A Whakatāne man has captured striking images of a rare sight – a small flock of eight kākā gathered in a single tree at Mokoroa Bush Reserve.

Dave Hall, who lives on Melville Drive bordering the reserve, spotted the flock from his deck and photographed the birds as they perched in a plain tree recently.

Kākā are large forest-dwelling parrots, and considered rare to uncommon, surviving on offshore islands or reserves where there is good predator control.

“It’s quite amazing. I’ve never seen them bunched like that in one tree before,” Mr Hall said.

“Eight is unusual. Normally you might see two, three or four hanging around.”

Mr Hall said the kākā had been frequent visitors to the area for the past couple of years and appear to be increasing in number.

“They do seem to be coming back into the area, which is really nice ... with the predator control and monitoring Kiwi Trust does around here, maybe they feel a bit safer settling in this area.”

The birds are often heard before they are seen, thanks to their distinctive squawk, and Mr Hall had observed them feeding on fresh buds from native and exotic trees.

“There’s a big plain tree they really like. It’s not native, but they seem quite adaptable with what they eat.”

The kākā are sometimes seen flying over Mokorua.

“They seem to get out to Kohi Point; they have been heard up there.”

A keen photographer and member of the Whakatāne Camera Club, Mr Hall said he captured the close-up images using a powerful lens.

“The close-up was taken with a very big lens – an 800mm with a 1.4 multiplier, so about 1100mm.”

Mr Hall is also a volunteer with Kiwi Trust, tracking kiwi weekly and helping maintain predator-control and wasp-control lines in the area.

“We have recorded more than 22 varieties of birds around here, bellbirds, lots of tūī, and even weka.

“Weka come right up to the door and knock, asking for food,” he said.