The white heron/kōtuku (Ardea alba modesta) is rare in New Zealand and looks likely to stay that way. The New Zealand Encyclopedia of 1966 states there were about 20 pairs nesting on the West Coast of the South Island, and nzbirdsonline.org.nz says that there are now about 30 pairs nesting each breeding season. That’s an increase of 10 breeding pairs in the last 50 years, so not really a recipe for becoming common throughout the country. The permanent population is about 150-200 birds, so obviously not all birds breed. And they’ve never been found breeding anywhere in New Zealand other than at Okarito. In fact, they’re pretty much breeding in the same place today as they were breeding at in 1865, when the site was first discovered. The site is a nature reserve and predators are trapped to ensure the birds breeding there have the best chance of surviving.
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