Kaitiakitanga

Kaitiakitanga Program and Network
Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi children
guard and share Whirinaki,
their culture, language and values

7.1.1c Kaka Recovery Programme (DOC) - Project Details:

The kaka - our native parrot

Its home in the Whirinaki Forest

Setting the net

careful handling of a precious bird

A little food makes a new friend

In safe friendly hands - contented

measuring that sticky beak

Fitting it's nametag

identified for research

fitting a radio tracking backpack

sealing the knots

later Claude prepares for a climb

Next stop - the nesting hole

Be careful Claude, its a long way down

Oberving by closed circuit TV

Aah yes that chick is safe

It's good to be back with you earthlings

There is mum going back to the nest

A lot of explaining is to be done

WHIRINAKI KAKA INORMATION.

SPECIES:   Kaka (nestor meridionalis septentrionalis.)

Weights.
(Averages ) Females 430 gins Males 480 gins.

Colour.
Greyish crown, olive/brown back, reddish brown underbelly, splashes of orange red under the wings yellow brown tinges beneath the eyes.

Habitat.
Beech forest, mixed podocarp I hardwood, exotic plantations.

Food / Feeding.
Kaka feed at all levels of the forest strata from high in the emergent to ground level on invertebrates, fruits, seeds, sap and nectar.

Home ranges.
20 hectares, winter & summer home ranges, 80 hectares with huge variables.

Sexing.
Beak measurements taken with callipers 47mm and less indicates female.
Anything above 47mm is a male. Cloachre swelling in females is noticed in the breeding season

Breeding season.
A good breeding season will start around October with pairing and will go through to June when the late chicks fledge.

Phenology & synchronism.
The cycles, periodicity, synchronicity of flowering and fruiting food source
trees.
Insufficient food source means  insufficient weight gains = no breeding.

Sex ratios.
About 4 :1 in favour of males.

Breeding.
Some pre-cops activity “head bobbing” initiated by the male.
Cops lasting up to 30 minutes. Some “beaking” activity.

Nest hunting.
The male kaka finds a possible nest site. The female accepts the nest or rejects it.

Nest sites.
Cavity nesters . Host trees include rimu, totara, matai, beech. A typical nest, vertically cylindrical shaped hollow with a solid base, plenty of dry rot matter to the upper walls. One or two entrances. (simplistic view.)

Eggs:
Average clutch 3. some lay more then this and some less. Egg laying usually occurs over a week. Colour is white 40mm x 30mm. (variable) Nests can fail through eggs being infertile.

Incubation.
Up to 25 days.

Brooding / post natal.
55—60 days spent in the nest growing up. The male kaka brings food into the vicinity of the nest then calls the female out to be fed. She in turn regurgitates some of the food and feeds the chicks. As they grow they are increasingly left on their own so that the female can also get out and about to forage for food. Down stage — pin feathers — feathered.

Fledglings.
Chicks are called and coerced out of the nest chamber when they are fully feathered. Their wing muscles are not fully developed. They are often heavier in weight then their parents. Suppression of food is often used by the female to get the last remaining chicks to take flight. If they don’t land in a handy tree nearby they nearly always end up on the ground. They can remain on the ground for several days. They try and remain motionless unless provoked by hunger when they begin wing flapping and “begging”. When they gain some semblance of flight and strength they make their way higher into the canopy. They eventually come under their parents tutelage for a few weeks before eventually dispersing.

Breeding age.
Females = 3years.Compared to captive bred birds (Mount Bruce) 1 year.

Predators.
Highly vulnerable to predation whilst nesting.
Rats (eggs) Musteids (all stages ) Possums (egg, chick, juveniles ) Falcons (
juveniles, sub-adults.)

RESOURCES:

FIND OUT ABOUT OUR OTHER SPECIES PROTECTION PROJECTS IN WHIRINAKI

See the DOC Press Release on the success of Kaka Recovery in Whirinaki - May 2008

See also the DOC Kaka Recovery and information site:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/001~Plants-and-Animals/001~Native-Animals/Kaka.asp

And also report on plans for Kaka recovery program
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Publications/004~Science-and-Research/DOC-Science-Internal-Series/PDF/dsis178.pdf

Outcomes expected:

Halting the decline of numbers of this species in Whirinaki (by learning habits, food sources controlling preditors etc)

Start Date:
Expected Completion:

Budget: This is a DOC project operating as part of a national programme

Nominal Project Leader: Claude August (Ngati Whare) is employed by DOC to handle Whirinaki Operations

Project Team:

Issues Register:

Progress Log

NOTICES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Our gift to you - download our Free Whirinaki Wall Calendar

What Andree a sustainability writer discovered about Kaitiakitanga
Check out our school's Energy Monitoring / Weatherstation project
WEMZ - The Whirinaki Ecological Restoration Zone - a project with DOC
Building our new visitor information kiosk on the main road
Take a photo tour through our valley see restoration work needed
Pending - our Whirinaki Centre, Nursary and Recycling Projects
Celebrate what our friends at Hokianga Harbourcare are doing
Our Network's Mycorestoration Research Project - Fungi and mushroom
Thanks MfE for a big toxin cleanup on our millsites - July 07
Thanks TPK for facilitating Govt support for Minginui initiatives
Our Community Digital Strategy pending - Whirinaki Interactive - Dec 06
Our Lopez friends help Raglan initiate an affordable housing program
Prince Andrew adopts our Kiwi, Princess Beatrice on Mokoia Is Mar 07
Our Project to upgrade our water supply in Minginui Mar 07
Our network on the Kiwi Youth Voice learning journey to US. Mar 07
Our network at Youth Voice Digital Earth Summit on Sustainbility Aug 06
We welcomed Hunter Lovins 7-9 July 06, VIDEO view NZ tour resources
Thanks Waikato University for help with broadband 05
Thanks Housing Corp, house painting and marae restoration teams
Go Tramping in Whirinaki. See Kaka, Kiwi, Weka, Robin, Blueduck
Report Living Organisation workshops. Tipu Ake presented worldwide 05
Report Hikoi to Indigenous Knowledges Conf , Well, NZ. June 05
Thanks to UNITEC Architecture Students for help with town plans 04
Report on Sustainable Resources Conf, Colorado 04
Report on PMI Global Forum, Los Angeles Tipu Ake paper 04
Report on Sharing Indigenous Wisdom Conf, Wisconsin, June 04
Int and local visitors attend Tipu Ake Retreat March 04 See report
MPs Horomia and Mallard open our new merged area school Jan 04
Trip to Whaingaroa Env Gp Raglan, Jan04 learnings, VIDEO view