Obituary Nancy Payne Nancy Payne passed away recently at 93 years, 31 years of which she had been a Ducks Unlimited NZ member. With the support of her son David and his wife Sheryl, Nancy attended many annual DU conferences the last one being at Martinborough in August 2017. In the past she was known…
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Recently in the last couple of months, Ducks Unlimited has lost three stalwart members. They are Ian Pirani, Nancy Payne, and Audrey Pritt. You will find their obituaries, along with photos on pages 3 to 5 in flight magazine. Nancy Payne one of the oldest members of DUNZ will be missed, always had a smile,…
Ian was a great guy I met him at one of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society branch meetings around 1966. He and Dawn lived at Pauatahanui on a few acres – right next to Dawn’s brother’s farm of close to 400 acres. In 1969 we decided to establish a pheasant breeding and shooting club – called…
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Issue 173
Ian received a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) in that year’s Queen’s Birthday honours for services to conservation. In 1974 Ian was a co-founder of Ducks Unlimited and was the first president of DUNZ until 1980. During that time Ian and his wife Dawn initiated a Pateke breeding programme and nesting boxes for Grey Teal throughout…
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48 hrs ago we lost our Mum That is the only time I can ever say that. There is only ever the one Mum and there are no second times. It’s a strange concept and feeling that began in our case in 1923 when Mum’s life first began. In that time since, she has seen…
Obituary: Audrey Pritt Audrey Eleanor Pritt, born 2 January 1926 in New Plymouth, in the same month as George Martin who became the Beatles producer, and the German airline Lufthansa was formed. Audrey died on 4 September this year, aged 91. She moved to Ohakune at 6 years old – her father working at the…
In 2008 Taumata Lagoon, south east of Carterton in the Wairarapa Region of New Zealand, was classified as “A WETLAND OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE”. The lagoon is also recognised as the country’s best example of an “Oxbow Lagoon” – with both ends of the lagoon being only 300-metres apart. In addition, the inner area of the…
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The 2017/18 breeding season has begun and The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust (ICWT) once again reached its busy rearing phase. Early October saw the collection of the first clutch of critically endangered New Zealand shore plover eggs for artificial incubation. Critically endangered black stilt/kaki pairs had also begun laying eggs. ICWT is happy to…
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Pukaha has a new general manager, Emily Court. She started in her role immediately after Labour weekend. Ms Court moved to the Wairarapa from Christchurch two years ago after spending the previous five years working in a business recovery role after the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. She led a recovery programme for the international…
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September 2017: Pukaha Mt Bruce Since staff at Pukaha last caught up, the Pateke pair now have six ducklings in their care. The Whio, that live in their free flight aviary have also been sitting on a clutch of five eggs. Also the first monitored wild kiwi chicks were safely hatched in the reserve. Staff…
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Having just returned from trip to Southern Africa where brown was in fashion, I was glad to visit our wetland and rejoice in the green of all the wetland and surrounding bush flora. A good year for white also with heketara and clematis splashing through the canopy. Making my way quietly to the oxbow where…
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Harnessing wetlands as green infrastructure solutions to our water woes For one weekend every July in Canada, the village of St. Pierre-Jolys hosts the National Frog Jumping Championship. It’s part of the annual Frog Follies Festival. The thriving Franco-Manitoban community is also proud of its parks, a new residential compost pickup service and the Trans-Canada…
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The mission to save more than one endangered bird species has been enriched by last year’s successful breeding programmes at Pukaha Mount Bruce. The Shore Plover programme saw over 10 birds transported from Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre to Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf and Portland Island off the Mahia peninsula. The shore…
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