Kereru © James Allan
5th May 2025
Kākā spotted at Lake Hayes Estate!
The bird was spotted by a member of the public in a walnut tree in their backyard, then reported to one of our fabulous trapping group coordinators who got in touch.
Our Kākā visitor hang around for over a week, enjoying pear and walnut trees, to the excitement of our Birds NZ regional rep Dawn and some of our keen birders.
The bird looked in great condition. They probably dispersed from Aspiring National Park and are visiting food sources in our area. Previous years we have had Kākā sightings in Fernhill, Arrowtown and Arrow Junction. This is a good reminder to expect the unexpected with our native birds, you never know who may turn up!
This is also a great example of the benefits of predator control and habitat restoration, to provide a safer home for when these incredible taonga species return to the Whakatipu Basin.
Big thanks to the local residents for allowing us to get a better view!
Please report any sightings of Kākā or other unusual bird visitors either via ebird.org or directly to the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust on hello@whakatipuwildlifetrust.org.nz
New and experienced birders joined local ecologist and Birds NZ rep Dawn Palmer and our executive officer Anna in February for a birding day out at Bob’s Cove.
We strolled from the Mt Creighton carpark via the 12 Mile track through to Bob’s Cove, learning about the local birds and recording what we saw with E-Bird.
Highlights included seeing lots of young fantail and tomtit, and a tui on her nest! There was a predator trap right under the nesting tree which felt like a great advert for predator control keeping nesting mama birds safe.
In April our group headed up the Bush Creek track in Arrowtown. Highlights included lots of Bellbird, Fantail and Tomtit.
Petrina, the Grebe Project Ambassador for Central Otago Lakes Branch of Forest & Bird, spent the afternoon with local Richard Bowman counting grebes, and others around Lake Hayes recently – another big count including 49 chicks!!
The following is an excerpt from Petrina’s Lake Hayes January 2025 Grebe Report for Central Otago Lakes Branch of Forest & Bird :
This January Petrina came over the hill to help Lake Hayes local Richard with the annual Grebe survey.
A total of 176 grebes were counted on the lake, including 49 chicks. This is a similar count to the last few years. Petrina noted that most of the chicks were still very small; a few larger ones were seen but were still downy and with their parents. It looks like Lake Hayes had a late start to the Grebe breeding season.
Petrina also managed to count all the other birds seen on the lake, with 25 species seen. Of note were 222 scaup, 75 Australian coots, 3 black-fronted terns flying overhead, 18 little shags, and 6 of the larger black shags. This lake is an absolute haven for waterbirds – if you haven’t visited, make sure it goes on your bucket list! All the predator trapping around the lake is certainly helping the birds to thrive. Thanks to the following groups: Southern Lakes Sanctuary Lake Hayes Predator Free Whakatipu Wildlife Trust
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