The Devonport Flagstaff Page 47
October 2, 2015
Birdwatchers keep eyes peeled for Devonport’s new resident
Community recycling a step closer at 27 Lake Road Part of 27 Lake Road has been officially saved from potential sale and will be turned into a community recycling centre. On August 24, Panuku Development Auckland (formerly Auckland Council Properties Limited) transferred 5,090 square metres of land, previously considered for sale, to council’s Infrastructure and Environmental Services portfolio. This section of 27 Lake Road is currently used to sell garden supplies and as a refuse and recycling centre. But Auckland Council wants to turn it into “demonstration site” for a new community approach. The new centre is anticipated to be operational from July 2016 onwards, the land transfer report says. The Flagstaff understands that in June a local group submitted a proposal to run the new centre. Council spokesperson Joanna Glaswell says a decision on who runs the centre won’t be made until late this year or early next year. She says Panuku Development Auckland continues to manage the other council land at 27 Lake Rd. A community lease is in place at the Claystore. Council land at 27 Lake Road measures 12,636 ha and has a capital value of just under $3.5 million.
One of Devonport’s newest arrivals is proving a treat for bird lovers. A New Zealand kaka has been sighted around the village over recent weeks. KakaWatch New Zealand, a website for kaka spotters, regularly posts updates on sightings of the native parrot. One Facebook post on Friday 11 September said: “This Kaka sighted in my small front garden in Devonport. One has also been spotted on Mt Cambria.” Di Miller says she has seen the parrot for a week or so at Mt Victoria cemetery and on Mt Victoria at around 8.30am and 3.30pm each day when walking her daughter to and from school. The kaka was feeding and flying between the flowering trees on the mountain, she said. Another report confirms afternoon sightings of kaka from September 1 to 4 on a cherry blossom tree at Mt Victoria cemetery. A resident heard about similar sightings in August on Church Street in cherry blossom trees near the gate to Mount Cambria Reserve. Albert Rd residents have also posted seeing kaka across the fence of their backyard. “The kaka was roosting in a karaka tree on Mt Cambria Reserve, just the other side of the boundary fence. We see a lot of kereru, kakariki etc but
Distinctive… a kaka parrot has moved into Devonport this was unmistakably something completely different – a big, bulky, dark-green parrot,” they said. Another resident said he watched two or three tui chasing the kaka. It was 10 years since he had last seen one at Mt Cambria Reserve. Kaka have also been spotted at Waitemata Golf Club. “Kaka seems to have taken up residence there. I saw it today and about three weeks ago, assuming it’s the same bird.” Another resident spotted a kaka looking for food in his Albert Rd garden on June 8.
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