Ducks Unlimited NZ
Subscribe to this RSS feed
Issue 175

Issue 175

September 2018

 

  • 2018 conference round-up
  • Six go wild in Santa Fe
  • Scholarship opportunities
View PDF

From the President

The 2018 AGM in Hamilton is over for the year and a great success it was, with about 50 people attending the Saturday night dinner and auction. Just under $5000 was raised thanks to the persistence of auctioneer Dan Steele. I am delighted to welcome two new members onto the Board with Adrienne Longuet-Bushell and…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Welcome to new board members

The DUNZ Board has two new members, elected at the AGM in July. Liz Brook, after giving up working for various newspapers, both as an editor and as a news photographer, mainly in the Wellington area, and then several stints as a stand-in editor, was the former editor of Flight.   “The chance to travel…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Decisive year ahead for Board

John Bishop welcomes everyone to his neck of the woods
  Where to from here will be the big question facing the DUNZ Board in the coming year. President Ross Cottle, in opening the formal business of the 44th AGM, said that, with an ageing membership and fewer members keen to do the work, the future direction of Ducks Unlimited would be on the Board’s…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

CONFERENCE REPORTS

Neil Candy reported that Jim Law had replaced Ken Cook as a trustee on the Waterfowl and Wetland Trust, which was “ticking along really well” with more than $500,000 in the bank. Wetland Care Reporting on the work of Wetland Care, Will Abel said $10,800 had been spent on three wetlands in the past year,…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Waipa wars – from muskets to mustelids

First stop, Lake Rotopiko
Peat lakes and battle sites were the main themes of this year’s bus trip at conference courtesy of Ducks Unlimited’s knowledgeable tour guide Tony Roxburgh.   Tony is the Waipa District Council’s heritage and museum manager and he also wears another hat – as Wetland Trust of New Zealand Chair and Trustee. He took DU…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Predator Free New Zealand

Maybe - but not just yet   Counting every rat, mouse or mustelid trapped may be satisfying, but it is irrelevant in the war against predators and may be lulling us into a false sense of security, guest speaker Professor Carolyn (Kim) King told DU members at the conference.   In her speech, Maximising the…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Six go wild in Santa Fe

Graham Gurr goes in search of a golden dorado. The Judge and I have been hunting and fishing together for more than 30 years, but for some reason, the Judge had never managed to hunt in South America whenever I was going. This was our year.   As soon as word got out that we…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Nurse trees give saplands a headstart

Postgraduate students Stevie Waring, left, and Natascha Lewe working at Wairio.
Stevie Waring has been looking into the benefits of nurse trees in wetlands restoration at Wairio. Wetlands are ecologically important, biologically rich habitats that support a vast range of habitats for plants, animals and soil microbes. Swamps are a category of wetland that are dominated by flood-tolerant trees, which thrive in soils that are nutrient-rich,…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

A break from winter in BC

Ducks Unlimited Canada members Len and Pat Everett spent several months in New Zealand this year.
Ducks Unlimited Canada members Len and Pat Everett spent several months in New Zealand this year, partly to avoid winter at home in British Columbia. They visited the Whakamanu Wildlife Trust sanctuary at Manunui near Ruapehu and enjoyed helping out with a North Island brown kiwi’s health check-up. The Canadian couple visited several of our…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

In Brief

Symposium in Napier The National Wetland Restoration Symposium will be held in Napier on 26-28 September, with Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage delivering the opening keynote address. The theme for this year’s symposium is Living Wetlands in the Living Landscape. Other speakers are Australian ecologist Matt Herring and the new CEO for Fish & Game, Martin…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Hunt for the puweto

The spotless crake or puweto is only half the size of a blackbird and extremely shy but Dr Emma Williams and DOC ranger Rose Graham are experts at getting them to reveal themselves. Emma and Rose teamed up this year on a project to monitor spotless crakes in Waikato’s peat lakes Rotomanuka, Ruatuna and Areare…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Obituaries 2019

DUNZ farewells great supporters
DUNZ farewells great supporter Robin Borthwick, a long-time member of DUNZ of 30-plus years, passed away in July at 80 years of age. Rob was a great supporter and always bid up well at our annual dinner and auctions, as well as donating Borthwick Wines. He farmed for most of his life at Wainuioru, east…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Ramsar officials visit

Ramsar officials visited the Wairio wetland in March during their visit to Wellington, the host city for the Oceania preparatory meeting in the lead-up to the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) to be held in October 2018 in Dubai.    The meeting in March was attended by eight contracting parties in the Oceania Region,…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...

Wetland research grants

Interested in studying wetland birds or wetland restoration? – the Wetland Care scholarship could be for you! Background/purpose Wetland Care research scholarships are Ducks Unlimited-sponsored scholarships applicable to any student currently enrolled or affiliated with a New Zealand university. Funds are aimed at encouraging and supporting students who wish to push the boundaries of what…
Published in Issue 175
Tagged under
Read more...