Juleshappily eating a walnut #kaka #pukaha #aotearoa #newzealand #photography #travelphotography #wildlifephotography #birds #parrots
The #kaka is an endemic parrot of #Aotearoa #NewZealand. It's maybe not as famous as the kea, but it's also a clever and attractive bird. This one here at #pukaha wildlife centre is letting me know very subtly that - should I be in possession of a nut - it wouldn't say no to eating it. (don't feed the birds!) #photography #travelphotography #wildlifephotography #birds
David de Groot 📸And finally some Takahē. There are two (non-breeding) birds at the sanctuary, and both came out for a feed and a drink while I was there.
One even opened its wings for a groom, which the guides said they had never seen before.
These next three are wild birds found on the grounds.
One of several inquisitive Kākā (bush parrots) that followed us for a while; a Mallard in eclipse plumage and a Whitehead (Pōpokotea).
We visited the Pukaha National Wildlife Centre today. They have breeding programs for native birds which get released in to the wild when the birds are strong enough to cope on their own.
The breeding stock are kept in large aviaries, but the grounds are over 1250 acres and well forested so a lot of wild birds also visit.
These four are all captive birds though:
Brown Kiwi, Kererū (huge native pigeon), Kākāriki and the Saddleback (Tieke).
