What's On at Zealandia

Join wildlife photographer X-traordinaires Simon Runting and Nick Crarer at ZEALANDIA Ecosanctuary.

Dragonflies are beautiful and live amazing lives but they are in trouble worldwide. 

ZEALANDIA has several species of dragonflies and damselflies and we are playing our part to encourage them. We are currently hosting Ruary MacKenzie-Dodds and Kari de Koenigswarter, UK dragonfly ambassadors, to survey the dragonfly populations found in the sanctuary, and educate those at ZEALANDIA about dragonflies and their freshwater habitat. Ruary and Kari will also be giving a public talk on Tuesday, 18 February.

ZEALANDIA is honoured to be one of the finalists in the Mitre 10 Community of the Year category in the New Zealander of the Year Awards 2020. 

Every summer, some rivers and lakes around New Zealand turn soupy green, as algae (cyanobacteria) increases in abundance, blooming in the sun-warmed water. In normal numbers, the algae is an essential part of our freshwater ecosystems. When overabundant, some species that bloom also produce toxins which pose a health risk to humans and animals that come into contact with the water.  

I hear the calls, a high-pitched buzzing ‘zipt, zipt, zipt’. Scanning high in the canopy, I spot a couple darting to and fro with their quick movements. These are the elusive tītipounamu/ rifleman, which I’m excited to spot at last since their introduction in March this year, with the help of ranger Kari Beaven. 

We head up a steep slope on the western scarp of the lower lake, and crouch low to observe a nest. Kari says this is the pair’s second nest for the season – and sure enough, I spot the female coming to feed her chicks several times. A quick food drop, then she’s away out again. 

Wellington’s urban eco-sanctuary ZEALANDIA is a showcase for environmental best practice and recently has been Toitū carbonzero certified for the fifth consecutive year. 

Spring is truly underway, and many of the birds in ZEALANDIA are exhibiting courtship, breeding and nesting behaviour. Here are some things to look out for if you are visiting the valley. 

The takahē are nesting again this year! In the last week of October rangers found Nio on a nest in the wetland and have set out a camera to keep an eye on whether any pīpī / chicks hatch. With an incubation period of 30 days, and a further nestling period of two weeks, it may be some time before we see any evidence of this, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed! 

Takahē make nests among vegetation, with overhead cover to hide it from avian predators. Males and females take turns incubating eggs, with the female typically taking the day shift and swapping with the male around dusk. 

Tītipounamu chicks have hatched at ZEALANDIA, a great start for the hopeful establishment of a viable population of Aotearoa’s smallest native bird in Wellington. 

A tuatara with an amputated tail has recently been released back to its home at ZEALANDIA after treatment and recovery at The Nest Te Kōhanga, Wellington Zoo’s native wildlife and animal hospital.  

Ara Kawau, ZEALANDIA’s electric boat, is a familiar sight, plying the waters of the Lower Lake. But did you know that our boat has an interesting back-story as well?

Ara Kawau is a Duffy electric boat, invented when Marshall “Duffy” Duffield placed the motor from a second-hand golf cart into the hull of a beat-up motorboat in Newport Beach, California, more than 45 years ago.