Ecology: Phil's photo - the weweia/dabchick

Photo / Phil Brown

The weweia or dabchick (Poliocephalus rufopectus) dabchick are one of the 'grebe' families; a type of freshwater diving bird.

"They are sometimes called the 'New Zealand diving duck', as they dive for their food and can stay under the water for a long period of time, often surfacing a hundred meters away from where they dived. They live on the water most of their lives and only fly from one body of water to another at night, so it is rare to see them fly or to see dabchicks on land."

Dabchicks are built for water; they had legs that are set far back in their body making them excellent swimmers, but poor walkers. The birds try and avoid walking on land and sleep, build nests and feed on the water.

The dabchick is only found in the North Island of New Zealand, and there are around 2000 dabchicks left, says Phil. "We have just had two dabchick on the Tari wetland pond at Maungatautari."

For more information on Maungatautari Ecological Island visit their website or their facebook page.

To see more of Phil's work check out his website.