Post #2591317
2026-04-04 02:01 UTC
There were so many kea! Haven't seen quite so many before. As I posted before, also takahē. Apart from that, here are some silvereye/tauhou. There were one or two fantail/pīwakawaka and South Island robin/toutouwai, but I didn't get good pictures of them. #BirdsNZ
What was also unusual was that the kea were hanging out at the huts. On a previous trip to Aspiring Hut we'd talked to a party who had gone up to Cascade Saddle and seen 6 keas. Here, there were about that number at Aspiring Hut, and also about that number at Dart Hut. It was the kea welcoming committee at Dart Hut: the hut is near a river with a bridge, and then there is a ladder down to the hut. The kea hang out near the ladder and at the hut.
Replies (1)
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@va2lam@mastodon.nz 2026-04-04 02:07
OK, more kea content from Aspiring Hut. Kea are notorious for eating rubber. They were thinking about eating the bicycles that were parked at the hut. I also have a picture of a kea trying to steal my inReach, which is posted in my gallery, but not part of the trip report. It's also reportedly a problem if you camp on the Cascade Saddle itself. It's a beautiful campsite (with a flash toilet), but there might be kea who decide that it's fun to tear apart your tent. Hence our 11 hour walk to Dart Hut. #BirdsNZ