Mischevious kea Ken rules roost in Nelson backyards

Friday, 19 June 2020

A kea named Ken has been visiting Glenduan, near Nelson, and getting into mischief at a number of different properties.

A young kea nicknamed Ken is making himself at home in a coastal Nelson settlement.

But the mischievous alpine parrot's antics in Glenduan, north of Nelson city, have also prompted reminders from the Kea Conservation Trust and the Department of Conservation not to feed or play with it to give it the best chance of surviving in the wild.

Zoe Coombs-king who lives at Ratabank Farm and runs an equestrian school, said she was giving a riding lesson when the kea first appeared.

'One of girls was like, 'what is that bird?' I went and had a look and I was like, oh my gosh it's a kea.'

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She had lived at The Glen for most of her life and said it was 'quite a surprise' to see a kea there for the first time.

It soon became clear the parrot, which the girls named Ken, was mischievous and liked an audience.

'I was giving a riding lesson last week and he was here strutting in front of the ponies, sort of like he was taking the lesson.'

Coombs-king said when she got close to take a photo, he jumped on her arm and tried to eat her ponytail.

Young kea frequently travel between sea level and the mountain tops when they are looking to establish a territory.

While her mum was out gardening, he had pulled all of her tools out of the bucket and at one point, he was chasing the geese around the farm.

The bird had also visited the backyard of Samantha King's parents house nearby.

King, who is an ecologist, lives in Auckland but saw the kea when she was home for a holiday recently.

Last week, he was balanced on the line throwing pegs out of the basket while King's mum was trying to hang the washing out.

King said it was 'really cool' to have an endangered bird visit an area it wasn't often seen.

'But it is concerning because you don't want it to stay where it is dangerous with so many hazards around.'

Kea enjoy interacting with people, but feeding them or playing with them encouraged the birds to stick around. Ignoring them gave them the best chance of surviving in the wild.

King and Coombs-king, who are cousins, called the Department of Conservation and Kea Conservation Trust for advice.

DOC science advisor Josh Kemp said the less interaction kea had with humans, the quicker the birds would move on.

'Any time they spend around urban areas reduces their life expectancy as there are many risks: food that isn’t good for them, traps, powerlines, vehicles, lead, cats, dogs and other predators.'

Kemp said to discourage kea it was important to reduce food sources, anything made of lead and soft items like bike tyres.

'By avoiding feeding or any food sources it is hoped they will move on to find a new territory away from urban areas.'

Kemp said the kea appeared to be a juvenile male. Kea were strong fliers and the bird at The Glen could have travelled from Kahurangi National Park or the nearby Richmond Ranges.

While they are the world's only alpine parrot, kea frequently travel between sea level and the mountains when they are young and looking to establish a territory.

They have a conservation status of nationally endangered and their numbers today are estimated to be less than 5000.

The most established kea populations in the region were in the Kahurangi National Park, but there had been sightings of kea in the Marsden Valley, Kaiteriteri, around the Hope Saddle and Puponga in Golden Bay.

Kea Conservation Trust community engagement co-ordinator Andrea Goodman said there had also recently been sightings of kea around the roadworks on the Takaka Hill.

The parrots had been spotted while vehicles were stopped at the lights, with reports motorists were feeding them.

Goodman and DOC Motueka ranger Ivan Rogers had worked with NZTA to get signs installed asking people not to feed the birds.

'What we find in Arthur's Pass is where kea are fed near the road, some of them get run over and that is one of our biggest fears because they are so bolshie.'

She said it was important people remembered the wild birds were 'incredibly curious' and loved people so feeding and interacting with them encouraged them to stick around.

'Be mindful of the repercussions of your interactions with them,' Goodman said. 'We want them to learn to be wild birds.'