Naughty kea settle into a farm south of Nelson

Tuesday, 17 September 2019

Kea are smarter than we think.

A mischievous circus of teenage kea have been welcomed into Plum Tree Farm despite the cheeky birds raising a ruckus.

Plum Tree Farm owners Lisa and Mal Grennell haven't had a good night's sleep since four adolescent kea took up residence in Glenhope, flying their monkey business into the rural settlement north of Murchison.

But who needs sleep? Especially when the endangered national treasure decides to hang around.

Lisa said they were stunning birds.

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Lisa Grennell has not had a good night's sleep since kea started hanging out at her farm south of Nelson. (file photo)

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'They're gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I'm so thrilled.'

The birds had taken to making 'night time raids on our satellite dish right outside our bedroom window'.

One night she watched them by moonlight teasing the chickens.

'They were under the clothesline and all our chickens were perched along the fence.'

'I couldn't believe it, but the noise was just phenomenal.'

The birds have focused some of their mischief on the Grennell's chimney.

It's the first sighting of kea in the farm since the pair took it over more than four years ago, so Lisa said she wasn't going to discourage them - the only worry was what they might destroy.

New solar panels on the farm had been a popular place for the birds to perch, but Lisa hadn't seen the kea pecking them.

They had, however 'remodelled the chimney'.

Lisa spotted the group feeding on huhu grubs in the back of their property but they were normally out of sight.

Lisa Grennell's Plum Tree Farm isn't used to having cheeky visitors, but the kea are welcome any time.

'They get up to all sorts of mischief, only at night, we don't see them much during the day.'

She was planning to create a distraction for the visitors to occupy their time without damaging their surrounds.

It's estimated there is only 5,000 kea left, all based in New Zealand's South Island.

Kea Conservation Trust community engagement coordinator Andrea Goodman said the young kea, distinguished by the yellow around their eyes and beak, were at the phase of developing their skills. This was when they would 'get into a bit of mischief'.

Goodman said 'just because you have a kea visit, it doesn't mean they're going to cause trouble … apart from the noise'.

'It's a delight to hear someone's embracing having kea around.'

A number of kea were recently banded in the Spooners Range area and Motueka Valley and while the farm's kea don't appear to be banded, Goodman said. The public are encouraged to log any sightings of banded kea at www.keadatabase.nz