Did You Know?

Before human settlement (from around 12501300 AD), freshwater wetlands covered about 670,000 hectares of New Zealand. Now it is reduced to 89,000 ha – a loss of 90 percent. Fertile lowland swamps have been lost in greater number than those that were infertile or at high altitudes.

Wetland importance is often under-rated. Groups like our own DU Wetland Care and the national wetlands Trust are working towards reversing this trend. There is a great diversity of wildlife in our wetlands with more native birds, fish, invertebrates and plants than most other habitats, yet many wetland species are threatened with extinction Wetlands have high recreational values, and perform vital ecosystem services such as improving water quality and reducing flood risks. They have a big role in managing climate change. Healthy peat bogs are year-round sinks of 2–5 tonnes of carbon per hectare – locking it up in their soil indefinitely.

Wetlands are of cultural and spiritual significance to Maori. They provided Maori with food (particularly wildfowl, eels and other freshwater fish), taro cultivation, harakeke (flax) for weaving and other materials form medicinal, food, building, and craft use.

A plethora of wetland to visit
Farwell Spit – at the northern most tip of the South Island is one of New Zealand’s most important wetland areas. Pat of the spit forms a Ramsar Wetland site of significance and is an important staging area for migratory shorebirds on the East Asia – Australasia path. Farewell spit is just two hours from nelson. The area has been a wildlife sanctuary since the 1930s and its dunes are a haven for over 90 bird species.

Whangamarino
Whangamarino – 62km south of Auckland is the second largest bog and swamp complex in the North Island – another Ramsar site.

Managed by DOC, the 5,923ha of peat bog, swampland, mesotrophic lags, open water and river systems, is an important habitat for threatened species like Australasian bittern, grey teal, spotless crake, the North Island fernbird and black mudfish.

Firth of Thames
South of Auckland at the base of Coromandel Peninsula, the Firth of Thames has 8500ha of wide inter-tidal flats which attract thousands of migratory wading birds. Some make the arduous 10,000km journey south for the Arctic in spring and fly north again in the autumn; others fly1,000km north from the braided river systems of the South Island in the autumn and return in the spring.

Wairarapa Moana Wetlands
Park Lake Wairarapa, Lake Onoke and their associated wetlands make up the largest wetland complex in the southern North Island, supporting native plants and animals of national and international importance.

The diverse habitats within Wairarapa Moana attract a wide range of wetland birds – about 100 species including international migratory birds. The area is also a national importance to fisheries. Among 10 native species, which migrate between the sea and fresh water, are long-finned and short-finned eel, brown mudfish and giant kokopu.

Lower Kaituna Wildlife reserve
Northeast of Te Puke, western Bay of Plenty, Kaituna is a reminder of how the country used to be with an abundance of cabbage trees and flax, pukeko prowling through raupo, numerous ducks, shags and pied stilts foraging for food in the waterways.

West Coast wetlands
The South island’s West coast has a variety of large and valuable wetlands, including lakes,

swamps, fens, bogs, marshes, lagoons, estuaries and pakihi/poorly drained, infertile land. Most are fully protected and are important breeding grounds for rare species. The only kouku/white heron breeding colony in New Zealand is located on the Waitangiroto River close to Okarito Lagoon – north of Franz Josef glacier. The region is one of the last strongholds of the Australasian bittern and a large part of the habitat is suitable for crakes – a rarely seen shy bird.

O Tu Wharekai wetland
O Tu Wharekai, covering the Ashburton lakes and Upper Rangitata River in Canterbury, is an unspoiled, intact, intermontane wetland system and is national important for wildlife.

Otago wetlands
Lake Waipori, Lake Waihola and their associated wetlands are the most significant waterfowl habitat in Otago, on the Taieri Plain, 40km south of Dunedin. The lakes are shallow and drain through an extensive swamp into the Waipori River and then the Taieri River. Over 60 species of bird live in, or regularly visit the wetland. It is now privately owned by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and protected by a Queen Elizabeth II National Trust Open Space Covenant.

Southland wetlands
The waters, mudflats and marginal vegetation of Southland’s large tidal estuaries and coastal lagoons – Jacobs River Estuary, New river Estuary, Bluff Harbour and Awarua Bay, Waituna Lagoon and Toetoes Harbour – make up the most important bird habitat areas in Southland. More than 80 bird species have been sighted in the area, 65 of which are dependent on the estuarine environment. Southland’s estuaries rank alongside Farewell Spit and Lake Ellesmere as the top three wading bird habitats in the South Island.

Featherston farmers Fraser and Margaret Donald have set aside an area of their property and made it available to Kahutara School to use for developing a wetland.

This initiative will give students the opportunity to watch first hand, as their efforts turn a swampy piece of paddock next to their school, into a thriving habitat for wetland flora and fauna.

Ducks Unlimited NZ, South Wairarapa Rotary, and Featherston’s Own Charity are all generously supporting the project.

Don Bell provided advice on conservation wetland design and methodology. He and members of South Wairarapa Rotary and Ducks Unlimited oversaw the students’ initial planting of over 700 important trees of various species.

Throughout out his tenure, Hamish McCrae, a teacher at Kahutara School, has encouraged students to help Ducks Unlimited NZ with tree planting at the very successful Wairio Wetland development. The 150 Ha wetland project is beginning to attract many of the country’s endangered species and provide them a safe haven. This initiative, coupled with Whio breeding and bittern studies is making a positive impact on endangered waterfowl species.

 “The two clutches used this ‘Stock Pond’ as home for some weeks, often sharing it with my Labs. The Labs use it as a cool off spot during our morning walk.  One clutch was there until they were fully fledged.” Said Ian.

Ian says he really enjoys Flight when it arrives, and he almost always fully reads it that day. 

A suggestion from Ian is that it would be a  good idea if an email was flicked out to all members from DU, about a couple of weeks before deadline. That would be a help.

As one of the ‘hanging in there' members, others may be the same, unless as the by chance of me sending you a funny, I would have missed the deadline, always best intentions but am embroiled in so much, and time races by. That also could be the same for others.  

As always we need to harness the ‘modern technology’ for the best use if at all possible. 
From the Ed. 

So there we are – if you have ideas, photos,  and/or stories, send them to the editor, contact the editor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.