There has been much confusion among Tauranga residents as to the species of a brown bird spotted in the garden of a Mount Maunganui resident this week.

Mike Kuipers von Lande found the bird in his camellia hedge last Sunday morning claiming the bird was a kea.

Kaka are being sighted in the Tauranga area. Photo: Supplied.

'The bird then flew down into the Bayfair Reserve, where it took refuge in a tree while being dive bombed by a pair of magpies.”
However, renowned bird photographer Robin Bush has positively identified the bird in the photos taken by Mike as a kaka.

Department of Conservation spokesperson Katrina Knill also says kea are a South Island bird and would not normally be seen in the North Island.

She says the North Island kaka is a large parrot, similar in appearance to a brownish kea with a heavier beak.

'They sport reddish-orange plumage on the underside of their wings. They are approximately four times the size of a rosella.

'They are typically active throughout the day, gathering in flocks in the early morning and in the late evening.”

Katrina says kaka regularly frequent Tauranga at this time of year in search of food.

'They are known to feed on the ripened fruit, nuts and flowers in gardens and orchards in the Western Bay with persimmons, walnuts and macadamia nuts as particular favourites. 'However they usually return to their forest breeding sites around November.”

Visiting kaka generally come from Tuhua (Mayor Island), the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island or Little Barrier Islands.

Katrina says previous sightings of juvenile kaka in the area suggest they may be breeding in the Kaimai Ranges.

'However Bay residents are lucky to see a kaka outside the Whirinaki and Pureora Forest Parks, so the birds should be treated with care.

'Kaka numbers nationally are on the decline, however numbers are known to have increased in the Whirinaki Forest as a result of pest control efforts in recent years, which have kept predators such as possums, rats and stoats to low levels.”

The kaka is protected and it's an offence to harm them under the Wildlife Act of 1953. 'Members of the public should contact the local DOC office if native birds are causing serious disturbance or if native birds are harmed.”