An ‘Earlybird special’ offers rare kakapo encounter.
Usually it’s the early bird that catches the worm, but New Zealand is offering an early chance to catch the bird – with an invitation for visitors to travel to a remote destination for a rare meeting.
From September – October this year, visitors will have the opportunity to come face to beak with Sirocco, a rare kakapo parrot who will be holidaying on Ulva Island in Stewart Island’s Paterson Inlet, off the the South Island’s southern coast.
The nocturnal kakapo is the world’s rarest parrot. There are only 125 of the large flightless birds remaining on the planet.
Codfish Island sanctuary
The remaining kakapo population lives on predator-free Codfish Island – close to Stewart Island – under the protection of the New Zealand Kakapo Recovery Programme. Typically only scientists involved in the programme are lucky enough to see the island’s precious inhabitants.
But the Ulva Island Charitable Trust has decided to give members of the public the chance of a close encounter with kakapo by temporarily moving Sirocco to a safe enclosure on Ulva, where he can be easily viewed.
Kakapo Encounter Programme
The holiday visit idea was trialled in 2006 with the launch of the Kakapo Encounter programme. A phenomenal response saw bird watchers from all over the world travelling to meet Sirocco.
This year the Trust says it wants to get the word out early enough to give overseas visitors a chance to plan ahead. Previously overseas bird enthusiasts have been disappointed because they haven’t had enough notice to plan a trip to New Zealand.
Ulva Island trips
For a month, from 26 September – 26 October 2009, Kakapo Encounter will run daily trips to Ulva Island. In the evening, small groups will be guided to Sirocco’s enclosure to observe the male parrot at close quarters.
Ulva Island has been predator-free for a decade, and the variety of native New Zealand birds now thriving there include kiwi, kaka, saddleback, yellow-eyed and little blue penguins, rifleman, mohua, Stewart Island robin and weka – an amusing, flightless bird that’s an infamous picnic crasher.
Kakapo facts:
•The kakapo is the world’s heaviest parrot – males can weigh over 2kg.
•Unique among land birds, kakapo can store large amounts of energy as body fat.
•It is the only parrot to have a ‘lek’ mating system: in the summer kakapo males compete for ‘calling posts’ in dug-outs, from where they ‘boom’ (call) each night for a female. The kakapo’s low-frequency mating boom travels several kilometres. It is the only parrot to have an inflatable thoracic air sac.
•Kakapo breed every three to four years.
•A bird can range several kilometres in one night.
•Kakapo can’t fly but are good at climbing trees.
•Kakapo are herbivores that feed on roots, leaves and fruit.
•Kakapo once ranged from near sea level to high in the mountains.
•Possibly as defence against an ancient predator – the giant eagle – kakapo became nocturnal and learned to ‘freeze’ (remain still) when in danger.
Related articles: Kakapo – A native NZ parrot emerges from 21 years in hiding
Source: New Zealand for the Media Information
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