Blue Duck or Whio
However the survival of whio depends on a very high quality river habitat that consists of a fast-flowing, narrow but stable channel, coarse riverbed stones and gravel, high water clarity, shallow margins, pool and riffle sequences and forested margins – a very specific list of requirements indeed.
Many moons ago, in the late 80s in fact, I worked for the New Zealand Forest Service as part of a crew that kept the huts and tracks within the Mt Richmond Forest Park in good condition. For a young fellow keen on the outdoors it was a wonderful lifestyle which I never thought of as a job.
A typical week would entail getting a briefing from the boss in the office on Monday morning, detailing where we would be working and what work was to
