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White herons seen on the estuary this month

landing heron

Two white herons (kotuku) were seen on the Manawatu Estuary this month. They really are so graceful.

Terry Oliver-Ward of Foxton sent us this fantastic photo of one of them landing on the water. (Click on the photo to see it at full size.)

The white heron’s sole New Zealand breeding site is near Okarito Lagoon in Westland where there are estimated to be 30 breeding pairs, with a total New Zealand population of less than 200.

They are not a common visitor to the Manawatu Estuary.

Here’s more info on these beautiful birds.

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Mapping our nature helps our wildlife

How mapping tools can help with conservation is the subject of a forum run by the Department of Conservation that two of our members are at today.

An important part of Wildlife Foxton Trust’s planning is how we can best use and initiate research at our centre, and this forum is already helping us with heaps of  new ideas.

By the way, here is how DoC uses mapping tools to let the public view and access its spatial data.