Cables chewed but candid camera captures kākā charisma

Communication and advocacy lead Taylor Davies-Colley cleans the lens on a new camera set up to...
Communication and advocacy lead Taylor Davies-Colley cleans the lens on a new camera set up to monitor the kākā.
Kākā at Orokonui Ecosanctuary-Te Korowai o Mihiwaka will be strutting their stuff on the cameras 24/7 thanks to a new initiative.

And ecosanctuary staff are confident the kākā will not break the cameras.

The recently-installed "kākā cameras" at the sanctuary will give live access to one of the feeders for people to see what the birds get up to.

Orokonui educator Taylor Davies-Colley said the cameras would give people a good insight into the birds’ activities, but it also had audio so people could listen to the birdsong.

"When we lost our government education funding, we were really lucky that businesses such as Port Otago stepped up.

"They already have cameras pointing out to the coastal environment, so we thought it would also be a good way to provide the public with more access to Orokonui."

Setting up the cameras proved tougher than expected, and Mr Davies-Colley said it had taken about a year longer than it should have.

"That was down to the kākā giving it a jolly good testing.

"We can't lay all the blame on the beak of the kākā — there were some technical and logistical holdups, as well — but our curious kākā certainly made a healthy contribution to delaying the launch. They managed to find the only uncovered few millimetres of cabling in the entire system — 25m in total — and left it looking like Spaghetti Junction."

The feeding station is one of five within the 307ha fenced ecosanctuary and is designed so kākā and nectar-feeding birds can access it, but blackbirds and sparrows cannot.

The stations contain a special parrot pellet, replenished daily, and act as a social hub.

"It’s been really cool — not only can we capture the changes in the valley, but also it’s very nice to see what the weather is like.

A kākā shows off at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary-Te Korowai o Mihiwaka. PHOTOS: LINDA ROBERTSON
A kākā shows off at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary-Te Korowai o Mihiwaka. PHOTOS: LINDA ROBERTSON
"We've seen some funny antics so far, from young birds who haven't got the hang of the feeder yet, to interactions with each other"

Mr Davies-Colley said kākā were a "very charismatic bird".

"They're very interactive with people, they seem really interested in us rather than the other way around. The birdsong is also pretty constant."

Acting Port Otago chief executive Grant Bicknell said it was great to see the camera up and running.

"We had a clear goal to deploy livestreaming technology that could take the Orokonui experience out into the wider community. It’s been worth the wait, to ensure the streaming is reliable and bulletproof — or, in this case, kākā-proof."

matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz

 

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