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

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/⁠