in the North Island - another Ramsar site.
Managed by DOC, the 5923ha 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
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 from the Arctic in spring and fly north again in the autumn; others fly 1000km north from the braided rivers 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 of 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,