I had a Pāteke disturb monitoring this morning...just popped out of the wetland and waddled on through the ngāhere! Not concerned at all by the human sitting up in the tree a metre or so above it! Pāteke or Brown Teal are 'Nationally increasing' but remain 'Conservation Dependent', meaning the population needs ongoing support to recover and is still vulnerable to threats like predation and habitat loss. Pāteke need wetlands too...when we restore Habitat for Hūrepo we help other wetland dependent

Least Bittern Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

1.5K views · 23 reactions | Raupo provides an important refuge habitat for bittern fledglings and it is important to keep a good water level and food source around the raupo so that the bittern fledglings do not need to wander into more open areas where they are more vulnerable. From now to late January is a key time when bittern fledglings are vulnerable. Bittern Conservation - NZ Bittern Conservation Network - NZ Research sponsored by Environment Canterbury | Peter Langlands | Facebook