stop and wave my aerial transmitter skyward which would tell me, yes, there were kakapo sleeping their underground burrows.
My feed run only required me to go out every three days, so I spent the rest of the time birding.
I am no twitcher but all up I spotted a Fiordland penguin, shags, kakariki, saddlebacks, mohua (yellowheads), South Island Robins and the fattest kereru I have ever seen!
Trips around the island also offered up peeks of the Dusky sound – a place that once was home to a blacksmiths, a brewery and a sailor’s camp in the 1800s before it was swallowed up by forest.
In between feeds we’d also monitor the bait stations to ensure that no rats or stoats had made their way onto the island to terrorise this precious population.
And unlike the other islands, Anchor lies 500 metres away from other inshore Islands in Dusky Sound, so rats or stoats with a strong swimming style and a good nose are at risk of entering the island.
Because most of my work was done during the day, and these flightless parrots are nocturnal, my experience of them was largely aural. One night, I got listen to the boys as they boomed and chinged away in a bid to attract females.
To listen go here – kakapo_booming 9 seconds. And here
Luckily, I got to experience surround -sound version because there were five males booming from the tops of hills. The closest one – Tiwai – was less then 100 metres from us.
During the trip, I did get to clap eyes on a kakapo though. It was a female kakapo named Roha who was known for evening rambles.
It was lucky she stumbled our way, because one of her legs was covered in burrs which needed to be removed by the DOC staff.
And although she’d never been airborne she came kitted out with a strong set of vestigial wings that she used to show her might as we groomed her. She was incredible.
Volunteering with the Kakapo recovery programme is an experience I would highly recommend and I’d like to thank the Department of Conservation for giving me the opportunity. I would also thank the staffs who were on Anchor when I was there. Tim, Haley and Nigel you and your colleagues are doing a wonderful job. Keep up the fantastic work.
