New Zealand's parakeets enjoy best breeding season in decades

New Zealand's rare parakeets are enjoying their best breeding season in decades, conservationists have said, raising hopes that the species may avoid extinction.

Known locally as kakariki karaka, around 150 orange-fronted parakeets were born in the wild this season, while the current parakeet population is estimated at between 100-300.

"It is great news that this year there are more than three times the number of nests compared to previous years,” said Eugenie Sage, New Zealand's conservation minister.

“This year’s epic breeding provides a much-needed boost to the kākāriki karaka population."

The surge in births appears to be linked to a particularly abundant season for beech trees, which have produced some of the largest amounts of seeds in 40 years.

Along with plants and insects, seeds from beech mast is a key element of a healthy parakeet's diet. Conservationists said they found 30 orange-fronted parakeet nests in the wild in the Canterbury region.

“There has been so much seed on the beech trees the birds just keep on breeding, with some parakeet pairs onto their fifth clutch of eggs. When there’s no beech mast they typically have just one or two clutches," added Ms Sage.

The Department for Conservation said it was now working to protect the parakeets from feral cats, stoats and rats, which have also increased in numbers due to the availability of beech seeds.

Once thought to be extinct, the orange-fronted parakeet, which is about the same size as a budgie, was rediscovered in the Canterbury area in 1993.