Population Size and Estimates

Source Author Year Title Quote
Otago Daily Times Online News 06/04/14 Rebecca Fox 2014 Research aids kea conservation “…allowing conservation managers to move birds between populations as part of any conservation attempts to reverse the kea’s decline.”
Otago Daily Times Online News 06/04/14 Rebecca Fox 2014 Research aids kea conservation “Department of Conservation technical adviser Bruce McKinlay said the struggle to find the right population to manage would be easier thanks to this research”
Greymouth Star 2014 Laura Mills 2014 More kea poisoned in 1080 drop “Technical advisor threats Michelle Cowell said losing five birds was “naturally disappointing”…But overall the benefits to kea populations from pest control continue to outweigh the loss of individual birds to 1080”
Otago Daily Times Online News 13/10/14 Matthew Haggert 2014 Health of kea studied “A drop in kea population numbers has left Doc Wanaka biodiversity manager Stu Thorne “slightly” concerned…There had been no aerial drops of 1080 in their habitat around Wanaka, he said. Seven kea were given blood tests during the recent monitoring programme and the results all indicated “low to very low” levels of lead. Mr Thorne ruled out contact with people visiting the skifield as a possible cause of a decline in kea numbers. “There’s probably not any one single cause contributing to a decline, but I do think a growth in predator numbers could be significant. The presence of stoats in the alpine areas and “vulnerable” kea nesting habitats could be having an effect, he said”
Academia 2014 Lorne Roberts 2014 Population estimates of wild Kea (Nestor notabilis) “…past research on the viability of wild kea populations…highlights a deficit of knowledge concerning the status of this species and, as yet, few of the recommendations tabled by the 1993 Kea- Kaka Viability Analysis…have been addressed.”
Academia 2014 Lorne Roberts 2014 Population estimates of wild Kea (Nestor notabilis) “Although 1080 has been used in New Zealand since the 1950’s…and identified as a hazard to kea since 1964…monitoring of kea exposed to 1080 operations was only initiated in 2008.”
Academia 2014 Lorne Roberts 2014 Population estimates of wild Kea (Nestor notabilis) “Continuing persecution by humans is also a threat to kea population stability. The most recent incident occurred at Arthur’s Pass where two juvenile males were shot and stapled to a sign…In 1995, 27 kea were also shot and dumped at the Fox Glacier dump…and those few birds identified as sheep killers continue to be culled by DoC staff.”
Academia 2014 Lorne Roberts 2014 Population estimates of wild Kea (Nestor notabilis) “…the status of kea remains unidentified and uncertain”
DoC 07/05/2014 DoC 2014 DOC code of practice for aerial 1080 in kea habitat “Kea were re-classed from ‘Not threatened’ to “Nationally endangered” by Robertson et al. (2012); the criteria for this classification are a population estimate of 1000-5000 and an ongoing or predicted decline of 50-70% in the total population over the next 10 years due to recruitment failure. In order to prevent this failure, effective predator control is critical.”
Dominion Post 05/04/2014 Bill Benfield 2014 Now we need to save the kea “…its now time for us to look at a truly endangered species, our kea. They are the victim of the greatest single government-driven eradication programme of an endemic anywhere in the world. In 1930, the bounty was reduced from 5/- a beak to 2/6. In the five years before that more than 20,000 birds were killed. The bounty only ceased in 1971 after the loss of 150,000 birds. the population has since collapsed to only a few thousand birds. Now we are well on the path to saving the whale, will Greenpeace and others come forward to save the kea?”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates June 2014 Kea Conservation Trust 2014 Kea repellent trials on sheep “Our latest kea repellent trials are currently underway on a Queenstown high country sheep station. On 6 May 255 sheep were sprayed with the repellent and let out with  a control group (unsprayed) made up of 346 sheep. No kea were heard or seen in the area while our worker, Paul van Klink,  was on the station.”
New Zealand Birds online – The digital encyclopaedia of New Zealand Birds Anon. 2014 Kea “With current data, any population estimate is little more than a guess. Density in the upland beech forest of Nelson Lakes National Park in 2011 was approximately one adult female kea per 2,750 hectares, down from about one per 550 ha in 1998.”
Scoop Independent News 22/5/14 Murray Dench 2014 Why is there an argument over 1080? “The science points noted above all indicate very bad things happening in our forests after 1080 operations have artificially boosted rat populations to levels which no indigenous species can possibly hope to cope with in the medium to long term…imagine a wee short tailed bat fossicking on the forest floor amongst that teeming horde of assassins. It spells doom for many native birds, plants, animals and invertebrates.”
Scoop Independent News 22/5/14 Murray Dench 2014 Why is there an argument over 1080? “Aerial 1080 poison drops kill native birds too, and lots of other native species as well. This fact is freely acknowledged by the pro-poisoning groups. After an aerial operation it takes several breeding cycles for the poisoned bird populations to struggle back to pre-poison levels. If the poisoning cycles are too frequent then some native species will quickly be eliminated…Remember also that these poisoned bird populations have to try and regain their pre-poison levels in the face of an artificially induced rat onslaught.”
Anonymous email Anon 2014 Kea disappearance “I know of two kea colonies here in Marlborough that have completely disappeared since DoC and AHB used 1080 in both areas. They have been there for thousands of years yet suddenly disappeared….The first area is Lake Alexander…The other area is Mt Patriarch…they disappeared after the DoC/AHB drops over the last 5-7 years!”
Tbfree New Zealand Ltd AEE TBFree 2014 Assessment of Environmental Effects for Possum Control in the Barton Arthur Area May 2014 “Nationally threatened bird species recorded in or near the operational area are kaka, kea, and New Zealand falcon…These threatened species are potentially at risk from the operation considering the risk that the number of non-target deaths might push the total numbers into a decline from which recovery is difficult…The possible impacts of this operation on the kea population are considered to be negligible compared to the potential benefits accruing from the reduction in rat, stoat and possum predation.”
Kea Conservation Trust updates 16/12/13 Kea Conservation Trust 2013 Kea Conservation Trust (KCT) Update “…field personnel will be trialing new acoustic recorders developed by DOC’s technical team to see whether these are an effective way of ascertaining population numbers at each of the sites”
Kea Conservation Trust updates 16/12/13 Kea Conservation Trust 2013 Kea Conservation Trust (KCT) Update “Kea joins list of threatened birds 15/11/13. The kea is now considered a threatened species. Several of New Zealand’s most cherished birds – among them the kea and two types of albatross – have been shifted to a more serious conservation status following a national survey.”
Stuff.co.nz 06/09/2013 Alastair Paulin 2013 Pesky kea shifted to new hilltop home “Mr Kemp…estimated the national population of birds…at 5000.”
Nestor Notabilis 6 Paul Harper 2012 DOC shocked five Kea shot dead “DOC field centre supervisor, Chris Stewart, was appalled by the incident…’Kea are endangered and their wild population could be as low as 1000 birds’ Mr Stewart said.”
Nestor Notabilis 6 Martin Curtis 2012 Making the Matukitki lead free “They are an integral part of the mountain scene here, and I have definitely noticed a considerable lack of sightings in the last ten years”
Nestor Notabilis 6 Martin Curtis 2012 Making the Matukitki lead free “…let the general public know that we have a real problem with the number of keas left in the wild- a fact that most people are unaware of as these keas that are out there always seem to be in your face so to speak.”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Dec 2012 T. Orr-Walker 2012 Kea in the news “the population in the Nelson Lakes National Park area has plummeted 80 per cent over the last 10 years.”
NZ J Ecology 22: 141-148 C. Reid et al, 2012 Anthropogenic lead (Pb) exposure in populations of a wild parrot (kea Nestor notabilis) “The kea is a long-lived, slow-reproducing species at a high risk of decline from even a small reduction in its survival rate.”
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 “The seven birds that died recently were among 38 keas fitted with radiotransmitters as part of a four-year programme to assess the risks and benefits of 1080 operations on kea populations”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Feb 2011 Kea Conservation Trust 2011 Summer Survey- Preliminary results “Preliminary results from the Nelson Lakes area suggest a significant decline has occurred in this population since the 1990’s. A total of 2 fledglings has been sighted each year over an area of 14,000Ha – a significant decrease from 11 fledglings recorded annually in half the area in the ’90’s.”
Kea Conservation Trust Updates Feb 2011 Kea Conservation Trust 2011 Kea Sightings – Fewer kea also at Coronet Peak and the Remarkables? “Our last monthly update highlighted possible reduced number of kea at Treble Cone skifield…and a similar story seems to be at the other Central Otago skifields from Graeme Glass who is also concerned at the apparent reduction in numbers of kea…”I did however spend many days up at Coronet Peak and the Remarkables and saw very few lea. Last year most days I would see 4 or 5 kea in the Sarah Sue trail area at Coronet and in the summer months the same sort of numbers over in the top of Coronet Peak on any given day. This year I heard one kea early in the season and saw none. At the Remarkables a similar story, several kea last year and none this year. Bit of a sorry state of affairs.””
Otago Daily Times Online News 07/05/09 Otago Daily Times Online News 07/05/09 2009 Help needed in kea count “…there is evidence there are as few as 1000-5000 keas left in the wild”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “Given the birds’ relatively high extinction risk, continued killing of kea is unjustifiable”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “…estimates put their population at only 1000-5000 (Diamond and Bond, 1999, Anderson 1986) and it is not known whether the population is secure or declining”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “…we estimate that 25 kea were using the ski field”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “Kea are too sparsely distributed and too variable in their conspicuousness to be reliably counted away from those places where they habitually gather”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “The kea population on the St Arnaud Range appeared to be quite stable during our study, but our confidence in this prediction is not great. We can only say we are 50% confident it is not declining…”
NZ Dept of Conservation Internal Science Series 181 Graeme Elliot & Josh Kemp 2004 Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations “To use the destruction of kea as a tool in their management we would need to be confident that the population was stable or increasing and safe from extinction. The destruction of kea by the Department of Conservation staff is only justifiable when the failure to kill some birds would result in a much larger illegal kill of kea”
MSC Thesis, Linoln University R. Brejaart 1994 Aspects of the Ecology of kea, Nestor notabilis (Gould) at Arthur’s Pass and Craigieburn Valley. “Anderson (1986) suggested that the total wild population was 1000-5000, but this estimate was little more than a guess. Wilson & Brejaart (1992) cautioned that the tendency for kea to congregate at sites of human activity may give a misleading impression of their abundance…”
MSC Thesis, Linoln University R. Brejaart 1994 Aspects of the Ecology of kea, Nestor notabilis (Gould) at Arthur’s Pass and Craigieburn Valley. “The total pool of banded kea was 111 males…and 26 females…one kea, banded at Mt Hutt was resighted 98 km away at Arahua.”
MSC Thesis, Linoln University R. Brejaart 1994 Aspects of the Ecology of kea, Nestor notabilis (Gould) at Arthur’s Pass and Craigieburn Valley. “…a group of 31 kea was seen…Wilson (1990a) observed large congregations of kea in February at Mt Cook in each of two years…the number of kea seen at Lake Harris by Child (1978) ranged from 1-16…Campbell (1976) recorded peak kea numbers in May (15) and June (13)”
MSC Thesis, Linoln University R. Brejaart 1994 Aspects of the Ecology of kea, Nestor notabilis (Gould) at Arthur’s Pass and Craigieburn Valley. “These results indicate that kea possibly have large home ranges”
Notornis 39: 151-160 A. Bond & J. Diamond 1992 Population estimates of Kea in Arthur’s Pass National Park “The mean number of birds that foraged at the dump during the summer was estimated as 20 juveniles, 10 subadults, and 36 adults.”
Notornis 39: 151-160 A. Bond & J. Diamond 1992 Population estimates of Kea in Arthur’s Pass National Park “The commonly cited estimate of an aggregate wild bird population of between 1000 and 5000 birds (Anderson, 1986)…amounts…to little more than a guess.”
Notornis 39: 151-160 A. Bond & J. Diamond 1992 Population estimates of Kea in Arthur’s Pass National Park “…we must keep in mind the possibility that the Kea that we see around car parks, ski fields, and refuse dumps are, in fact, a majority of the birds in the vicinity. If this is true, Anderson’s (1986) reckoning of the total population could prove to be fairly accurate”
Notornis 16: 33-44 J R Jackson 1969 What do keas die of? “In autumn many juvenile Keas gather into large flocks, of fifty or even one hundred birds. Perhaps there is such a flock every 50 square miles”
Notornis IX: 39-58 J R Jackson 1960 Keas at Arthurs Pass “The first -year Keas at Arthurs Pass in winter have been drawn certainly from eight miles and perhaps from fifteen miles. The surrounding countryside is stripped almost completely of first-year Keas…they are almost all around the ski-huts or in the townships…Later when they disperse from Arthurs Pass they may fly out 15 miles in any direction, giving a possible movement of 30 miles. “
Notornis IX: 39-58 J R Jackson 1960 Keas at Arthurs Pass “Certainly the results show that in a good year between 100 and 200 Keas can be seen at Arthurs Pass and Temple Basin, and further that the density of Keas is between one and eight per square mile.”