Whio-watchers hope for good breeding season

ID: 133349/BARRY HARCOURT

WHIO-WATCHING: A blue duck parent keeping a close eye on one of its five 2-week-old chicks as they explore the water of Monkey Creek, off the Milford Rd, in the Fiordland area.

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A rare species of duck might become a little more visible in Fiordland, with the Department of Conservation predicting a bumper breeding season.

Biodiversity ranger Andrew Smart said settled weather and continued trapping of predators in Fiordland meant the outlook for blue duck, or whio, numbers looked good after flooding caused the loss of most of the chicks that hatched last year.

From about 50 ducklings hatched in the 2007 breeding season, DOC estimated only about eight survived long enough to leave the family group, he said. Apart from the forces of nature, stoats posed the biggest threat to the birds' survival, with Works Infrastructure running a trapping programme at Monkey Creek for the past two years, Mr Smart said.

Sponsored trapping programmes were run throughout the area. An occasional breeding programme for the endangered species was also run in the Fiordland area, the last three years ago, he said.

The blue duck, also known by its Maori name whio whio, is a river specialist which lives in fast-flowing streams in the upper catchments of New Zealand rivers. They are not seen anywhere else in the world.

Blue duck establish territories up to 1km long. Pairs occupy the same stretch of river year after year, which they aggressively defend against other birds.

Pre-European fossil records suggest blue duck were once spread throughout New Zealand. They are now limited to the catchments of the Urewera, East Cape and central areas of North Island, and along the West Coast of the South Island from Nelson to Fiordland.

It is estimated that about 640 pairs remain on the North Island with just under 700 pairs in the South Island, giving a total population of between 2000 and 3000. This situation has led DOC to classify the species as nationally endangered, similar to kiwi and kokako. Blue duck are recorded by the International Union of Conservation for Nature as vulnerable.

- © Fairfax NZ News