25-07-2025
Rare bird in the spotlight
Conservationist Peter Langlands with an Australasian bittern PICTURE: EMMA WILLIAMS
A secretive, critically endangered wetland bird is the subject of the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust's latest 'Talk on the Wild Side'.
Christchurch-based conservationist, researcher and author Peter Langlands will talk about the Australasian bittern (Matuku-hūrepo) and other wetland birds at Skyline Queenstown on Tuesday.
Langlands has received funding from Environment Canterbury for the past two years to carry out research on the bittern, which he calls the "kakāpō of wetlands".
"They've got a really complex behavioural repertoire.
"The male birds make a loud, resonating, booming call that can travel several kilometres."
Langlands, whose book Foraging New Zealand came out last year, lived in Queenstown in 2017 while working for Amisfield restaurant as a forager.
His bulging CV includes collecting data on braided river birds for the Department of Conservation (DoC), and setting up a national database on the bittern.
The "charismatic" bird, of which only an estimated 250 to 750 remain, symbolises the importance of conserving large wetland areas, of which 90% have been destroyed, he says.
"It's a real indictment on how we've treated our lowland wetland environments.
"The paradox is, unlike most critically endangered birds, which are usually confined to sanctuaries or remote areas, the bittern is extremely widespread, but in very small numbers."
He believes there's hope for its future — there's even been a few sightings in the Whakatipu in recent years.
Cash-strapped DoC somehow needs to give the protection and restoration of the country's wetland ecosystems more attention, he says.
"The amazing thing about this bird is if we get the habitat right for them, if we conserve the areas that are left and work to create the right habitats, they can actually thrive.
"They're highly mobile ... and they can breed reasonably fast."
