New Council Member – Mark Ayre

Mark has been an avid birder for almost his entire life. As a teenager he was a volunteer warden at the famous Titchfield Haven RSPB reserve in the UK. Mark moved to NZ, 44 years ago and for most of that time has lived in Otago where he was chairman of the local Forest and Bird Group and active in bird conservation (in particular of the Mohua). He also managed and maintained trapping and monitoring programmes in the Haast region and the Makarora Valley and is involved in bird surveys and bird counts for the Department of Conservation and other private groups. On top of this Mark is a professional bird guide, working for international birding companies such as Nature Quest on their NZ tours. Three years ago, he moved to Motueka, enjoying the bird life of the Sandspit and since becoming Regional Representative for Nelson has led several guided walks here. Mark is particularly keen to use his people and birding skills to involve and foster interest among young people through hands-on activities, camps etc.

New Council member (co-opted) – Martine Darrou

My name is Martine M-L Darrou, and I am French by birth, and a New Zealander by choice, I live in the beautiful seaside community of Waikouaiti in the South Island of New Zealand Aotearoa.

Birding has been my passion for most of my life, from a young age while doing mountaineering in the Pyrenees, Alpes, taking photographs, and in feeding the birds in the rigorous winter of the Pyrenees where I was born,  and then later, as an adult, I joined the Société Ornithologique de France, participating in research and conservation during organised outings. While completing my professional studies in France I also worked part time as a nature guide on the topic of alpine flora and fauna in the Pyrenees, Alpes. My experience in research and conservation stems from my professional work with the CNRS in France (National Centre for Scientific Research).

As council member and due to my passion for birds! I would like to use my social, intellectual and organisational skills to assist the council in any manner that will help devise and implement strategies to protect and restore habitat for birds. I have a wish to work with any general programmes of conservation,  to assist in efforts to educating the public about birds and to give others a chance to experience the healing and restorative powers of birding.

New Zealand Bird Atlas Complete

The New Zealand Bird Atlas project finished on 31st May 2024 after running for five years (2019-2024). This is one of the largest community science projects in Aotearoa New Zealand coordinated by Wildlife Management International Limited on behalf of Birds New Zealand.

Read more in the latest Media Release

More Birds in the Bush

Findings from this 5-year Endeavour research programme were presented at a recent webinar. A recording of this webinar session is available here.

Further findings from this programme will be shared at a 2-day online event which will run from 18-19 June 2024. You can register to attend on landcareresearch.co.nz/events/more-birds-in-the-bush-end-of-programme-event.

For questions regarding this presentation please contact Susan Walker walkers@landcareresearch.co.nz.

Open letter to the Coalition government from NZ Scientific Societies

13 March 2024

A group representing thousands of scientists has written to the Cabinet saying the government’s plan for fast tracking consenting is retrograde and values development over the environment. The legislation – which passed its first reading last week – will give three ministers the power to bypass normal consent processes and have the final say on approvals for special infrastructure projects.

A group of ten scientific societies including Birds New Zealand (Ornithological Society of New Zealand), which conduct research in biodiversity say New Zealand’s plants, animals, fungi and ecosystems are globally unique but are also threatened with extinction. In a letter sent to ministers on 13 March, they say the changes will cause further degradation, and mean that development projects will be at the whim of political decision-making and ministerial discretion, without appropriate checks and balances. 

Dr Jo Monks is the Vice-President of the New Zealand Ecological Society, a Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Otago, and is the spokesperson for the group.

Link to letter: https://newzealandecology.org/sites/default/files/Open%20letter%20to%20the%20Coalition%20government%20from%20scientific%20societies%2013%20March%202024.pdf

Link to press release: 
https://newzealandecology.org/sites/default/files/NZES%20press%20release%20-%20open%20letter%20to%20NZ%20govt%20regarding%20environmental%20legislative%20agenda%2014%20March%202024.pdf

Birds of Te Araroa

Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly walked the length of Aotearoa New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail – counting every bird seen or heard along the way. In this twentieth blog in the series, Colin describes birds encountered while walking the final section, through the Takitimu, Woodlaw, and Longwood Ranges to Colac Bay, then east along the coast to Invercargill, and south to the trail end at Stirling Point, Bluff.

Read Colin’s blog about the final section here.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Migratory Bird Conservation

This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to make a scientific contribution to reversing the dramatic decline of migratory shorebirds in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway (EAAF). The successful candidate will lead a part of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 4.17, supporting recovery and management of migratory shorebirds in Australia! Read more at https://uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/uqcareers/job/St-Lucia-Campus/Postdoctoral-Research-Fellow-in-Migratory-Bird-Conservation_R-35588-1

Historical Publication – A Flying Start

The historical OSNZ Publication “A Flying Start” (by B.J. Gill & B.D. Heather), published in 1990, is now available for download as PDF

This book commemorates 50 years of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (1940-1990) and is valuable to everyone interested in birds!

For other historical publications that have significance to New Zealand ornithology visit birdsnz.org.nz/society-publications/historical-publications/

Birds NZ Data used in SIPO model

Birds NZ wader count data and re-sightings a crucial part of first full-annual cycle population model of South Island pied oystercatcher/tōrea developed by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.

Read more

Meet our new Notornis Editor – Dr James Savage

Dr James Savage is a behavioural ecologist based in Invercargill. His research focuses on social and reproductive behaviour, particularly maternal effects and how parents coordinate to rear offspring. During his PhD, James studied the chestnut-crowned babbler, a medium-sized cooperatively breeding passerine endemic to outback Australia, More recently, James has contributed to behavioural research in rifleman and hihi, and led a project on kākāpō egg infertility. 

James is currently the Research Coordinator of the Southern Institute of Technology, a role that includes advising staff in publishing and academic best practice. Beyond SIT, James supports open access publishing activities across the wider tertiary vocational sector, and internationally he is active within the Research Data Alliance and other organisations supporting open research. For James, taking on the Notornis editor role represents a unification of his interests in avian research and scholarly publishing, and he looks forward to connecting with the Birds NZ community and building on the excellent editorial work of Dr Craig Symes. 

Marlborough Newsletter

Download the latest Marlborough newsletter here

Other recent newsletters from around the regions are available here 

Passing of Mel Galbraith

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Mel Galbraith on Thursday 28 September, surrounded by his family, following a short battle with cancer. 

Mel was a long-standing Council member of Birds New Zealand, and much valued as an active leader in Auckland ornithology, having been a previous Regional Representative. He was a great advocate for nature, and a mentor to students as a Senior Lecturer at Unitec Institute of Technology, and to those beginning their careers in the natural sciences. He has been a leader in a number of ecological restorations, and in the founding of a number of organisations including Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi, the Motu Kaikoura Trust and Miranda Naturalist Trust, and as past President of the New Zealand Ecological Society. 

His warmth and generosity will be sorely missed. Birds New Zealand send our deepest condolences and aroha to Mel’s family. 

Mel’s funeral service details are as follows:

St Mary’s Church, Onewa Rd, Northcote, Auckland
11am, Thursday 5th October

A live-stream is available via https://www.dils.co.nz/tributes/?funeral=OoVAL  

The Auckland branch of Birds New Zealand will hold a remembrance for Mel at our in-person November meeting. 

Exploring plastic ingestion by Toanui on Ohinau

Plastic is a threat to seabirds as many ingest it or become entangled in it resulting in mortality. Seabirds could mistake the smell of plastic for the smell associated with the prey items leading to plastic acting as a type of sensory trap. However, little research explores whether the seabirds are mistaking the colours of plastic for the colours of prey items. We explored this idea with the flesh-footed shearwaters/Toanui being our study species on Ohinau Island. It was previously reported by Wildlife Management International Limited that many of the Toanui on Ohinau was consuming plastic. By gathering the plastic regurgitated by seabirds as well as collecting the plastic found around the island we measured the spectral wavelengths of the plastic using a spectrometer. We then compared it to the spectral wavelengths of seabird prey items including fish, squid and crustacean. We found that clear/white plastic was the most dominant colour and also looked very similar to the seabird’s prey items. The seabirds could be mistaking the white plastic colour with the colour of prey items. However, green plastics also looked similar to prey items but were one of the least common colours found. More research is required to study other factors which could be influencing seabird plastic colour selection including the shape of plastic, the size of plastic and the plastic’s length of time in the ocean. 

Read more about this project funded by the 2022 BNZRF report here

Birds of the Great Walks

Aotearoa New Zealand has many great walks. However, as of 2023, only ten of them qualify as capital-letter Great Walks. Te Papa natural history curator Dr Colin Miskelly has walked (or paddled) them all and kept records of the birds that he encountered along the way.

In the initial blog in a series that will cover them all, he describes what Great Walks are, and the system that he developed to compare and rank their birdyness: Birds of the Great Walks of Aotearoa New Zealand. More blogs of this series are available via the links below:

Birds of the Whanganui Journey ‘Great Walk’
Birds of the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Birds of Lake Waikaremoana Track
Birds of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track
Birds of the Routeburn Track
Birds of the Paparoa Track
Birds of the Rakiura Track
Birds of the Kepler Track
Birds of the Milford Track
Birds of the Heaphy Track

How RNZ’s Morning Report solved the mystery of a storm petrel

RNZ’s Morning Report birdcall has helped solve a mystery about grey-backed storm petrels in Fiordland.

Read more about this story here

Photo by Jean-Claude Stahl (Te Papa)

Historical Publications – The State of New Zealand’s Birds

The five reports “The State of New Zealand’s Birds” are now available on the Historical Publications page:

The State of NZ’s Birds 2009: Conservation of Migrant Birds
The State of NZ’s Birds 2008: Conservation of Birds on the Mainland
The State of NZ’s Birds 2007: New Zealand Bird Atlas
The State of NZ’s Birds 2006: New Zealand’s Seabirds
The State of NZ’s Birds 2005