Page 74 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #11
P. 74
This database allows
you to keep track of
a kea you haven’t
seen for months.
identify which kea they saw, and then to plans to develop the database further. “You
update the database with information about will be able to search for sightings logged PLANNING TO VISIT?
its behaviour and interactions with people. by a particular citizen scientist, or search for
“What’s unique about this database is that groups of kea,” Mark explains. The more kk Kea can be seen in national parks T ui De Roy/Minden/FLPA (x2)
you can keep track of a kea you haven’t seen sightings there are, the more use it will be to along the west coast of New Zealand’s
for months and know what it is up to,” says research organisations. As for the DOC, it has South Island, from Kahurangi to
Mark. “Sometimes kea will fly across several signed up to an ambitious, much-publicised Fiordland, or at Arthur’s Pass.
mountain ridges – it’s interesting to see just goal known as ‘Predator Free 2050’ – to kk Eagle-Eye Tours (eagle-eye.com)
how far they travel.” eradicate all possums, rats and stoats in both and Wrybill Tours (wrybill-tours.com)
mainland New Zealand and on its islands by ofer birdwatching trips around New
Auseful tool 2050. This can only help kea. Zealand. Tropical Birding (tropical
The database is a useful public engagement In a sign that times are changing, in 2017 birding.com) can create bespoke trips.
tool. “Lots of school and conservation groups the kea was voted ‘Bird of the Year’ in New kk UK wildlife-tour operators running
want to sponsor a kea,” Mark says. Zealand’s popular annual poll (it received New Zealand trips include Wildlife
“They watch ‘their’ bird grow more votes than there are members Worldwide (wildlifeworldwide.com),
from a fledgling into an adult. of the species in the wild). Has the Limosa Holidays (limosaholidays.
Since the database launched Kea Database team seen any co.uk), Naturetrek (naturetrek.co.uk).
about a year ago, we have ringed difference in public attitudes
around 50 kea and over 2,000 sightings towards these fun-loving,
have been logged in the database. This is meat-eating mountain parrots?
what I love about citizen “It’s still early days for the
science – getting all these project,” Mark says. “But KIRSTEN AMOR writes about travel
different people involved.” local people are telling us and the outdoors. She spent time
Next year, the team that instead of being with kea conservationists in 2017.
proud of feeding kea,
they’re saying ‘let’s report FIND OUT MORE Learn more at
Top: the birds can them’. We’ve even had keadatabase.nz and keaconservation.co.nz.
fly across several people tell us that they’ve O Watch clips of kea at: bbc.co.uk/
mountain ridges. spotted tourists feeding the programmes/p00m7qq1.
Right: a lot of human
food, eg chocolate, is birds and have gone over to O Listen to Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day on kea:
poisonous for kea. ask them to stop.” bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04t0t44
74 BBC Wildlife November 2018
