In the southern corner of New Zealand, a team is working to detect secretive, cryptic wetland birds… using sound.
Matuku Hūrepo Australasian Bitterns are so shy and cryptic, that they are rarely seen. They are wetland birds and with a 90% loss of wetland area in New Zealand, their populations are in steady decline. A collaborative project is underway in the Otago region to understand more about these birds by detecting them using acoustic recorders.
Featuring -
Dr. Scott Jarvie - Terrestrial Ecologist, ORC, Otago Regional Council
Mary Thompson - Ornithologist, Birds New Zealand
Francesca Cunninghame - Project Manager, Forest and Bird
Petra Simpson - Forest and Bird
If you’ve spotted an Australasian Bittern please contact -Birds New Zealand at bitterns.otago@gmail.com
You can also log your Bittern & Crake observations on citizen science platforms like eBird or iNaturalist
Learn about Australasian Bitterns
Episode Cover Art - @harshi.designs https://www.instagram.com/harshi.designs/
Producer, Sound Recordist, Sound Editor & Presenter -
Karthic SS
Additional Sounds from
Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0) & Birds New Zealand
Kindly supported by the NZ Lottery Grants Environment and Heritage fund, administered by Te Tari Taiwhenua, the Department of Internal Affairs
Supported by OAR FM Dunedin & Science Communication, University of Otago.
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This show was broadcast on community radio OAR 105.4FM Dunedin and available at http://accessmedia.nz/
