A pair of little shags beside the Dunedin Botanic Garden duck
pond have been attracting plenty of interest.
They have been bringing up their family in a hawthorn tree
for several months.
Shortly after they arrived, the little shags produced two
chicks, which were now nearing adult size, plant collection
curator Stephen Bishop said.
Collections supervisor Barbara Wheeler said the birds had
been the centre of much attention.
"Certainly, I've seen a lot of photographers with rather long
lenses hanging around, and ornithologists are interested, and
as soon as they tweet something, more people come along.
"They [the birds] are kind of cool because you wouldn't
normally see a couple of shags nest in the botanic garden, so
far from the sea."
The shags can live in freshwater as well as at sea, and are
common around freshwater wetlands, estuaries and the coast.
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