Rare ducks liberated

More than 70 threatened pateke, or brown teal ducks, have been released into the Arthur Valley on the Milford Track as part of a $1 million dollar conservation effort to restore birdlife and habitats along New Zealand's Great Walks.

As well as funding the pateke release last week, the Air New Zealand Great Walks Biodiversity Project, in conjunction with the Department of Conservation (Doc), supported increased predator control along the track.

The density of stoat traps was doubled over the summer and possum and rat control was being established in part of the Clinton Valley, at the Te Anau end of the track.

The more intensive predator control will protect vulnerable species, such as kiwi, which still exist in the area, and allow other threatened species, such as pateke and takahe to be returned to the area.

Doc Te Anau area manager Reg Kemper said the partnership would mean New Zealand and international visitors would be able to walk among some of the world's rarest birds on one of the world's best tracks.

''The pateke are the first vulnerable species to be returned as part of this partnership,'' Mr Kemper said.

''Next year, we're hoping to release takahe to the Milford Track. This will be the first time in living memory takahe have been back in the Clinton Valley.

''To be able to encounter one of the world's rarest birds in its natural environment will only underline the international reputation of the Milford Track.''

Air New Zealand head of sponsorship and community James Gibson said supporting biodiversity projects encouraged richer birdlife on New Zealand's signature walking tracks and improved the overall experience for domestic and international tourists.

The pateke released on the Milford Track are part of a six-year project to re-establish a pateke population in the South Island.

Pateke were present in the Arthur Valley until the 1990s, but were lost from the area due to predation, particularly stoats.

The first release of pateke into the Arthur Valley occurred in 2009.

Pateke are the rarest waterfowl on the New Zealand mainland. Re-establishing a pateke population on the Milford track was an important step to secure the species nationally, Mr Kemper said.