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Issue 178

Issue 178

March 2020

Cover: A spoonbill in a canal alongside Linwood Ave, Christchurch
Photo: Bernard Spragg

  • DU goes to Gisborne
  • Welcome to Jim's world
  • World Wetlands Day
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From the President

President Ross Cottle
Hi everyone, I hope you survived the festive season unscathed. I developed a headache over the summer which has just got steadily worse, and I think it has something to do with banging my head against a brick wall by the name of “BUREAUCRACY”. Last time I told you we had at last got consent…
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Land of the First Light

Sandy Bull releases pāteke at the Nick’s Head Station wetland.
For this year’s annual conference and AGM, Ducks Unlimited members will head east to Gisborne, land of the first light. The venue for the conference, being held on 31 July and 1 August, will be the Emerald Hotel in the heart of the city. A treat is in store for the field trip, with Nick’s…
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DUNZ Scholarship awarded

The first Ducks Unlimited scholarship has been awarded to Shannon Bentley who is studying for a master’s degree at Victoria University of Wellington. Shannon’s research will include field work at the Wairio wetland. She is originally from the Wairarapa. DU is planning a small presentation at the university to award the scholarship to Shannon in…
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Kimi's special high country mission

Emma and Colin
Kimi, the world's only bittern dog, recently took a break from her usual job of looking for bitterns to take on a special role for her best friend, DU Director Emma Williams. She was to be ring bearer at Emma and bat expert Colin O'Donnell's wedding. The couple were married on 3 January at Criffen…
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Welcome to my world

Jim’s house by the big pond, and right, an early photo from 1991 when the house was first built and extensive planting in the area had not yet begun
Every tree on Jim Campbell’s family farm has a story to tell – and many of them he has nurtured from seedlings. Pockets of the 508-hectare farm resemble an arboretum, with precious specimen trees fenced and surrounded by other trees planted there to protect it from stock and the elements. Years ago Jim attended a…
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Handy guide defines what makes a wetland

Spotting a wetland
The first step in protecting wetlands is being able to identify them. To help landowners identify wetlands on their property, Greater Wellington has developed a guide: Spotting a wetland on your land. This guide is a set of durable flip cards designed to be used outside, containing photos of different wetland types and plant species likely…
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World Wetlands Day events

The Te Awamutu Scouts, Cubs and Keas
The importance of wetlands was celebrated on Sunday, 2 February 2020, with events around New Zealand for World Wetlands Day.   This year’s theme was Wetlands and Biodiversity, to draw attention to the global decline in biodiversity and the crucial role of wetlands as biodiversity hot spots. The day marks the 1971 signing of the International…
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Let’s hit them with some tech

The Goodnature A24 rat and stoat trap
DU Director Dan Steele looks at another tool to help in the fight against predators. The biggest problem with conservation in New Zealand is complacency and believing that someone else is looking after mother nature on your behalf. So many people leave things to the Department of Conservation and believe that that’s enough. It’s not,…
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Good neighbours

paradise shelducks over Lake Woodley
ISAAC CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE PARK CENTRE A short drive from Christchurch Airport is a 1100-hectare block of land where construction, quarrying, concrete and asphalt companies, livestock and salmon farming co-exist with conservation in a unique business model. The land is owned by the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, which was formed in 1977 to continue…
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Another lost duck?

the pink-eared duck
Alan Fielding follows up his story on the white-eye duck with that of another duck disappearance – the pink-eared duck. The pink-eared duck or zebra duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus), whose Maori name appears to be lost with it, is one of only two genera of the tribe Malacorhynchini, the other being the Salvadori’s duck from New…
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Look out for grey teal bands

A banded grey teal on a nest box
DU member John Dyer wants to enlist members’ help in tracking grey teal and reporting on any banded birds they come across. Small numbers of grey teal (tete), which have been known to fly the length of the country, are being banded near Pokeno, Waikato, so you might find a banded grey teal anywhere between…
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AGM 2020 Minutes

  Ducks Unlimited New Zealand 45th Annual General Meeting, 3 August 2019 9am, Quality Inn, Whanganui President Ross Cottle welcomed members to the 45th Annual General Meeting. Welcome to guest speaker Murray Stevenson. APOLOGIES: Liz Brook; Dawn Pirani; Paul Pirani;  John Cheyne; Sharon Stevens-Cottle; Myra Smith; Glenys Hansen. Motion: That the apologies tendered are accepted.…
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Spoonbills New Zealand

A spoonbill visits Lake Huritini, Levin.
Reports of sightings in the past decade point to a growing population of royal spoonbills in New Zealand. Te Papa bird expert Dr Colin Miskelly backs this up, saying there are signs that the spoonbill, kotuku ngutupapa, is "increasing at a rapid rate". The first spoonbill sighting was recorded in New Zealand at Castlepoint in…
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