Native birds flocking to Kirwee

It’s the avian Ritz in heartland Canterbury that’s attracting the natives – including a hermit seeking solace and some prime frog legs.

Not previously known as the hub of the bird world, Kirwee, a town surrounded by farmland on the Canterbury plains, is now home to Kev the ko¯ tuku.

And if you believe the locals or Ma¯ ori mythology, they should all be buying Lotto tickets, with his appearance signalling a windfall of luck.

So what made the lone white heron decide to slum it in the local stock water races instead of scouting the glamorous Waitangiroto Nature Reserve on the West Coast with its mates?

The answer, if you believe the locals, lies with the town’s conservation efforts.

While there might not be a kahikatea rainforest in sight, a veritable Rolls-Royce of bird feeders and riparian plantings are attracting all manner of native birds.

And who wouldn’t want sugared water and fat balls? Long-gone bellbirds are being drawn to the area, as are other fancy feathered friends in search of a Michelin-star feed.

But it’s Kev that continues to steal the show, turning up in paddocks, on roads and in several back gardens.

If you’re lucky you’ll spot him indulging in a bit of fine cuisine. There are frog legs, eels and all manner of fish in the stock water races, not to mention the delectable bugs in the paddocks.

Quite the attraction after several return trips to the area, Kev appears enamoured with the town and them with him. . . or her – no-one quite knows what sex the heron is.

Kelvin Sewell recently spotted Kev soaking up the sunshine beside his stock water race on the outskirts of Kirwee.

Ever the poser, Kev showed off his best side as Sewell snapped some pics. After he posted about the rare sighting on the local social media community page, several more fans shared their encounters with the inquisitive bird.

One resident even managed to snap Kev trying out roof-riding on a car, while another said he’d been moseying around her garden.

Sewell put the resurgence in native birds in the area partly down to Predator Free Kirwee – a group that’s dedicated to the eradication of mammalian pests. He also believes recent native plantings at the Kirwee Domain by Te Ara Ka¯ ka¯ riki Greenway Canterbury Trust are helping to make a difference.

The trust has been working on creating a corridor of native biodiversity between the Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers.

‘‘They are doing a lot of good work,’’ Sewell says.

Whatever the reason, eager residents are topping up their bird feeders in earnest, including Sally Dobbs.

Dobbs recently bought her feeder, and is yet to spot the elusive bellbirds others have seen – but something’s draining her sugared water daily.

‘‘I’m hoping I’ll see something soon.’’

And although Kev is likely to part ways with his country friends in mid-September, there’s every chance he will be back next winter, according to Dion Arnold.

The White Heron Sanctuary Tours manager has fielded calls from all over New Zealand with sightings of lone ko¯ tuku.

It’s part of the birds’ seasonal pattern after they leave their only known nesting site on the banks of the Waitangiroto stream near Whataroa on the West Coast.

Once brought almost to extinction after their feathers became fashionable in women’s hats, the population is now increasing slowly.

Where just four nests were found in 1944, there are now thought to be about 200.

Arnold said once hatched, the birds will leave their nesting ground for three years before returning.

But it seems Kev and his adult mates are not one for long-term commitment. They come back to the nesting ground but then ditch their home in favour of a solitary adventure.

Arnold believes Ma¯ ori oratory that says seeing one of these birds just once in a lifetime was believed to be good fortune. After seeing so many of them at their nesting site every year, you’d think Arnold would have hit the jackpot.

‘‘It comes and goes,’’ he says. ‘‘Perhaps not as much luck as I would have liked.’’