(Source: Department of Conservation of New Zealand) Eighteen rare native parakeets are today winging their way from Christchurch to a Bay of Plenty island sanctuary to build a self-supporting population there as this species faces the ongoing threat of predators in Canterbury. The kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeets bred by the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust at Peacock Springs will be released on Tūhua/Mayor Island-ancestral home of Te Whānau Ā Tauwhao ki Tūhua. The Tūhua Trust Board worked with DOC to make Tūhua predator-free in 2002. Orange-fronted parakeet Meanwhile, the mainland…