Whio hatch at Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre

TARANAKI Department of Conservation (DOC) staff are celebrating this week after four whio/blue ducklings hatched at Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre near Masterton.
This is the first time eggs from the endangered duck have been taken from Egmont National Park and incubated at Mt Bruce under Operation Nest Egg.
DOC staff took five eggs from a duck nesting on the Manganui River earlier this month after concerns were raised over the nest's safety and duckling survival rate due to predation.
"We have had a problem in the past getting through the flood season when we lose a lot of nests due to high water levels," said Jim Clarkson, DOC programme manager biodiversity assets.
"Ducklings are also vulnerable to predation in the wild, so raising them to fledgling age then releasing them back into Egmont National Park gives them a greater chance of survival."
Four ducklings hatched last week and will stay at the centre until they are large enough to be returned to the predator controlled area in Egmont National Park.
Historically, Mt Bruce has had a whio/blue duck captive breeding programme, but this is the first time in many years that the centre has had blue ducklings in its midst.
The sex of the ducklings won't be known until they have fledged said Raelene Berry, ranger species captive management at Mt Bruce. The most accurate way of determining whether a duck is female or male is to DNA sample a feather.
The four ducklings are currently living in a temperature-controlled room at Mt Bruce from where they will graduate to an outdoor aviary.
"The ducklings will be kept inside for the first few weeks so we can control conditions," said Raelene. "We like to make sure they are big enough to get in and out of ponds and find shelter easily before we put them outside in the aviary."
The ducklings will move into an aviary that has been specially adapted as a training ground for whio. A pump system will simulate a mini version of the white water rapids the ducks will encounter when they are released onto rivers in Egmont National Park.
"This is really exciting news for the future of whio in Taranaki and a boost to the population in the park," said Jim. "We look forward to returning these ducks to the predator controlled area in Egmont National Park in the near future."
Egmont National Park has a long running blue duck population re-establishment project initiated by the Blue Duck Recovery Group, and generously supported by the Central North Island Charitable Trust.
The project has been trialling techniques for re-establishing a population of whio by transferring and releasing captive bred and wild-bred juveniles to streams and rivers in a core predator controlled area of the park.