News
Australasian Bittern Impaled on a Stick
16 February 2007 at
1:00am in the morning, Robert Webb Centre Manager received a call
from a very distraught member of the public in the Russell area of
Northland. The lady had found a “brown and fawn bird” on the side of
the road and it had a stick through its side.
A whole team of
people then became involved in the recovery of this bird. Robert
asked the lady to go back to the bird and stay in cell phone
contact; they confirmed that the bird was the rare native
Australasian Bittern. Robert contacted the Department of
Conservation (DOC) at Russell and they together with the lady that
found the bird were able to recover and secure the bird in a box.
Nine hours later
the bird arrived at the Centre. There was indeed a stick impaled in
the right side of the bird. The stick had entered the birds’ body
just behind the leg; it had passed through the flank between the
skin and rib cage to emerge just under the wing.
|
Bittern on arrival at the Centre, the
bird is naturally stressed. Note
that the bird has puffed up his
feathers and is ready to strike out. |
 
Shows where the stick was
impaled in the Bittern |
The stick after it was removed from the bird
by the vet |
The stick which we
think was some sort of spear was straight with a “v” at the top of
it. The bottom of the stick had been trimmed by DOC staff to prevent
any further damage during travel, but it needed to be removed.
Robert took the
bird to the Kamo Vets. The vet cut the “v” off the stick, removed
the remaining stick from the wound and treated the wound for
infection. This was one lucky bird! The stick had not damaged the
stomach or rib cavities. With the stick removed, the Bittern
regained near full use of its leg. He was then placed in one the
aviaries at the Centre to recover.
The bird continued
to recover well. We could see that the Bittern, who is very shy and
secretive in nature, was finding it difficult to be in captivity.
The Bittern was released back into the wild on 22 February 2007 at
the earliest possible opportunity. The bird was released by the lady
who found him, a very successful outcome.
If the Bittern feels
threatened they will puff up all the feathers on the head and neck,
then drop its wings slightly so as to appear as large as possible.
The bird will sit low to the ground and pull its neck down close to
the body. From this posture the bird can explode up at the threat
using is sharp beak and neck like a spear. Great care needs to be
taken when handling a bird of this nature.
|
Bittern down low ready
to strike out at a treat |
Bittern striking out at a treat |
 
Robert Webb putting the Bittern
in a box for the trip home |
*The Bittern is a
large bulky thick-necked bird, mottled brown and buff, 71cm tall,
weighing between 1000 – 1400gm and is specialised for living in
swamps. When disturbed, they “freeze”, with the body and bill
pointing skywards, sometimes swaying with raupo or reeds moving in
the breeze. The Bittern is secretive, usually solitary, partially
nocturnal, and generally keeps within dense vegetation. During
breeding, they make a distinctive deep booming call, like air being
blown over an open bottle.
* Details of bird
habitat and behaviour from “The Field Guide to the Birds of New
Zealand, Barrie Heather & Hugh Robertson 1996.
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