The first time we had a truly close-up encounter with the kākā we had christened Randolph was when he suddenly landed in the tree outside my workshop and insouciantly climbed down using his leatherman beak and feet as grappling hooks before positioning himself on a slim branch perch to investigate the tui feeder. Kākā are adept at bark stripping kanuka in order to fossick out food. There are no luxury fruits available in the bush gully behind our house though I think the kaka are attracted by the tall old-growth kanuka and tanekaha that provide an outlook, as well as sap to suck, and grubs to winkle. He discarded it as beneath his dignity apparently kākā have the exalted tastebuds of Roman emperors and only a platter of persimmons and peeled grapes will suffice for these patrician parrots. I watched him delicately grasp a piece of fruit with his zygodactyl foot. One morning when I was lounging in bed I saw him land on the deck outside the window to investigate some apple left out for the waxeyes. He sat in the kanuka alongside our deck, fluting and cackling, and I rang my Dad, and held the phone out towards the tree so he could hear. It was a few weeks until he finally arrived in our backyard, a flurry of tui in his wake.

The Auckland kākā belong to a flock originating from Hauturu Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, who after breeding migrate further afield to forage before returning to their island haunts in early spring to breed. Kākā have been spreading out across the Auckland isthmus for a few years now, charming, charismatic winter visitors to bush-clad suburbs. We jumped up and down screaming with sympathetic delight, because that is the effect kākā have when you realise they are in your suburban Auckland neighbourhood. He was a high dark mark on the sky above us, distinguishable only by his joyous prehistoric skraarking.

It was just on dusk post lock-down and we were wending our way down our driveway after visiting our local night market.

The first time we saw the kākā was in late Autumn of 2020.

Trove free ganda