Puteketeke – Australasian Crested Grebe – Podiceps cristatus australis
The grebes at Waiwera (Lake Forsyth) that I have been following for the season had a bit of a blow today with a southerly storm taking out some of the nests which had eggs in them, including one nest being lost for the second time in the season. The birds have built where there is good shelter from the dominant nor-west gales of the Kiwi summer but unfortunately their bay is not so protected when a southerly comes through. Nevertheless the bulk of the nests survived and the population on this lake seems to be doing well.
Found throughout Europe, Africa and parts of Asia to Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand these birds breed only in the South Island in lowland lakes west of the Southern Alps and on subalpine and alpine lakes within and east of the main ranges with the greatest occurrence in Canterbury. They are a fully protected and threatened native, having disappeared from much of their former range, although the Canterbury population seems reasonably stable. But their low numbers and relatively few breeding places leave them very vulnerable to human interference and habitat changes.
Puteketeke – Australasian Crested Grebe – Podiceps cristatus australis
The grebes at Waiwera (Lake Forsyth) that I have been following for the season had a bit of a blow today with a southerly storm taking out some of the nests which had eggs in them, including one nest being lost for the second time in the season. The birds have built where there is good shelter from the dominant nor-west gales of the Kiwi summer but unfortunately their bay is not so protected when a southerly comes through. Nevertheless the bulk of the nests survived and the population on this lake seems to be doing well.
Found throughout Europe, Africa and parts of Asia to Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand these birds breed only in the South Island in lowland lakes west of the Southern Alps and on subalpine and alpine lakes within and east of the main ranges with the greatest occurrence in Canterbury. They are a fully protected and threatened native, having disappeared from much of their former range, although the Canterbury population seems reasonably stable. But their low numbers and relatively few breeding places leave them very vulnerable to human interference and habitat changes.