The golden sand and turquoise water of Tata Beach is hardly the place you expect to find a mountain parrot, but this summer there have been up to six kea taunting other birds and bach owners.
Tata Beach resident, Teri Sawers, says three kea have been visiting Tata Beach for the past few years and this year half a dozen have been making themselves at home and doing ‘flybys’.
“They’ve definitely adopted us at Tata. They’re just flying around doing flybys.
“The swallows are nesting and a kea landed on a chimney and promptly got divebombed by the swallows.
“The tuis and seagulls will have a go at them too. There’s a little bit of a turf war going on.”
As fascinating as it is to have the olive-green parrots with their scarlet underwings and distinctive calls in the neighbourhood, Teri says residents have a few concerns about property.
“They’re starting to chew on our houses!” she says. “There’s a handful of us who are residents who are doing what we can do. They’re having a go at downpipes and if they land on our decks, we’re thrilled, but worried about what comes next.
“If they stay and start breeding, we may end up with a flock.”
Teri says that the parrots have disappeared after summer in the past, returning to their base in the foothills of Tākaka Hill, then appearing at Tata Beach again in spring. They have now spent a few months hanging out at the beach, where they particularly like the orange-flowering gum tree.
“They’re enjoying summer.”
Department of Conservation Tākaka operations manager, Ross Trotter, says small groups of juvenile kea have been seen in coastal areas from Pōhara through to Tata Beach for the past few summers.
Younger birds are typically more visible as they are especially inquisitive.
“This means they can stick their beaks into things you’d rather they didn’t.”
This year the group is a mix of fledglings and slightly older birds that he says will likely move on when the weather turns cooler, possibly to the top of the Pōhara Valley where they are thought to be breeding locally.
While kea are an alpine parrot, Ross says they naturally range all the way from the mountains to the sea.
“It’s a privilege that we’re starting to see these charismatic parrots appearing in coastal Golden Bay, but as their numbers increase and we start to see them in backyards more often, we will need to learn to live alongside them.”
He says people can make their property less attractive to kea, including making sure there is no food, including pet food, left outside, and making compost, rubbish and recycling bins kea-proof.
They also love the taste of lead, though it is poisonous to them. If homeowners have lead fixtures, they can contact the Kea Conservation Trust or DOC to help find a solution.
Even items like shoes, clothes, toys and power tools are tempting to kea, especially around dawn and dusk when they are most active and he says they also like to chew on rubber, so it is best to protect rubber wiring and anything else with rubber.
Have you seen the kea at Tata Beach? Email photos to sara@topsouthmedia.co.nz
