Yesterday at Pukaha National Wildlife Centre, I managed to tick another bird off my wish list. Before now I had never seen a orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka and it wasn’t from lack of effort. I have been to places where they can be seen and they just haven’t shown themselves. I was surprised at their size, they appeared smaller than the red-crowned or yellow-crowned kākāriki, but just as photogenic! This one was busy munching on dinner so didn’t seem to mind my being near by. You can find more information about the kākāriki karaka on NZBirdsOnline.
While exploring the bush we also found some pōpokotea flitting about in the treetops. Whiteheads/pōpokotea are a very quick little bird that likes to feed on bugs found on the tree branches and trunks. They can often be seen hanging upside down while searching for food and are usually in flocks.
