Natures Gifts.
The Kereru.
New Zealand has many unique birds. From the Kiwi to the Kaka, the Morepork to the Fantail, they all have very special attributes. One bird, however, has a very special place in my life. We get them here in Dunedin, in their dozens, whereas in some towns in the North Island, they are rarely seen. They are on the decline and need hard work doing to re-establish them once again.
My local Veterinary nurse, Nik, has spent the past 8 years nursing and rehabilitating injured native pigeons. This might seem silly, after all, pigeons are a nuisance. Not these ones. They are protected and endangered. Almost twice the size of the pigeons we see bedecking statues and sills in cities, the KERERU is a gorgeous bird.
Nik has established a rehabilitation aviary with a release area and, once the birds are nursed through their respective trauma and recover from their injuries and any surgery they may have needed, the birds go and spend 6 – 8 weeks here. A converted 40ft steel shipping container, it has all the sturdiness needed to keep these precious birds safe from stray cats and birds of prey. There used to be a lovely aviary for them in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens, but they asked Nik to move her birds as they “needed” the site cleared. Right now this aviary is devoid of plants, but in the next week or so we intend to bring in some fairly mature, smallish trees, to give the birds a more natural habitat.
She has four birds in at present. One, a young female, has a brain injury and nerve damage to her left wing. She ends up walking on it. Amputation isn’t an option. Nik has to be realistic – she can’t keep all the lame birds she comes across. So she is giving her 6 weeks to see whether there is any improvement. If, after all that there isn’t any change, then unless a wildlife facility can take her and keep her for breeding, she will be put to sleep. I didn’t get a photo of her – it was too difficult to do so without spooking her.
Another of the birds is a young male. He had fallen from the flimsy nest and needed hand rearing. This means that at the moment he as no fear of human contact, so she is hoping he will revert to wilder habits, now he can fend for himself and is with other (normally) wild birds. The third one is a female, of breeding age. She was found on the street, having been unlucky enough to fly into a window. She is well on the road to recovery and ought to be fit for release within the next 4 weeks.
Finally, there is “grandma”. She is a very old bird who has lost the use of her wings, but whose ability to nurture young birds and raise them makes Nik’s life more relaxed. “Grandma” will be kept for breeding. She is lively and interested in things, curious to the point of sheer nosiness, too!
Nik is due to get married in 2 weeks time (Feb 19 2005), so to enable her the time she needs and a weeks honeymoon, I will be taking on the role of “guardian and feeder” of these wonderful birds. It’s a responsibility I really cherish – who wouldn’t want to get close to them? The little male climbs all over you when you bring his food, so I am quite looking forward to that!
A few facts. The Kereru is 51cm long, as opposed to other pigeons that are about 33cm long. They can swallow fruit that is much larger than any other bird would even try! I have video of a Kereru in my neighbour’s plum tree. It swallowed five plums and afterwards was too full to fly, so stayed there all night until its crop was empty! The ability to swallow such items would be akin to us being able to swallow and digest a WHOLE grapefruit or small melon! They make a wonderful sound as they fly in to roost. The rhythmic “swoosh-swoosh” is something that alerts anyone nearby to a native pigeon coming in to land! They are also magnificent aerial pilots, looping the loop and doing the craziest dives imaginable, at full speed. A bird that is well worth protecting and preserving. They were once hunted for their meat – able to feed two people per bird, as opposed to the one per bird of standard pigeons! The ones in the rehabilitation aviary are fed on raw peas and corn, plus the leaves and flowers they love. This final image shows you the plethora of colours this bird has in its feathers. They are truly beautiful to see!
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