The Taranaki Regional Council has launched a new interactive map to make it easier to report sightings of the matuku-hūrepo / Australasian bittern.
The Taranaki Regional Council has launched a new interactive map to make it easier to report sightings of the matuku-hūrepo / Australasian bittern.
Taranaki Regional Council wants the public’s help to ‘back the bittern’ and has launched a new interactive map to make it easier to report sightings of the elusive wetland bird.
Following the Council’s support of the matuku-hūrepo / Australasian bittern for Forest & Bird’s election-style competition Bird of the Year,conservation efforts continue with the call for people around the region to record when they see the nationally threatened bird.
The council’s ‘Have Your Say’ website features a map of Taranaki onto which people can drop a marker where they have seen the matuku-hūrepo, noting the time and place and uploading any photos.
The bird has a current conservation status of nationally critical and council’s senior ecologist Halema Jamieson said there are fewer than 1000 matuku-hūrepo left in the whole country and maybe fewer than 30 in Taranaki, so it’s essential data is gathered to support conservation efforts.
“The public’s help is absolutely vital as the matuku-hūrepo is counting on us for its survival. Knowing how many are left and where they are living is the first step to trying to improve their chances of survival.”
A bittern warning sign on Mohakatino Road, SH3 near Mōkau urging drivers to slow down.
She said the bird was an icon of healthy wetland habitats.
“We need to do as much as we can to ensure it does not go extinct. That would be a tragedy.”
The data gathered will be used by the lovebittern.com campaign as well. The national project is running a ‘great matuku-hūrepo muster’ where the public is asked to record wherever they see or hear the bird on October 19 and November 16.
Suggested places to see the bird are wetlands around North Taranaki from New Plymouth to Mōkau/Awakino, Ōkato to Ōpunake and south of Hāwera, especially in the Waverley and Waitōtara area.
People can also help by watching out for matuku-hūrepo while driving. There are road signs installed on either side of the Mohakatino bridge on SH3 near Mōkau urging drivers to slow down, following a recommendation by the council to Waka Kotahi/NZTA after two bittern were hit by cars in the area.
“We’ll be out and about over the next few months looking for bitterns and we’ll be adding our sightings to the map. It’s such an easy-to-use tool for recording where people have seen the matuku-hūrepo, so please join us in backing the bittern and let us know when and where you’ve seen the birds.”
