My sister tells me she saw a Weka crossing the road at Otaki today.
A while ago she'd told me that the locals in Ohau (just north of Otaki) had told her there were Weka around there, at which I expressed scepticism, thinking they must be confusing some other bird with Weka, but today she saw one. She knows what a Weka looks like, so I don't have any reason to doubt her identification.
Is there a known population of Weka around Otaki? I couldn't find anything on this forum or by general googling.
Weka in Otaki?
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
I don't know of any Weka populations that low in the North Island other than on Kapiti Island.
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
Definitely not a banded rail?
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
David Riddell wrote:Definitely not a banded rail?
When she told me that the people in Ohau said there were Weka around there I figured they were probably confusing Banded Rails. But I think she wouldn't mistake a Banded Rail for a Weka herself. (Also I don't know if Banded Rails are even in Otaki / Ohau - that was just the closest thing to a Weka I could imagine causing confusion).
I wouldn't expect to see a Banded Rail on the road though?
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
If I remember rightly some Weka were released in the Tararuas when the operation to remove rats from Kapiti was undertaken (fact check required!!).
Enough birds could have survived for this to the source of any population in this area.
Cheers
Jim
Enough birds could have survived for this to the source of any population in this area.
Cheers
Jim
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
Byrd wrote:David Riddell wrote:Definitely not a banded rail?
When she told me that the people in Ohau said there were Weka around there I figured they were probably confusing Banded Rails. But I think she wouldn't mistake a Banded Rail for a Weka herself. (Also I don't know if Banded Rails are even in Otaki / Ohau - that was just the closest thing to a Weka I could imagine causing confusion).
I wouldn't expect to see a Banded Rail on the road though?
There is an eBird report from Ohau Estuary from December 2016 that includes a sighting of one Banded Rail with the following description: "Just after leaving the carpark saw the rail running along the road."
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
My pick for likely-to-be-mistaken-for-weka would be a half grown pheasant. But if people know what a weka is, and conditions are good, then maybe..
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
There's just been a post on the NZ Bird Identification Facebook page of a dead weka on a beach on the Kapiti Coast. Possibly one that tried to swim across from the island, or possibly...?
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Re: Weka in Otaki?
Yep a body of weka has been found on the beach at Paekakariki and posted on facebook.