Matuku-hūrepo (bittern) is a severely threatened species on the brink of extinction.

Nationwide synchronised counts of male Bittern booming

Matuku-hūrepo | 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-hūrepo 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 60-90mins after your local sunset.

Join us, whether this is learning a new skill or as an experienced birder! The Karioi Project will coordinate local volunteers but our data will be shared nationwide.

• September (Sunset around 6:10 pm)

  • Friday 5th

  • Saturday 6th

  • Sunday 7th

• October (Sunset around 7:40 pm)

  • Friday 3rd

  • Saturday 4th (Most important monitoring session of the year!)

  • Sunday 5th

• November (Sunset around 8:20 pm)

  • Friday 7th

  • Saturday 8th

  • Sunday 9th

You can volunteer to monitor bittern on public wetland sites or reserves - or if you’ve witnessed or suspected bittern to be on your own wetland, you can monitor there!

Let Jasmine know if you’d like to help! karioi.volunteer@arocha.org

The Love Bittern Project’s Bittern Boom Monitoring guide below is a must-read for anyone keen to help with the muster.