Willowbank bird list, as of a visit today. It can be compared directly to the list three posts above (from November 2014). There have been a few notable new species added to the collection (Swinhoe's Pheasant, Scarlet Macaw, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo). Unfortunately the new Blue Duck aviary is entirely lacking in the promised Blue Ducks and all signage referring to them arriving at the reserve have been removed; the aviary has Mandarin Ducks and Swinhoe's Pheasants in it instead. I'm not sure when they will be arriving now. *Emu *North Island Brown Kiwi *(Other kiwi species off-show or part of ONE, as noted in the original post) *White-faced Heron *Black Swan *Mute Swan *Domestic Goose (Sebastopol Geese) *Canada Goose *Cape Barren Goose *Mallard *Muscovy Duck *Carolina Wood Duck *Mandarin Duck *Paradise Duck *NZ Shoveller *Brown Teal *Campbell Island Teal (but they might have gone) *Grey Teal (wild ones) *NZ Scaup (wild ones) *NZ Falcon *Spur-winged Plover *Domestic Turkey *Helmeted (Domestic) Guineafowl *Domestic Fowl *Blue Peafowl *Golden Pheasant *Lady Amherst's Pheasant *Silver Pheasant *Swinhoe's Pheasant *Red-legged Partridge *Japanese Quail *Brown Quail *Buff Weka *Pukeko *Takahe *Domestic Pigeon *Barbary Dove *Crested Pigeon *NZ Pigeon *Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo *Leadbeater's Cockatoo (I didn't see it but the sign is still there) *Red-tailed Black Cockatoo *Blue And Gold Macaw *Scarlet Macaw *Eastern Rosella *Indian Ringneck *Kea *South Island Kaka *Yellow-crowned Kakariki *Red-crowned Kakariki *Morepork *Sacred kingfisher (one rescue bird; cannot fly) *Canary (didn't see any but probably still there) *Bengalese Finch *Java Sparrow *Tui *Rook So, changes since last November (six months ago): Gone: *maybe the Campbell Island Teal (their aviary was unoccupied with a sign saying it was being renovated) New: *Eastern Rosellas, Indian Ringnecks, Japanese Quail, and Mandarin Ducks all present (so were probably on site on my last visit but not on-show or simply not out) *Lady Amherst's Pheasants back again (a male with three females back in the aviary they had previously been in before being replaced with Silver Pheasants, and also four or five young birds in another aviary) *Swinhoe's Pheasant (pair) *Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (three) *Scarlet Macaw (one) *Emu (three)
....New Zealand Is there still a viable stock of Carolina Wood Ducks in NZ? I believe they are gone from Australia.
I think there might be a tiny number in Australia, but yes they are essentially extinct here. In contrast, the NZ population is much larger, and should be viable. They are held in surprisingly large numbers at Hamilton Zoo, and Auckland has a few too. Also present in private collections, there is currently a pair on TradeMe for $175, which is fairly cheap for exotic birds in NZ I think.
yes, funnily enough Carolina Wood Ducks are common in NZ but almost gone from Australia, whereas Mandarin Ducks are in difficult waters in NZ but still firm in Australia.
Exotic Birds... That's heartening. Really there's no excuse for either species being lost; I suppose three is no flow of birds between Australia and NZ?
there is no legal bird movements between or into either country apart for a select few species (mostly domestics).
To look at the other exotic waterfowl in the region, NZ has good stocks of Mute Swans and Canada Geese (because both are feral species), whereas these are rare in Australia. Egyptian Geese show the opposite pattern though, I've never seen one in NZ.
yes, I'm pretty sure Egyptian geese are completely gone from NZ now. I haven't seen any in years. (I used to have an old photo in the Willowbank gallery coincidentally, but it was lost in the Great Purge). I used to hope there might still be some hanging on in private hands but now I think it is unlikely.
