KEY POINTS:
A native parrot rarely seen on the Auckland mainland made a surprise appearance this week on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
A kaka was discovered in a bottlebrush shrub at the Roberts Rd home of Dion Coleman on Tuesday.
Mr Coleman said his children first noticed the "big bird" in the tree as they set off for school.
"I knew it was a native parrot and was sure it was a kea."
He called over his neighbour John Charles to take photos of the unusual bird. It was later verified as a North Island kaka, which has brown-green feathers with flashes of orange and scarlet under its wings.
Mr Charles said the cheeky bird was quite noisy and gave him a run for his money, flying off to the other side of the house when he went to take its photo.
"It wasn't scared of us at all."
However, the kaka gave the rest of the local birds a fright as they were not used to such a visitor.
"They were quite rattled."
Terry Greene, a Department of Conservation scientific officer, said it was uncommon to see kaka on the mainland in the Auckland region but not unheard of.
There had been similar reports around the Auckland isthmus in areas such as Devonport and Cornwall Park.
In this case Mr Greene suspected the kaka would have flown over from the Little Barrier Island reserve, 80km northeast of Auckland, where a healthy population flourishes in a pest-free environment.
"At this time of year food is a bit short so they will go looking."
Mr Greene said bottlebrush shrubs were a big nectar source also popular with tui.
He said kaka often roamed at the end of the breeding season and autumn was also a time "when the young ones fledge and go on their OE".
However, the threatened species successfully bred only where there was good predator control as they were very vulnerable to stoats and possums when nesting.
Kaka nest deep in hollow trees, where there is no escape if they are cornered by predators that eat the chicks and eggs.
