Date: 7th August 2025
Something unexpected popped up on our latest round of predator monitoring in the Rees Valley — a weka!
These remote cameras are part of our ongoing support for the Takahē Recovery Programme, helping to track predator presence in the area. But this time, the lens caught more than just mustelids – it captured a weka. To our knowledge this is the only record of weka in this part of Otago in a very long time and it has us excited!
We’ve checked in with bird experts who reckon it is a western weka and while we can’t say for certain where this adventurous bird has come from, it’s likely it dispersed from the Routeburn area – a significant natural movement, and one of the only known records of a weka in the upper Rees in modern times.
Weka may look bold and robust, but their populations are highly vulnerable. Mainland populations have suffered heavily due to predation, habitat loss and even drought conditions. Their inquisitive nature makes them easy targets for predators, and they’re notoriously tricky to successfully reintroduce.
In fact, since the 1860s, many reintroduction efforts across Aotearoa have failed, with only a few populations establishing successfully. That’s why this single bird sighting is significant – it’s evidence of natural dispersal, which shows promise for species resilience.
Weka are also excellent bioindicators – their presence hints at a healthy habitat with a healthy invertebrate population and low predator pressure. This sighting gives us hope that collaborative, ongoing restoration and predator control efforts in the Rees and surrounding landscapes are having a meaningful impact.
We will be watching closely and will continue to review any footage we collect from the Rees Valley and surrounding areas – who knows, maybe this lone weka is just the beginning!
It’s small moments like this that remind us why this work matters: helping wild nature find its own way home.
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