Obituary Nancy Payne Nancy Payne passed away recently at 93 years, 31 years of which she had been a Ducks Unlimited NZ member. With the support of her son David and his wife Sheryl, Nancy attended many annual DU conferences the last one being at Martinborough in August 2017. In…

Recently in the last couple of months, Ducks Unlimited has lost three stalwart members.They are Ian Pirani, Nancy Payne, and Audrey Pritt. You will find their obituaries, along with photos on pages 3 to 5 in flight magazine. Nancy Payne one of the oldest members of DUNZ will be missed,…

Ian received a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) in that year’s Queen’s Birthday honours for services to conservation. In 1974 Ian was a co-founder of Ducks Unlimited and was the first president of DUNZ until 1980. During that time Ian and his wife Dawn initiated a Pateke breeding programme and nesting…

48 hrs ago we lost our Mum That is the only time I can ever say that. There is only ever the one Mum and there are no second times. It’s a strange concept and feeling that began in our case in 1923 when Mum’s life first began. In that…

In 2008 Taumata Lagoon, south east of Carterton in the Wairarapa Region of New Zealand, was classified as “A WETLAND OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE”. The lagoon is also recognised as the country’s best example of an “Oxbow Lagoon” – with both ends of the lagoon being only 300-metres apart. In addition,…

The 2017/18 breeding season has begun and The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust (ICWT) once again reached its busy rearing phase. Early October saw the collection of the first clutch of critically endangered New Zealand shore plover eggs for artificial incubation. Critically endangered black stilt/kaki pairs had also begun laying…

September 2017: Pukaha Mt Bruce Since staff at Pukaha last caught up, the Pateke pair now have six ducklings in their care. The Whio, that live in their free flight aviary have also been sitting on a clutch of five eggs. Also the first monitored wild kiwi chicks were safely…

Having just returned from trip to Southern Africa where brown was in fashion, I was glad to visit our wetland and rejoice in the green of all the wetland and surrounding bush flora. A good year for white also with heketara and clematis splashing through the canopy. Making my way…

The mission to save more than one endangered bird species has been enriched by last year’s successful breeding programmes at Pukaha Mount Bruce. The Shore Plover programme saw over 10 birds transported from Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre to Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf and Portland Island off…