Blue Ducks at the Manganui-o-te-ao

General birdwatching discussion, help with bird identification, and all other things relating to wild birds and birding in NZ that don't fit in one of the other forums.
Nigel Milius
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:14 pm

Blue Ducks at the Manganui-o-te-ao

Postby Nigel Milius » Tue Feb 05, 2019 7:52 pm

The bridge over the Manganui-o-te-ao at the Ruatiti Domain a few km from Ohakune is a place we used to visit regularly and one where we saw Blue Ducks almost without fail, often pairs both upstream and downstream from the bridge. We hadn't been there since 2010, but were in the area so decided to go and look. We didn't see any Blue Ducks, neither at the bridge or on any of the visible stretches of river as we headed back toward Ohakune. Our thoughts were that the river looked low (probably just the time of year) but that it also contained a lot more green weeds than it used to. Also, we saw 3 pairs of Paradise Shelduck on this section of river, something we feel probably wouldn't like the same type of habitat as Blue Ducks. We know Blue Ducks can be seen fairly easily around Turangi, but wondered if anyone can tell us if they have gone from this part of the river or if we were just unlucky today? Nigel Milius & Wendy Hare
jameswickham
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:24 pm

Re: Blue Ducks at the Manganui-o-te-ao

Postby jameswickham » Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:20 pm

This from a friend who farms further up the valley Nigel:
"You were just unlucky mate. I saw two pairs last night just up from the bridge . There is a lot of algae because we have not had much rain this summer and the river is a lot lower than normal. I often see paradise ducks on the river along with blue ducks as I fish it 2-3 nights per week and most nights see blue ducks."
Nigel Milius
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:14 pm

Re: Blue Ducks at the Manganui-o-te-ao

Postby Nigel Milius » Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:28 pm

Thanks James, that's good news, Nigel

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