More kaka touch down to bring numbers up

Five kaka are winging their way to Hawke's Bay by plane today to join three others, who arrived from Pukaha Mount Bruce earlier this year.

The latest group of captive reared kaka are being brought from Wellington Zoo and are part of a larger breeding programme to build kaka numbers in Hawke's Bay.

Poutiri Ao o Tane project manager Ken Hunt said the release was another milestone for the project, and built on recent success.

Three of the kaka will be released to join an existing population at Boundary Stream, while the other two will be kept at Cape Sanctuary Te Matau a Maui.

"They will be put into a purpose built aviary and released closer to Christmas, once they have familiarised themselves, Mr Hunt said.

"This will be another exciting highlight."

Cape Sanctuary manager Tamsin Ward Smith said the remaining two kaka were a breeding pair and would stay long-term at Cape Sanctuary.

"Their offspring will be released at the Cape Sanctuary and at Boundary Stream to support the establishment of populations in these areas," she said.

"This also has potentially huge benefits for the wider Hawke's Bay as isolated remnant populations start to expand and mix."

This kaka translocation is the latest of many undertaken to see the return of kiwi, pateke, kokako whiteheads, Cooks petrel, diving petrel, tuatara, takahe and red and yellow-crowned parakeets.