You might recognise this little guy from the New Zealand $10 note. As one of our rarest birds, the Whio, or Blue Duck, needs our help to continue surfing our white-water rivers. These unique birds are camouflaged for this unique environment and have a lip on their bill which allows them to forage for insects amongst rocks. As they need fresh water to be able to establish a home where their food thrives, they are a great indicator of the health of the water. 

There are two main threats that have affected the number of these birds in the wild. As good water quality is a high priority, the degradation of many of our rivers by silt and other pollutants has resulted in many rivers being unsuitable as habitat. We also cannot ignore the familiar story that before the introduction of pests like stoats, weasels, ferrets and rats the Whio thrived.

We support The Blue Duck Project in the central north island and the Mangaotane Whio Conservation Project in the southern Raukumara on the East Coast, north of Gisborne, in protecting their Whio residents. This involves controlling predators along the margins of the river, particularly during the nesting and fledging season, between August and January. We have donated several effective and easy maintenance A24 traps to these organisations. Through trapping, we can give the Blue ducks a chance to nest, raise their young and build up their numbers so we can see these in abundance on our rivers once again.