The White Heron, also known as Kōtuku, is one of New Zealand's most treasured and elegant birds and is rarely seen outside its single breeding colony on the West Coast.

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Visitors to Waikawa Beach are occasionally rewarded with sightings of these magnificent birds feeding quietly along stream edges, wetlands and estuary margins.

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In Māori culture, the Kōtuku symbolises rarity and beauty, reflected in the saying "He kōtuku rerenga tahi – a white heron seen but once" – used to describe someone or something truly special.

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