Playful, sociable and highly intelligent, curious, bold and often mischievous, the kea embodies the free spirit of those venturing into the mountains, prompting writer and mountaineer Paul Powell to state that "dead climbers get reincarnated as kea" (NZAJ 1975, Vol 28, p126). While the bird is everyone's favourite, anecdotal evidence suggests that its range and numbers have declined dramatically over the last few decades. The kea is currently listed as 'Nationally Endangered' in the New Zealand Threat Classification System, with the population trend showing a strong decline. Population size estimates range between 1,000 and 5,000 birds. Truth is, we don't really know how many kea there are. The recently launched Kea Survey Tool aims to get a more accurate estimate of the bird's population size and geographical distribution. For the purpose, we need to know both where people see kea, and where people don't see kea. Anyone visiting the backcountry for one hour or more can contribute. All you need to do is set your intention to survey for kea in advance of your trip, then record your hours, approximate location, what you were doing and whether or not you heard or saw kea, for each hour that you were out and about. All outdoors people getting out and about this summer are strongly encouraged to use this tool. Any sightings of banded birds should be entered in the online Kea Database. |
