2025 NZ Bird Conference – Register now!

The 2025 Birds New Zealand Conference and Annual General Meeting will be held in Auckland 31^st May to 2^nd June during King’s Birthday weekend. All events and meals will be at the Novotel & IBIS Auckland Ellerslie Hotel. Conference details are available here.

There is limited space, so register early!

REGISTER NOW

AOC 2025 – Call for Abstracts

BirdLife Australia and Birds New Zealand are excited to announce: the 13th Australasian Ornithological Conference (AOC) will be held from 18 to 20 November 2025 in Perth/Boorloo, with side events planned for the days before and after.

Abstract Submissions are now open and close 13 June.
Registration opens 5 May. For more details visit https://aoc.org.au/

This is the largest biennial gathering of enthusiastic amateur and professional ornithologists and avian researchers from Australasia, New Zealand and beyond!

Wellington Newsletter

Download the latest Wellington newsletter here

Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Otago Newsletter

Download the latest Otago newsletter here

Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

Canterbury Newsletter

Download the latest Canterbury newsletter here

Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

2024 Birds NZ Youth Camp – Nelson/Tasman

The latest Youth Camp held in Nelson/Tasman was a great success!

Read the report here

Meet our new Secretary – Johannes Chambon

Thank you for my co-option onto Council. My name is Johannes Chambon. Originally from France, I worked in conservation for about 9 years in different places around the world, mostly on islands. I spent several years in the Indian Ocean (Mayotte, Mauritius, Christmas Island), and have some previous experience in Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Mana o Kupe/Mana Island, Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, and Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands). I was involved, amongst other things, in habitat restoration (plant propagation & weed control), population monitoring of birds and reptiles, often of threatened species, and predator control. In 2020, I went back to university to complete an MRes in Biosciences at Swansea University in Wales, UK, where I studied the migration of the endangered Abbott’s booby. I recently started a PhD at the University of Otago in the Department of Zoology, studying the climate change vulnerability of two threatened seabird species endemic to the Chatham Islands, the Chatham Island tāiko and the Chatham petrel. I look forward to further contributing to the conservation of the unique avifauna of Aotearoa New Zealand further as the Secretary of Birds New Zealand.

Johannes Chambon

Northland “Amokura” Newsletter

Download the latest Northland “Amokura” newsletter here

Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here

New Membership Secretary

We welcome Kurien (Koshy) Yohannan who has taken on the important voluntary role of the Society’s Membership Secretary!

2021 BNZRF Projects

12 Projects have been selected for funding this year.

Overview articles are available here

Submission to the Climate Change Commission

The Society made a submission to the Climate Change Commission’s invitation for comment on its Draft Advice Document to the Government. Read the submission here

Regional Representatives – Voluntary Role

Regional Representatives play a leadership role in Birds New Zealand’s regional branches by organising projects, coordinating branch meetings and field trips, communicating with members, and promoting the Society.

We are currently looking for people to volunteer as Regional Representatives in the following regions:

Far North  –  Whanganui  

If you are interested in providing leadership for the study and enjoyment of birds in your region and have the time to volunteer, please get in touch with eo@birdsnz.org.nz

For more details on the Regional Representative role please refer to our guidelines https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/about-us/manual/guidelines/

Nest Record Scheme

With the winter season soon turning into spring, we need your help in increasing our knowledge of a very important aspect of bird behaviour!

With the Nest Recording Scheme you can help to fill the gaps in our knowledge. Are you able to observe birds nesting in your garden or neighbourhood park; or are you already undertaking valuable research on a species that could be reported ? Please check https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/schemes/nest-record-scheme/ or contact the Nest Records Scheme Convenor. Any contribution would be much appreciated.