I recently had the pleasure of being invited to Cardinal McKeefry school to talk about Enhancing the Halo at their assembly. One of the great kids named Daniel Ramsay decided to get instantly stuck in and do his part after my talk. He quickly rallied his family to take on this project and has become a brilliant young Halo Hero. So here is young Daniel’s blog called Kaka Stuff.
Project started 17 August 2013
How it started
We went to Zealandia. We saw some kaka & other stuff like takehe and a long finned eel. So we decided we wanted kaka in our garden. We looked at bird feeders on both computers and found these ones at backyardbirds.co.nz.
What food do the bird feeders have in them?
One has a mix of seeds and the other has red food colouring, sugar and water. We are trying yellow food colouring now.
Where did you put them & why?
We put them on one fence and on the other fence. We put them high so pests don’t get up.
What birds have used them?
We have only seen kaka using them.
How long was it till kaka came to the feeders?
We saw one 3 hours after we put the feeders up.
What have you learnt about Kaka?
Males have longer bills. They like walnuts. They nest in October-November.
Alfie, one of the first Zealandia Kakas has a a big pink leg ring and a small red and a small pink ring. For information about kaka leg bands click here:
http://www.visitzealandia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/how-to-read-kaka-bands.pdf
What are you going to do next for Kaka?
Put out traps for stoats and pests. Put out more bird feeders. Plant native trees.
Useful information:
- The Adventures of Alfie by Marjorie Gee
- Kaka by Jenny Jones
The end
Daniel