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The Great Matuku Muster

Nationwide synchronised counts of male Bittern booming.

Matuku-hurepo | Australasian Bittern are a highly mobile species capable of traveling from region to region - which means that you could count one in your wetland one day and the same Bittern could be counted again in another place the next day.  The population of Matuku here in Aotearoa is unknown - somewhere between  250-1000 birds are left we think... and they are on the brink of extinction.

 

You can play an important role in helping us to count Bittern during their breeding season when the males can be heard booming. To join us you will need to be able to count the males booming for 1-3 days each month on the weekend closest to the full moon in Sept/Oct or Oct/Nov, for 1 hour after your local sunset.

 

See below for results or resources, or for more information Contact us.

Results

Resources

Image Credit: Glenda Rees

Love Bittern is a project dedicated to helping community-led conservation of Australasian bittern | Matuku-hūrepo (Botaurus poiciloptilus) in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

​It takes a community to save a species - we gather and share our collective knowledge with people and communities around Aotearoa New Zealand to help save Bittern from extinction.

Contact us to join our Love Bittern whānau.

© 2025 Love Bittern Project
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CONTACT

Wendy Ambury

T: 022 526 1972

E: lovebittern@gmail.com

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