Mayor Island is now home to 17 critically endangered native parakeets.

The parakeets were transported from the South Island to the island in the Bay of Plenty to keep them safe from a predicted plague of predators in the beach forests where these rare native birds live.

An orange-fronted parakeet.

The orange-fronted parakeets were once common throughout New Zealand but have been brought to the brink of extinction by introduced predators – particularly stoats and rats.

There are only 200 of the parakeets estimated to be left in the country.

'We're worried beach trees are producing a huge number of seeds, known as a beech mast. This provides vast amounts of food for rats and their numbers could explode which would spark a surge in stoat numbers," says Department of Conservation ranger John Heaphy.

'A plague of these predators would be bad news for orange-fronted parakeets. This is why we're moving these critically endangered native birds from the South Island to predator-free Mayor Island.”

DOC worked with the Tahua Trust Board to remove rats and other predators from Mayor Island (Tahua).

The island was declared predator free in 2002.

'We're working with Te Whanau A Tauwhao ki Tahua and other partners to build a self-sustaining population of orange-fronted parakeets on this safe haven,” says John.

DOC is also working with the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust who are successfully breeding orange-fronted parakeets at their Peacock Springs conservation park in Christchurch.

'The 17 orange-fronted parakeets released on Tahua were all bred at Peacock Springs.

'This breeding programme is an essential part of the work to secure the survival of this budgerigar-sized native parakeet.”

A captive population of birds at Peacock Springs produces eggs for a re-location programme.

Orange-fronted parakeets hatched and reared at the park have been released on three other predator free islands - Chalky Island in Fiordland and Blumine and Maud islands in the Marlborough Sounds - as well as Tahua30 km off Tauranga.