Votes for the weweia, also known as a dabchick, have opened in Forest and Bird’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau – Bird of the Year 2024 competition.
Votes for the weweia, also known as a dabchick, have opened in Forest and Bird’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau – Bird of the Year 2024 competition.
A Rotorua politics student is campaigning for the weweia (dabchick) in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year race.
“The weweia is underrated if you ask me; in a Rotorua context you have the kārearea [falcon] but I think it’s just as important,” Victoria University of Wellington political science and public policy student Finn Liley said.
The dabchick/weweia - a waterbird - became extinct in the South Island after numbers declined during the 1800s and 1900s, but in the North Island the population is increasing due to conservation efforts.
About 2000 birds can still be found in Taupō and Rotorua, Liley said.
Born and raised in Rotorua, Liley and his girlfriend Kathleen Baldwin opted to be campaign managers for the weweia during this year’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau, Bird of the Year contest after learning about them last year.
With its conservation status “in serious trouble” according to the Bird of the Year website, Liley said he and Kathleen wanted to bring more awareness this breeding season for people who patronised spots on the water where the birds build nests.
“It goes from September to December. Their nests are built on the water and they are very exposed so they’re vulnerable to boats going past and predators like Norway rats, who are able to swim.”
Rotorua couple Finn Liley, 20, and Kathleen Baldwin, 21, want to bring awareness of the weweia (dabchick) to Rotorua and Taupō water users this mating season.
Liley found out about them while writing a conservation paper last year.
The biggest issue they faced was “declining bird numbers due to predators”.
“After that, I got into trapping down here in Wellington. But I grew up in Rotorua - I’ve only moved away for uni,” Liley said.
In August SunLive reported a weweia was found on Boyes Beach after a dog killed it.
Rotorua Lakes District Council’s dog control bylaw allows dogs to be exercised on or off a lead at Boyes Beach during specified times.
Boyes Beach links via a boardwalk to the Department of Conservation-managed Lake Ōkāreka Scenic Reserve. Dogs are not allowed in the reserve, as is the case for all DoC reserves in the Rotorua area.
This is to protect native wildlife from being disturbed, injured, or killed by dogs, the report said.
Liley said dabchick nests were “mostly around aquatic vegetation that’s kind of opening up out of the water or even just branches that are floating”.
As a campaigner, Liley said it was difficult to get the word out about other birds, pointing out the wrybill was backed by Christopher Luxon in 2022, “and the Green Party has this year”.
Compared to ducks, the weweia were quite a bit smaller; “their head and beak are reasonably distinctive”.
“They’re quite a small bird. If you see a bird or a pair of them, or one with their chick or something, just give it enough space and make sure you’re not disturbing it too much.”
Voting for the Bird of the Year can be done on the Forest and Bird website and closes at 5pm, September 15.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
