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Grallards: New Zealand’s Next Extinction or Newest Species?

10,000 Birds

Unfortunately for the hunters these were already all extinct, and with the introduction of cats, rats, stoats and the like the only upland game bird, the New Zealand Quail , was fast on the way out too. Some wild Grey Ducks from the Northern Territory ( GDW45 Creative Commons ). Female Mallard, photo by Corey.

Species 166
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A winter miscellany

10,000 Birds

There’s Lynford Water, a scenic tree-fringed former gravel working that today is popular with Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks and wild swimmers (yes, they even swim in December). One creature that doesn’t budge for the Nuthatch is the Brown Rat, and a pair of these rodents were demonstrating their agility by raiding the bird seed.

Barn Owls 211
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The Whistle Blowers

10,000 Birds

The haunting call of the West Indian Whistling Duck has long been a sound synonymous with the ever-shrinking wetlands of the Caribbean. The whistling duck call carries with it the crimes of big business, the failures of governments and the ignorance of irresponsible hunters. They are also the rarest. Until recently.