I was delighted to observe this Banded Dotterel on the Wairau River one morning. With its more subtle winter plumage, this resident bird was quite inconspicuous. The Wairau in Marlborough, NZ, is an internationally rare braided river system. New Zealand's braided river ecosystems support a unique diversity of species including a special group of wading birds, many of them endemic including the Banded Dotterel.

Want to learn about the Wairau River's high conservation value, the environmental threats, and the campaign to save it??
Visit www.savethewairau.co.nz.