News

Brenda grew up in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, exploring the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, with holidays at the family bach in Doubtless Bay in the Far North. She joined OSNZ while at high school and was a regular attendee at meetings held at the Auckland War memorial museum.  After graduating from Auckland University, she studied […]

Download the latest South Auckland newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Download the latest Nelson newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here 

BirdLife Australia and Birds New Zealand are pleased to announce that the 13th Australasian Ornithological Conference (AOC) will be held in Boorloo/Perth, 18-20 November 2025. For details and online registration visit https://aoc.org.au/. Early Bird registration closes on 26 September 2025. The deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 4 July – for details visit https://aoc.org.au/call-for-abstracts/. Don’t […]

The 2025 NZ Garden Bird Survey runs from 28 June to 6 July! This annual survey, run by Landcare Research and supported by Birds New Zealand, started in 2007 to study the distribution and population trends of our common garden birds. By participating you will help build a picture of how native and introduced birds […]

Highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu has been around since the 1990s, but the current bird flu pandemic started in Asia in 2020, when a low pathogenic strain mutated into a high pathogenic strain called H5N1 2.3.4.4b. Read more about this on the RNZ news story: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ourchangingworld/564326/our-changing-world-getting-ready-for-h5n1-bird-flu

I grew up in Nelson and Golden Bay surrounded by birds above ground and the bones of extinct birds in caves below ground. I spent much of my childhood in the outdoors amongst nature and sailing in Tasman Bay. Every family road trip was a lesson in natural history, geology, palaeontology, and history, something that […]

The latest issue of Notornis (Volume 72, Part 2, June 2025) has been published and is available via the Current Quarterly Publications page, or click on the links below. FULL ISSUE: Notornis Volume 72 Part 2 PAPERS:The mysterious Miss Rebecca Stone and her collection of birds from Hokianga, 1842: a window into early ornithology in […]

The June 2025 Birds New Zealand magazine has been published with a cover photo featuring a Pukunui Southern New Zealand Dotterel taken by Oscar Thomas. This edition contains the results of the 2024/25 nationwide Royal Spoonbill colony and nest survey, and the latest Southern New Zealand Dotterel survey. There is also news of the translocation […]

Download the latest Manawatu newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

New members of Birds New Zealand now receive a free copy of New Zealand Seabirds – a natural history by Kerry-Jayne Wilson! Valued at $50 and published in 2021 it has 136 pages, including over 100 colour photos and maps. Please note the offer applies while stocks last and excludes overseas and family subscriptions. Join now and […]

Get updates on the results of new bird research, seasonal tips on birds to watch out for and how to improve your ornithological and birding skills, and ways to get involved with our regular surveys and field trips.  Link to: https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/sign-up-for-e-newsletter/#!form/eNewsletterSignUp

Funding from the Birds New Zealand Pacific Islands Bird Conservation and Research Fund was used to support seabird surveys and monitoring training for staff from the Ministry of National Resources and Environment and the Samoa Conservation Society. The Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust provided this training. […]

Download the latest Canterbury newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Download the latest Otago newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Download the latest Waikato newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Download the latest Wellington newsletter here Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Birds New Zealand is delighted to announce publication of Murray Williams’ A synopsis of game bird banding in New Zealand to year 2000 This fascinating account of the history of game bird banding in Aotearoa has been published as part of our OSNZ Occasional Publications series. Image by Rebecca Bowater (NZ Birds Online)

An online workshop about recording moult in the plumage of birds was held by Birds New Zealand on 5th February 2025. Nearly 100 participants took part in the online workshop.  Proceedings were recorded and will be made available as an educational resource on the Birds New Zealand website. Funding for the workshop was provided by […]

Aotearoa New Zealand is a long way from anywhere. Despite being 2,000 km from the nearest continent, vagrant land birds regularly find their way across the Tasman Sea – though some don’t quite make it. Bird curator Colin Miskelly describes the latest new species to come to grief on our shores. Read more at https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2025/01/22/a-new-bird-for-new-zealand-horsfields-bronze-cuckoo/ […]