The population of New Zealand's native forest parrot is taking flight in a remote part of South Westland.
Kākā numbers in the Landsborough Valley, which runs along the Southern Alps, have doubled in a year.
DOC principal scientist Colin O’Donnell said it’s good news and evidence the approach to managing introduced predators is working well.
He said there were just 18 birds in 1998, and this year there were 116.
“The Landsborough is a showcase for how forests and wildlife respond when rats, stoats and possums are effectively managed long-term.
“Kākā were the standout in the most recent results with numbers doubling from the previous year – no doubt attracted by the mistletoe which was flowering in big splashes of red across the valley," said O’Donnell.
“Native birds are continuing to increase including species like pīpipi/brown creeper, tītitipounamu/ rifleman and kākāriki/yellow-crowned parakeet – 25 years on from when we first started counting them here.”
Counts for the most common bird - mohua/yellowhead - appear to be flattening out with similar numbers over the past three years (485 in 2022, 517 in 2021 and 485 in 2020).
O’Donnell said this may mean they have reached ‘carrying capacity’ in this part of the valley, and additional birds are dispersing down valley and into the Haast and nearby valleys.
The Landsborough is a stronghold for mohua and is likely to support more than 2000 birds.
Predator control began in 1994 in Landsborough and has since expanded to include extensive trapping and aerial applications of 1080 when rat numbers increase.
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