Endangered ducks to be released into new Canterbury home

Tuesday, 23 March 2021

Seventeen endangered whio/blue duck are to be released in Arthur's Pass National Park as efforts to save the species continue. (Video first published in March 2021)

A paddling of endangered ducks are being prepped to wing their way to a new home.

Seventeen hand-reared whio – or blue ducks – will be released into Arthur’s Pass National Park this week, the first of several planned releases across the country in the coming months.

There are less than 3000 of the birds left in the wild, and this is the first time they have been released into the Canterbury side of the national park, in Mingha, Edwards and Deception valleys.

The young ducks were raised at The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust in Christchurch, and were the offspring of breeding pairs raised from wild eggs collected from the West Coast.

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Conservation Minister Kiri Allan, right, speaks to Isaacs Conservation and Wildlife Trust manager Anne Richardson.

Conservation Minister Kiri Allan said having more whio in the park meant more people would be able to connect with the “special birds”.

This young whio will soon be released into Arthur’s Pass National Park.

Blue ducks were a personal favourite of Allan's and were her pick for Bird of the Year.

“Whio are on the $10 note, and they're a little bit mischievous. They’re also the surfers of the duck world.”

She said they only liked to live in clean water, so were a reminder of the importance of restoring New Zealand’s waterways.

Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust Manager Anne Richardson, left, and duck-handler Chloe Jackson handle a whio.

“This is a bird loved by a diverse group of conservationists. A lot of hunters [are involved in] raising, protecting, monitoring and trapping.

“They’re a beacon for fresh waterways. For our farmers, hunters, it’s a special bird for all of us.”

Whio had been the subject of intensive predator trapping and breeding assistance programmes to boost their numbers since 2006, after a survey showed there only two or three pairs in the Styx River Valley near Hokitika.

These birds are among 17 whio who will soon be released in Arthur's Pass National Park.

The whio recovery programme had since expanded to the Arahura, Kawaka, Taipo, Wainihinihi, and Deception valleys, with 40 breeding pairs now living across the sites.

Nationwide, the Department of Conservation (DOC) had been able to protect 748 pairs with its 1698-kilometre trapping programme, and population had climbed 151 per cent since 2011.

Allan said it was only possible due to the efforts and backing of Genesis Energy, iwi, volunteers, and organisations like the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust and the Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust.

“It’s thanks to the important mahi of many, many dedicated people that we have these manu to release into the pristine mountain streams where they belong.”

Between 2000 and 2020, the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust had reared 563 ducklings for both North Island and South Island recovery projects.

Trust manager Anne Richardson said in the 29 years she had been there, whio had become one of her favourites too.

“They're cute, but also a challenge.”

She said it took years of trial and error to learn how to successfully breed them in captivity, and how to get the fledglings to eat different types of food.

According to DOC, whio were usually released into secure, predator-controlled sites known to be secure, but they had an unusually good breeding season this year.

With too many chicks, DOC decided to expand into new, recovering sites, where some whio had naturally migrated on their own.

The release in Arthur’s Pass National Park would be followed by releases at Blue Duck Station near Whanganui (six whio), and in the Fyfe area near Motueka (three whio).