Seabird Surveys of Aleipata Samoa Offshore Islands

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.

The islands are rich in biodiversity and both marine and terrestrial ecosystems support significant populations of seabirds; They are the most important islands for red-footed (Sula sula) and brown boobies/Fua’ö (S. leucogaster) and greater frigate birds/Atafa (Fregata minor) in Samoa. They host two species of fruit bats, coconut crabs and marine turtles including the most important nesting sites for hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys inbricata) in Samoa.

The islands also support populations of a species of threatened terrestrial bird – the friendly ground dove/Tu’aimeo (Gallicolumba stairi), IUCN threat ranking Vulnerable. The Critically Endangered manumea (Didunculus strigirostris) has been recorded there in the past.

During 2022 and 2023 visits to the two islands of Nu’ulua and Nu’utele were conducted. One of these islands is rat/pig free Nu’ulua while Nu’utele  still had rats and pigs. In addition to visual count surveys and burrow searches, song meters were left on the islands to detect procellariid petrels.

During the survey period, Tahiti petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) ranked by the IUCN as Near Threatened, and tropical shearwater (Puffinus dichrous) have been confirmed as likely breeding on Upolu, the island where the main town of Apia is situated. The presence of a wide range of predators as well as habitat modification suggests that these seabirds are likely to be in decline.

Visual surveys confirmed seven breeding diurnal seabird species as well as tropical shearwater present in small numbers based on calls heard on song meters. The continued presence of tropical shearwaters on Nu’utele despite presence of rats and pigs is particularly welcome as it is likely recovery would be rapid following eradication of rats and pigs. Eradication of rats and pigs is currently underway supported by Island Conservation through the NZMFAT funded PRISMSS Restoring Island Resilience project through SPREP. 

These two islands are important refuges for seabirds and other fauna and have great potential in terms of restoration. This is particularly so as control of predators on the main islands of Samoa is very limited hampered by vast forested mountainous areas which make access very difficult (note there are no helicopters in Samoa) and funding. Finding remnant populations of procellarid seabirds and protecting them on the main islands is a priority. Use of passive sounds attraction on the island of Nu’utele to attract other procellariid species should also be considered.

Read the final report of the Seabird Surveys of Aleipata here

Find out more about the Birds New Zealand Pacific Islands Bird Conservation and Research Fund here

Free Book for New Members!

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 your free copy: https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/membership/

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Waikato Newsletter

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South Auckland Newsletter

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Manawatu Newsletter

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March Birds New Zealand magazine published

The March 2025 edition of Bird New Zealand magazine has been published with a cover photo of a Kārearea New Zealand Falcon by Michael Szabo. This edition announces details of our 2025 annual conference and AGM to be held in Auckland over King’s Birthday weekend (31 May-2 June). More than 200 participants are expected to attend the largest annual conference about New Zealand birds and new bird research.

The plenary speakers will be Professor Dianne Brunton (University of Auckland) and Matt Maitland (Senior Ranger Open Sanctuaries, Auckland Council). Dianne will present “Highlights from 35 years of researching birdsong, behaviour, and conservation in New Zealand.” Matt will present a “20 year retrospective of Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary”. There will also be over 40 other speakers and presentations.

It also reports on Birds New Zealand Council member Colin Miskelly receiving the prestigious 2024 Cranwell Award, publication of the September and December 2024 editions of our scientific journal Notornis, changes to the OSNZ Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, a recent online bird moult workshop, and a new Occasional Publication on the history of game bird banding in New Zealand.

There are also profiles of Birds New Zealand President Natalie Forsdick, Auckland Regional Representative Ian McLean, and long-time Nelson member and bird-bander Willie Cook.

There is an illustrated feature article on a birdwatching adventure in the Solomon Islands written by Ilse Corkery, and reports on new research on Weka, albatross diet, and Fluttering Shearwater recruitment funded by the Birds New Zealand Research Fund and Projects Assistance Fund.

News items also report on recent Tara Iti NZ Fairy Tern and Kārearea NZ Falcon breeding success in Northland and Wellington, and a new Department of Conservation assessment of native species and climate change.

It also contains the regular quarterly reports from President Natalie Forsdick and our network of Regional Representatives, the bi-annual Bird News report on rare and unusual bird sightings over the previous six months, and book reviews.

Link to the magazine: https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/publications/birds-new-zealand-magazine-4/

Notornis – March edition now online!

The March edition of Notornis is now available to read or download online on the Current Quarterly Publications page

A fully searchable database of Notornis articles and Birds New Zealand magazines is provided in the Publications archive

Notornis Volume 72 Part 1 (March 2025) is now published!

PAPERS:
Aspects of the biology and ecology of variable oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor) on the east coast of North Auckland, New Zealand

Observations and dispersal of black-billed gulls (tarāpuka, Chroicocephalus bulleri) banded at North Canterbury, New Zealand, 1958–1974 and 1983

Breeding seabird assemblage of Rapa, Austral Islands, Eastern Polynesia

Birds of Te Araroa Trail – Aotearoa New Zealand’s long pathway

SHORT NOTES:
A nomenclatural issue related to Lopdells’ penguin Archaeospheniscus lopdelli

First revision of karoro Larus dominicanus antipodum (Bruch, 1853)

Further increase of tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) on Miramar Peninsula, Wellington

Game bird banding in New Zealand

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 inspiring renewed interest in moult studies

An online workshop about recording moult in the plumage of birds was held by Birds New Zealand on 5^th 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 the Birds New Zealand Research Fund.

Read more details here

Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo added to the New Zealand list

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/ and https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/horsfield-s-bronze-cuckoo

Notornis – December edition now online!

The December edition of Notornis is now available to read or download online on the Current Quarterly Publications page

A fully searchable database of Notornis articles and Birds New Zealand magazines is provided in the Publications archive

Te Araroa birds – Interview with Dr Colin Miskelly

Walking the length of New Zealand counting every bird!

Listen to the interview with Dr Colin Miskelly about atlasing birds along Te Araroa Trail on youtube (by Adam Forbes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBv7zJxtgfA

Auckland Programme

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Changes to the New Zealand Checklist

The 6th edition of the Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand can now be viewed on the Checklist page https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/society-publications/checklist/

The previous editions of the Checklist were published in 1953, 1970, 1990, 2010 and 2022, with the first four published as books and the 5th edition (2022) published as a pdf and as html webpages.

The 6th edition exists solely as updated webpages, with explanations of what has changed and why contained within the manuscript:
Amendments to the 5th edition (2022) of the Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Notornis 71(3): 93–114.

The amendments document can be viewed at https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Checklist_Notornis_713_93-114.pdf

This signals a new phase in the evolution of the Checklist, which the Checklist Committee intends to update every 2 years. We have yet to decide whether to produce occasional pdf versions of the entire Checklist (e.g. once a decade), or whether the Checklist will exist solely as webpages from now on. This will depend partly on whether there is demand for a pdf version from you, the users. It will also be constrained by the technical challenges of creating a pdf from the webpages while ensuring that the content of the two versions remains identical.

The New Zealand checklist is a much more complex document than most (maybe all) other regional and global checklists. In addition to the basic list of scientific names (with authorities) and common names grouped within orders and families, it also provides comprehensive synonymies for each scientific name (the history of how and when each name changed after the taxon was originally described), and information on breeding and vagrant distributions. It is also exceptional in containing details for all fossil species.

The main source of new distribution information for vagrant birds in New Zealand are the biennial reports of the Records Appraisal Committee, which have been published in Notornis every 2 years since 2011. The 2023 report was the main source of new distributional information included in the 2024 edition of the Checklist, and Birds New Zealand intends to continue this pattern of the two documents being published in alternate years.

This means that there is now a much more rapid channel for your observations to end up in the Checklist. If you observe a reportable bird and submit an Unusual Bird Report that is accepted by the Records Appraisal Committee, the record should appear in an RAC report within 1–3 years of the UBR being received, and in the next Checklist update within 2–4 years (depending on the date of your UBR submission within the biennial cycle for both publications, and which issue of Notornis the two reports are published in). I know those numbers seem tediously slow in an era when everyone expects up-to-date information at the touch of a smartphone screen. However, it is a huge advance on waiting 20 years for the next Checklist to be published.

I make no apology for the Checklist only citing verified records that can be found in a published paper, rather than citing unverified sightings from online sources, including eBird, that may evaporate for any number of reasons. As an example, I note recent postings on this forum by eBird contributors saying that they have deleted their records or intend to do so.

For those interested in what has actually changed in terms of Checklist content since 2022, we have added three new vagrant bird species to the New Zealand list (black tern, black-naped tern, and Matsudaira’s storm petrel), along with entries for 11 newly-described fossil bird species. Two species splits have been made, with separate entries for Tibetan sand plover and Siberian sand plover (formerly lesser sand plover), and for fulmar prion and Pyramid prion. Genus changes include: sand plovers, red-capped plover, New Zealand dotterel and banded dotterel shifting to Anarhynchus; New Zealand shore plover and black-fronted dotterel returning to Charadrius; and banded rail returning to Hypotaenidia. Fairy prion is recognised as having two subspecies, with Pachyptila turtur eatoni being the form of prion that breeds on Heard Island. This means that lesser fulmar prion Pachyptila crassirostris flemingi is endemic to the Auckland Islands, and fulmar prion as a species is endemic to New Zealand (breeding only on Snares, Bounty, and Auckland Islands, but not on the Chatham Islands).

New Zealand Birds Online webpages will be created, updated, and their sequence re-organised to match the 6th edition Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand once I get back to the mainland.

Ngā mihi nui
Colin Miskelly
Checklist convenor

New Funder sought for the Birds NZ Research Fund

Birds New Zealand is looking for a new funder to support the Birds New Zealand Research Fund (BNZRF). For the past 12 years the BNZRF has been funded by the T-Gear Charitable Trust, with the promotion, assessment of proposals, selection of recipients and administration of funds managed by Bird New Zealand. We are grateful for the Trust’s support during that time, which saw 124 ornithological research projects receive funding, including many led by researchers starting their ornithological careers. I would now like to invite prospective new funders to contact me via president@birdsnz.org.nz to discuss this new opportunity.

Since 2013, the BNZRF has been a key part of the Aotearoa New Zealand ornithology funding landscape, funding research with a focus on more than 60 bird species, most of which are either At risk of or threatened with extinction, including various penguin, kiwi, albatross and kakariki species plus Kākāpō, Takahē, Kāki Black Stilt, Hihi Stitchbird, Kea, Rock Wren and others. In 2024 alone, the BNZRF received 23 applications, of which 11 were selected for funding.

The research funded has always been of excellent quality, resulting in publications in a range of New Zealand and international scientific journals. BNZRF recipients have included 42 PhD students and 16 MSc students, with about a quarter of them going on to work in conservation. The enthusiasm of these emerging researchers has also contributed to the success of our annual conference.

The research funded has improved the knowledge and understanding of the biology, ecology, breeding success, and vulnerabilities of 63 species across 26 bird families. Of these, about 50% are classed as At Risk, and 33% more are classed as Threatened. This research in turn helps to inform and improve conservation actions and policies.

The research has primarily aimed to learn more about diet and foraging, distribution and abundance, and survival and recruitment. A wide range of methods have been used, ranging from tagging and tracking (banding, GPS monitoring), population censuses (surveys, mark-recapture), to the use of tools like genetics and environmental DNA for non-invasive species detection, or dietary composition.

For example, 17 NZ penguin research projects have received funds, including Kororā Little Penguin tracking and foraging studies, Tawaki Fiordland Crested Penguin tracking and population studies, Hoiho Yellow-eyed Penguin tracking and mortality studies, and a population genetics study of all the crested penguin species that breed in Aotearoa New Zealand (Tawaki, Snares, Erect-crested, Rockhopper).

Eleven grants have funded kiwi research, including Roroa Great Spotted Kiwi distribution and abundance, studies of avian diseases that can kill kiwi, and kiwi genetics. Six grants have funded Kuaka Whenua Hou Diving Petrel research, including satellite tracking, a population assessment, and the suitability of new islands for translocations. Four grants have funded Kākāpō research including egg viability, genomics, and portable DNA sequencing. Three grants have funded Tarāpuka Black-billed Gull research including an assessment of breeding productivity and two nationwide censuses.

Two grants have funded research modelling Takahē reintroduction to Kahurangi National Park andgenomics. Others have funded studies of kākāriki genetics, Hihi fertility, and the translocation of Toroa Chatham Islands Albatross chicks to establish a second breeding colony. You can read about all 124 BNZRF-funded research projects here: https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/funding/birds-nz-research-fund/.

BBO – Warden Vacancies

BBO are looking for wardens for 2025 onwards. This may be an exciting and rewarding opportunity to live and work at one of the best shorebird sites in the world!

Read details at https://nrmjobs.com.au/jobs/2024/20023383/wardens?back=1

2024 Birds NZ Youth Camp – Pukorokoro/Miranda

The next Birds NZ Youth Camp is planned from 15-20 December 2024 at Pukorokoro/Miranda Shorebird Centre. Read details here

The camp is a fantastic opportunity for young people to develop basic birding skills and get a hands-on experience with birds! If you are a student age 13-18 and keen to join the camp, just get in touch with iansouthey@yahoo.co.nz

Read more about Youth Camps here

Royal Spoonbill – National Census

In 1979 two Royal Spoonbill nests were found at Wairau Lagoon, Marlborough, before breeding also began on Otago’s coast in 1984. Birds New Zealand organised a 2013 nationwide survey that found 20 colonies with 614 nests. With more sightings across NZ in subsequent years, it is expected that there are now more new colonies. This November and December a new nationwide survey will take place to locate their colonies and count the numbers of birds in attendance and active nests. You can help by reporting the locations of possible colonies: where you have observed nesting behaviour such a stick carrying, courtship displays, or birds congregating in remote areas near or over water. Read more here

To get involved please contact your regional representative https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/contact/ or Survey Coordinator Mary Thompson: nzmaryt@gmail.com

This project is supported by the Projects Assitance Fund.