An unusual litter of the increasingly rare kea alpine parrot has been found near Nelson.
The chicks were discovered by a Department of Conservation (DoC) staffer, helped by what's thought to be New Zealand's only kea conservation dog.
The chicks were born in Kahurangi National Park but there's just one problem - they were meant to be born in July and fully-feathered by now.
DoC's Corey Mosen says it's likely the first chicks were eaten by predators.
"It's pretty unusual to have them nesting that late in the season," he says.
Kea usually nest in rock cavities with access from the ground, which makes them vulnerable to pests, like stoats and rats.
They're nationally endangered and that means numbers are declining in areas where there's no pest control.
"There's definitely more kiwi than there are kea," Mr Mosen says.
Mr Mosen has monitored kea full time for seven years. He does so with the help of Ajax, a border collie-catahoula cross.
"I've trained Ajax since he was a pup, I've trained him to find kea poo which indicates a kea nest because they make a huge mess all outside. It usually stinks and a dog can find it quite easily."
Together they cover a region from Mt Aspiring to Kahurangi National Parks.
Usually kea lay four eggs, two of which will hatch, and Mr Mosen says the chances of the chicks surviving is low in areas where there's no predator control - but he says trapping and aerial 1080 drops are helping.
Thirty-five kea fitted with radio transmitters are currently being monitored.
"When the beep gets louder that's the direction kea are, so we run up and over mountains until we find them," Mr Mosen says.
At this time of year the mountains that are cooling, presenting challenging conditions for these young chicks.
Newshub.
