Bird Repellent

Source Author Year Title Quote
Otago Daily Times Online News 10/02/14 Mark Price 2014 Kea-resistance on pellets “The Department of Conservation is planning to upset the stomachs of kea that scavenge for food from tourists – a move designed to save the birds’ lives”
Otago Daily Times Online News 10/02/14 Mark Price 2014 Kea-resistance on pellets “Tourists frequently ignore signs asking them not to feed the cheeky South Isaland native parrots. And by doing so, they encourage kea to try new foods”
Otago Daily Times Online News 10/02/14 Mark Price 2014 Kea-resistance on pellets “The birds that have taken a good mouthful of this stuff…have exhibited signs of temporary discomfort and been really put off the pellets”…asked if feeding chemicals to wild kea to make them sick might upset the public, Mr Kemp said the idea was better than seeing the birds dying from 1080 poisoning”
Otago Daily Times Online News 10/02/14 Mark Price 2014 Kea-resistance on pellets “In his experience, kea in the “back blocks” of the beech forests that has little human contact tended to ignore the unnatural “junk food” and there was “zero” evidence of those particular kea dying from eating 1080 pellets. For that reason, 1080 pellets dropped in beech forests this year would not contain a repellent.”
www.keaconservation.co.nz 16/01/2014 T. Orr-Walker 2014 Trialling of a surface bird repellent to deter kea from interfacing with human objects “Kill traps and some bait delivery systems, used to control mammalian pests, may be directly responsible for kea deaths (through their accessibility), However the likelihood of kea proof systems being developed is some way off (ie manufacturers spoken to all state that kea proofing their systems is in the “too hard basket”).”
www.keaconservation.co.nz 16/01/2014 T. Orr-Walker 2014 Trialling of a surface bird repellent to deter kea from interfacing with human objects “Identifying a surface repellent that would instantly put kea off from investigating the systems would be an appropriate way forward. This would solve one very important issue impacting on kea – that of inadvertent by-kill during pest control operations.”
www.keaconservation.co.nz 16/01/2014 T. Orr-Walker 2014 Trialling of a surface bird repellent to deter kea from interfacing with human objects “In conjunction with the KCT’s bird repellent trials (conducted at a number of facilities around the country, including Auckland, and now being taken on by DOC to be used in all 1080 pre-feed and poison drops in kea habitat), this will ensure kea deaths are kept to a minimum during pest control operations.”
www.keaconservation.co.nz 16/01/2014 T. Orr-Walker 2014 Trialling of a surface bird repellent to deter kea from interfacing with human objects “Trials will be conducted on both wild and captive kea to ascertain repellent effectiveness and best delivery method”
DoC 07/05/2014 DoC 2014 DOC code of practice for aerial 1080 in kea habitat “The Department of Conservation is working with others to develop, register and implement an effective bird repellent to prevent kea deaths at aerial 1080 cereal operations…the addition of anthrquinone…seems to be detected and avoided by rats”
DoC 07/05/2014 DoC 2014 DOC code of practice for aerial 1080 in kea habitat “A number of trials have taken place in aviaries…pens…and in the field, focussing on d-pulegone…and anthrquinone (which birds learn to avoid after post-ingestinal discomfort).”
DoC 07/05/2014 DoC 2014 DOC code of practice for aerial 1080 in kea habitat “Other repellents have been identified for preliminary screening with wild kea in 2014”
DoC 07/05/2014 DoC 2014 DOC code of practice for aerial 1080 in kea habitat “RS5 pellets are required because both Luey (2009) and Blyth (2011) observed a preference for Wanganui #7 baits amongst captive kea.”
Otago Daily Times Online News 21/08/13 Ashleigh Stewart 2013 Kea killed in 1080 operation “The repellent was used in a DOC pest control operation over 10,619 hectares around Otira and a nearby TBfree New Zealand operation at Taipo over 10, 130 hectares from June 26 to August 1.
Nestor Notabilis 6 Kea Conservation Trust 2012 Whare Kea Lodge and Chalet “Through the webcam we can monitor bird activity at the chalet in the Albert Burn saddle.”
Nestor Notabilis 6 Kea Conservation Trust. Ed. T. Orr-Walker 2012 2011- The highs and lows in brief December-January 2012 “Dr Nigel Adams presented a paper on the KCT’s bird repellent research; ‘Effectiveness of the bird repellents anthraquinone and d-pulegone on and endemic New Zealand parrot, the kea (Nestor notables)’.”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Dec 2012 T. Orr-Walker 2012 “Research with Impact – KCT winners at Unitec “A piece of research supported and funded by the KCT recently won the prize for the “Research with Impact” at the recent Unitec Research Symposium. The presentation…highlighted the likely effect of introducing bird repellents to reduce mortality of kea during aerial 1080 poison drops to control stoats, possums and rat populations…this was the research that was most clearly identified to have an impact on practice.”
Wellington Zoo Sarah 2012 Part Two- let the adventure begin! “We watched for half an hour to see if the kea would chew the repellent or not. If they do chew it, it should make them feel a bit sick and not want to chew it again. The ones we saw today seemed quite happy to chew it more than once!”
Otago Daily Times Online News 12/09/11 Otago Daily Times Online News 12/09/11 2011 Seven keas dead in the wake of 1080 work “Mr Costello said the recent kea deaths were “very disappointing”. “We know they are inquisitive birds but believed that a new baiting protocol would be successful in keeping kea safe”.
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Feb 2011 Kea Conservation Trust 2011 DOC kea Repellent Field Trials – preliminary results “The KCT trialed a known bird repellent combination during 2009 on captive kea around the North Island in an effort to prevent kea deaths from ingestion of 1080 poison in the wild…Department of Conservations Research and Development (R&D) team headed by Josh Kemp has now taken these repellents into the field to test the efficacy of 1080 baits containing bird repellent additives for the control of ship rats and possums”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Feb 2011 Kea Conservation Trust 2011 DOC kea Repellent Field Trials – preliminary results “Preliminary results show that the bird repellents appear not to repel rats and possums…we may be one step closer to ensuring that unintentional by kill of our native birds (including kea) is a thing of the past!”
The adventures of PK Maebo & Jimjam 9/2/09 Jaimie Stewart 2009 Kea catching “A quick boat ride across Lake Mapourika in the early morning, a casual walk through the forest to Alpine Lake and a thrilling chopper ride out to Franz, back-loading on the DOC Meet the Locals TV crew. It has great been in the bush. We stopped regularly while Fanny and Brent released their pre-recorded birdsong on the jungle.”
The adventures of PK Maebo & Jimjam 9/2/09 Jaimie Stewart 2009 Kea catching “The kea was then “processed”, you know, like processed food. Out of Franny’s bag of tricks came a radiotransmitter, with nylon string to attach it, a beak-measuring device, scales and other fandangos…Oh yeah, I was going to talk abut 1080 and keas. Well the story as far as I can make out is that despite years of scepticism from DOC scientists, recent studies of mortality following an aerial 1080 drop have shown keas dying from 1080 poisoning…One point it is always worth making is that much of the 1080 poisoning in NZ is undertaken by the Animal Health Board in its ongoing battle with TB…But whatever way this does seem to be a big problem. Don’t quote me on this, but abut 1/3 of the keas habitat is under rotational TB control. Alarm bells seem to be ringing and DOC has teamed up with Landcare Research to investigate an effective bird repellent. It will be interesting to see what happens and if the planned drop in Okarito forest goes ahead”