Whio Article we read today

It was the first swim and smell of free air for nine blue ducks in Egmont National Park.
The whio were released by Department of Conservation staff at four different points along the York Rd track near Midhirst, taking the population of blue ducks in the park to an estimated 200.
Seven of them were four sisters and three brothers from the captive breeding programme at Christchurch's Paradise Springs, while two females came from eggs found in the park from a blue duck that had been fitted with a transmitter.
DOC biodiversity ranger Kelly Eaton said the ducks were given transponders so staff could identify them if they came across them later. "Who knows where they go, they could go all over the mountain."
The two females from the park who were hatched successfully had been found during a period of great flooding, so it was great they could now return safely.
She said 26 baby whio had been found so far this year. This was up a little on last season. The seven Christchurch siblings were freed at different points along the track so there would be no breeding problems.
Kaumatua Sandy Parata blessed the birds with holy water at the DOC workshop near Stratford before their move into the park.
Another nine ducks will be freed next month.
WHIO FACTS
A river specialist that inhabits clean, fast-flowing streams.
They occupy the same stretch of river for years, aggressively defending it.
Males can live for up to 12 years but females generally live a much shorter time.
They have unique features such as streamlined head and large webbed feet to enable them to feed in fast-moving water.
The male makes a distinctive high-pitched sound – "whio" – contrasting with the guttural and rattle-like call of the female. B
lue ducks nest between August and October, laying four to nine creamy white eggs. The female incubates the eggs for 35 days and chicks can fly when about 70 days old. 

Kelly's rely to our email ( both are below)

Hi Merryl

Lovely to hear from you, so great to have a local school take an interest in one of our special rare species.

The whio were released into 4 different areas for several reasons

1. To avoid inbreeding – 7 (4 females and 3 males) were related (brothers and sisters)
2. To increase their chances of survival. Any birds such as Whio or Kiwi are always released into the predator control zone on the mountain. The bush between Pembroke road and a bit beyond Egmont road has a network of stoat traps. These are checked at least once a month in an attempt to keep predator numbers down which will increase the chances of native wildlife surviving. Key predators include stoats, ferrets, weasels and rats. By spreading out the birds they are harder for predators to find, increasing the chances of more birds surviving. If a predator was to come across a larger number of birds which have never encountered predators before they could make for an easy lunch.
3. To avoid the depletion of food resources in the river. If we were to put a large volume of birds at one location on a river they may eat the majority of the aquatic insects, they are also competing with the Whio which already inhabit the river. Spreading them out allows a more sustainable use of resources.

A transmitter is like a small backpack for a bird. We put them on 1 or 2 birds a year (catch them in a net). We can then use a hand held aerial which can pick up a signal from the transmitter to locate that bird in future. We only do this in an attempt to locate the birds nest. Eggs are removed and hatched and raised in captivity for a project named WHIONE. This ensures the survival of those birds to an age where they have a greater chance of survival.

A transponder is like a micro-chip that people put in their dogs. It is the size of a grain of rice and is injected under the skin between the shoulder blades. If we find a dead whio or if we have to catch one we can tell what the history of the bird is by running a transponder checking device over the animal. If it has one we will know where it has come from/how old it is? Birds which have been captive reared then released have a transponder in them. Those we find without one are wild born and raised.   

Yes there is a possibility a couple of a students could join us. I can not absolutely confirm this at this stage but will certainly keep you in mind with the time comes. Handling the birds will not be an option but there would be a chance to see the birds come out of the box and enjoy their new environment.

Any other questions please send them my way. We encourage community groups to assist us with our work, if there are any other projects you would like to be involved in please let us know.

Kelly Eaton

Biodiversity Assets Ranger - Kaiārahi – Tāonga Koiora Rerekētanga

Taranaki Area Office

Department of Conservation - Te Papa Atawhai

DDI: +64 6 7590350 ext 8972

Conservation for prosperity Tiakina te taiao, kia puawai

www.doc.govt.nz

Dear Kelly

We are a class of Year 5/6 students at Frankley School - 9 - 11 year olds.

We have read your blue duck article in the paper and have a couple of

questions for you.

Why were the blue ducks released into different areas?

What is a transmitter- and how does it work?

What is a transponder- and how does it work?

Could there possibly be any chance a few people from our class- room 11

could help release the blue ducks next month?

Thank you for your time and patience and please try to reply.

Kind Regards,

Merryl McAllister and room 11

Deputy Principal

Frankley School