Weweia / New Zealand dabchick for Bird of the Year 2026.
They dance, they dive, they have buoyant butts and bright eyes, they’re our weweia, also known as dabchicks or New Zealand grebes!
Weweia are our only endemic grebe, they’re unique, rare and delightfully goofy. These chocolate coloured cuties have portly bodies, dainty silhouettes and a whole range of dance moves.
I’ve abandoned my tiny tree potatoes and I’m officially campaigning for weweia / New Zealand dabchicks for Bird of the Year 2026!
‘We love weweia’ is my campaign aimed at telling everyone know how amazing these goofy little birds are, I want everyone to love weweia!
Since moving to Lake Ōkāreka where many waterbirds reside, I’ve fallen in love with the weird and wonderful weweia. I’ve always been a weweia fan but it wasn’t until I started seeing them regularly on my daily walks that I really got to know and appreciate how special they are. These little weirdos quickly stole my hearts and they quickly became my favourite bird.
Weweia are the little ‘lochness monster’ silhouettes among the ducks, they hang out in pairs and are very active, diving frequently for food. They’re expert divers and can hold their breath for 40 seconds! When they’ve had enough to eat they float around close together, fluffed up and heads tucked in like floating donuts.
Weweia are entirely aquatic, they eat, sleep, feed and even nest on the water. They are are perfectly adapted to lake life, they have individually webbed toes that help them move around quickly underwater and their legs are set at the back of their bodies to make swimming effortless. However these features make them super clumsy and awkward on land and they tend to avoid coming ashore.
Weweia are so entertaining to watch, they get grumpy when their neighbours veer too close to their territory and they perk right up, elongating their necks as a sign of annoyance. They show their anger by splashing their frenemy with a bit of water (ouch). They do occasionally fight, but it’s more like awkwardly slapping each other than anything serious.
Dabchick dancing is one of the most entertaining bird habits. They dance for a whole lot of reasons, most often in pairs, usually as a declaration of love. Some of their dance moves include splashing their mate lovingly with water, nodding to each other and diving under their mate before popping back up in a random place to surprise them.
Weweia are randy little birds, they can breed year round and mate several times prior to nesting, setting the scene by draping vegetation over a log, rock or low platform before doing the deed. It’s a pretty awkward interaction, one bird will perch, hunched over and wait for the other to mount, before trading places and trying all over again. More often than not the whole event is a flop!
Their dense, floating nests sit only just above the surface of the water so are incredibly vulnerable to sudden rises in water levels. Wake from boats or jet skis can very easily swamp their nest, breaking it apart and destroying their precious eggs.
Like other grebes, weweia cart around their chicks on their backs, the chicks can safely snuggle under the parents wings and pop out when they’re offered food. One parent will take transportation duties, while the other searches for food suitable for tiny chicks.
The chicks can even somehow hold on if their parent carrying them needs to dive. I would be remiss to not mention that their chicks are incredibly adorable!
Weweia are under appreciated and overlooked! Many people don’t know what they are and they get barely noticed amongst the larger and louder water birds. They’re truly unique and deserve to be treasured.
A vote for weweia in this year’s Bird of the Year campaign is a vote for a very deserving bird. They have never won, or even come close to winning the competition.
Weweia have suffered greatly from wetland destruction, 90% of their original habitat has drained to make way for farmland. They’re trying to survive on the remaining habitat that is left for them and they have to find.
The remaining habitat is a battlefield of human disturbance - boats, jet skis and other lake users. There is nowhere for them to be totally safe. Weweia also are no match for Norway rats and especially uncontrolled dogs, who have been known to attack and kill them.
It’s incredibly sad how poorly these precious and rare birds are treated. They deserve better than to have their nest flooded by a boat, or to be treated as a chew toy by a dog. With less than 2,000 left we need to start looking after them now before it’s too late.
A vote for weweia is a vote for their future.
Voting is open from the 4th to 20th of September 2026 on the official Bird of the Year website.
Show your love for weweia with a special enamel pin, art print or an original painting.
Dabchicks at dusk features a close pair of weweia / dabchicks on a reflective lake.
Dabchicks are a sleek, small, dainty endemic grebe. They spend most of their lives on water and even build floating nests that they anchor to vegetation. Dabchick pairs perform choreographed dance routines to each other and stick close together while foraging, then during breeding season they both tend to their chicks, the parents take turns ferrying them around on their backs.
This print is inspired by getting to know the local dabchick pairs around Lake Ōkareka where I live, their colouring lights up at dusk as the warm light enhances their plumage.
This art print is based on an original hand-painted gouache artwork. Each print is created with long-lasting matte pigment inks on textured, high quality archival 100% cotton rag paper.
Print details:
• Hand signed, open edition archival pigment print.
• Based on an original hand-painted gouache illustration by Melissa Boardman.
• Printed on textured 310gsm cotton rag (heavy 100% cotton paper).
• Ships flat in sturdy cardboard mailer.
Please note that print is unframed.
Pricing:
A4 print $110 (unframed)
A3 print $180 (unframed)
This original weweia / dabchick illustration is carefully hand painted in gouache (opaque watercolour).
This is part of a little series of three ‘weweia in flight’ paintings.
Each of my illustrations are inspired by real-life bird encounters and are referenced from my own photographs. I aim to highlight the distinctive features of each bird while celebrating their unique characteristics and charm.
The details:
Original illustration.
Hand painted in gouache on 100% cotton art paper.
Paper size is A5 148x210mm.
Hand signed and packaged flat in sturdy cardboard.
Please note that this illustration will be scanned and the bird will appear on some of my other native bird themed products eg. stationery.
Copyright 2026 Melissa Boardman, this image may not be replicated or reproduced.
This original weweia / dabchick illustration is carefully hand painted in gouache (opaque watercolour).
This is part of a little series of three ‘weweia in flight’ paintings.
Each of my illustrations are inspired by real-life bird encounters and are referenced from my own photographs. I aim to highlight the distinctive features of each bird while celebrating their unique characteristics and charm.
The details:
Original illustration.
Hand painted in gouache on 100% cotton art paper.
Paper size is A5 148x210mm.
Hand signed and packaged flat in sturdy cardboard.
Please note that this illustration will be scanned and the bird will appear on some of my other native bird themed products eg. stationery.
Copyright 2026 Melissa Boardman, this image may not be replicated or reproduced.
This original weweia / dabchick illustration is carefully hand painted in gouache (opaque watercolour).
This is part of a little series of three ‘weweia in flight’ paintings.
Each of my illustrations are inspired by real-life bird encounters and are referenced from my own photographs. I aim to highlight the distinctive features of each bird while celebrating their unique characteristics and charm.
The details:
Original illustration.
Hand painted in gouache on 100% cotton art paper.
Paper size is A5 148x210mm.
Hand signed and packaged flat in sturdy cardboard.
Please note that this illustration will be scanned and the bird will appear on some of my other native bird themed products eg. stationery.
Copyright 2026 Melissa Boardman, this image may not be replicated or reproduced.