- Conservation status
- In serious trouble
Around September, watch out for their spectacular courtship displays around the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve nesting site, their only breeding ground in New Zealand. Male displays include a spectacular raising of the nuptial plumes, with the neck erect, the bill snapping, and the wing feathers flicking. Once a female is attracted, the pair preen each other and intertwine their long necks, wings, and bill. After breeding season, the birds disperse throughout the country, and you may see them on coastal freshwater wetlands or estuaries.
Campaign Manager
White Heron Sanctuary Tours
While encountering just one kōtuku, is rare and special, observing up to 50 pairs of these beautiful birds in their full breeding plumage, interacting and raising their young is a truly spectacular sight and a unique nature experience!
We’re the Arnold family, and we operate White Heron Sanctuary Tours (established 1987).
For 37 years, each spring and summer, we’ve guided visitors to witness the majestic kōtuku at their only New Zealand nesting site.
We are deeply passionate about the survival of these magnificent birds, and with a network of 200 predator traps in and around the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, we work diligently to protect them and preserve their natural nesting environment for future generations to enjoy.
Vote kōtuku, white heron, for Bird of the Year 2024!
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