Grebe Project,
Lake Wānaka
The Lake Wānaka Grebe Project started in 2013 when retired zoologist, John Darby, observed a pair of southern crested grebes struggling to build a floating nest on the edge of Lake Wānaka. The problems were strong winds combined with an ever-changing lake level. John’s solution was to design a floating wooden platform for the birds to nest on.
This led to the grebe pair successfully breeding. Now, after 10 years of John’s considerable efforts and support from many local people, dozens of floating nest platforms have been constructed and installed in the lake. Each year, grebes return to breed in Wānaka, knowing they can find a safe place to build their nest and incubate their eggs.
Grebe nests
Naturally, grebes make floating nests attached to submerged trees, roots, plants or even rocks on the edge of lakes and wetlands. In Lake Wānaka the water level changes dramatically during the spring-summer months, so a floating nest is vulnerable to being washed away, destroyed in high winds or left high and dry if the lake level drops.
To counter this, John designed the first ‘floating nest platform’ on which he hoped pairs of grebes could add nesting material, lay their eggs and incubate them safely away from dogs, cats, stoats and hedgehogs on the shore.
The first platform was built using John’s design and put out for the grebes to investigate. A pair of grebes soon jumped onto the newly installed platform and began adding nesting material, then laying eggs a few days later. After a month incubating, the eggs hatched and the tiny chicks climbed up onto their parent’s back to hide. Once all the eggs had hatched, the grebe family departed their nesting area and headed off to raise their chicks.
Project success
After 10 years of John’s amazing efforts with support from lots of local people, dozens of floating platforms have been constructed and are installed in Lake Wānaka each year. An inspirational group of school students, The Greeblies, and their coordinator Markus have been helping John for many years.
The grebes return to breed here every year, knowing they can find a safe place to build their nests and incubate their eggs. More than 600 eggs have now hatched on the platforms and the grebes / pūteketeke have spread out across Lake Wānaka and beyond, boosting numbers on other lakes. Floating nest platforms have since been adopted by other local communities for use on nearby Lake Hāwea, as well as parts of Lake Wakatipu and Lake Dunstan.
The future
In the future, the Lake Wānaka Grebe Project is aiming to expand, providing more nesting platforms in other parts of Lake Wānaka. The recent appointment of our Grebe Ambassador, Petrina, also marks the start of a public education programme. Although now taking a backseat, John Darby remains our inspirational guide and mentor.
Help us to continue this important work, by donating whatever you can: