June Birds New Zealand magazine published

The June Birds New Zealand magazine has been published with a cover photo featuring a Koekoeā Long-tailed Cuckoo taken by Tony Stoddard.

This edition contains news of new research on aerial bird surveys and monitoring Weka predation of the Sooty Shearwater colony at Kapiti Island funded by the Birds New Zealand Research Fund, the upcoming nationwide Royal Spoonbill survey, and the recovery of a beach-wrecked Australian cuckoo during an Auckland beach patrol.

There is also news of Tītitipounamu Rifleman dispersing more widely around the capital, the release of more Kiwi-Nui North Island Brown Kiwi into the wild near Mākara, and how 3D-printed replica eggs have helped the Department of Conservation to improve the survival and productivity of rare Tara Iti NZ Fairy Tern nests.

There are illustrated feature articles on the completion of Birds New Zealand’s five-year NZ Bird Atlas project written by the project co-ordination team, Colin Miskelly’s marathon walk along the entire length of Te Araroa Trial to gather bird observations for under-reported Atlas grid squares as told by Colin, and a “Chatham Islands Atlas Adventure” written by magazine editor Michael Szabo.

This edition also includes reports from outgoing Birds New Zealand President Bruce McKinlay and incoming President Natalie Forsdick, and the regular illustrated quarterly reports from all 14 of Birds New Zealand’s regional representatives from the Far North to Southland.

Link to the magazine: https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Birds-NZ-Magazine42_June-2024_web.pdf

Special Discount Offer for Members only

Potton & Burton Publishing offer a 10% discount and free delivery in NZ to Birds New Zealand members! Details

The discount code NZBIRD24 can be used at the online shopping cart on their website:  pottonandburton.co.nz/. Offer ends 31 August 2024!

The 10% discount applies to the full range of Potton & Burton books, including:

• Takahe: Bird of Dreams – Alison Ballance
• Kakapo – Alison Ballance
• New Zealand Bird Paintings – Ray Ching
• New Zealand Seabirds – Kerry-Jayne Wilson
• Moa – Quinn Berentson
• Drawn to the wild – Nicolas Dillon

Royal Spoonbill – National Census

Birds NZ has been documenting the increase in population and breeding of royal spoonbill in NZ since the late 1970s. The last census was in 2012 when 2361 birds were recorded. Birds NZ regions will collectively do another winter census in 2024 to see if the population of royal spoonbill is still increasing. In addition, Birds NZ is planning to locate colonies and count nests of royal spoonbill during the 2024/2025 breeding season to find out whether royal spoonbill are continuing to extend their breeding range within NZ. Census dates will vary between regions. Read more here

To be involved in this project contact your Regional Representative.

For more information about the census contact the survey coordinator nzmaryt@gmail.com.
This project is supported by the Projects Assitance Fund.

New President – Natalie Forsdick

Natalie Forsdick succeeds Bruce McKinlay as the new President of Birds New Zealand.

Natalie Forsdick is the new President of Birds New Zealand. She succeeds Bruce McKinlay after his second three-year term came to an end at the Society’s recent AGM held in Nelson on 2 June. She is the second woman to become President of the Society, following Beth Brown’s term from 1983-88.

She served for three years as Vice President after three years as a member of the Birds New Zealand Council. Natalie was awarded the Best Student Presentation award at the 2017 Birds New Zealand conference in Te Anau for her talk on the conservation genetics of the Chatham Island black robin. In 2017 she received a grant from the Birds New Zealand Research Fund for her research on the evolutionary history of Australasian stilts. More recently, Natalie has applied her research training as an active member of the Birds New Zealand Checklist and Scientific Committees.

She has an MSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences (University of Canterbury, 2016) and aPhD in Genomics (University of Otago, 2020). She has worked for Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research since 2020 as a conservation genomics researcher. Her research involves studying the DNA of threatened species to understand their evolution and to inform conservation management. Currently she works with a range of species, including birds, insects, and plants. While she can occasionally be found collecting samples in the field, her time is mostly spent extracting DNA in the lab, or analysing genetic data from the office.

Natalie is eager to lead Birds New Zealand in a new phase of activity following efforts to deliver the New Zealand Bird Atlas five-year project tracking the distribution and abundance of our birds. She is dedicated to promoting the society to ensure continued growth, providing opportunities for members to participate in data collection and bird observation projects, and supporting ornithological research. She looks forward to building on existing partnerships, and forming new relationships to deliver on society priorities.

Natalie is a proponent for a supportive research environment in her role as co-lead of the MWLR Early Career Group. She is also Secretary for the Society of Conservation Biology – Oceania, supporting the hosting of the International Congress for Conservation Biology in Brisbane in 2026.

About Birds New Zealand

Established in 1940, Birds New Zealand is committed to the study of birds and their habitat use within New Zealand through encouraging members and organising nationwide research projects and schemes. These activities are organised at the national and regional level, with 19 regions providing a local network for members to engage in bird studies and surveys. Birds New Zealand promotes the recording and wide circulation of the results of bird studies and observations through the production of its acclaimed scientific journal Notornis and other publications promoting birds in New Zealand. Birds New Zealand also seeks to assist the conservation and management of birds and their habitats by providing data, from which sound management decisions can be derived.

New Vice President – Ian Armitage

Ian has enjoyed an interest in birds from childhood and being a Wellingtonian three of the locations he best remembers watching and learning about birds in the 1950s were when tramping in the Tararua and Remutaka Ranges and at the Pencarrow lakes near the entrance of Wellington Harbour.  A keen interest in birds and forests led Ian into a career in forestry with the former NZ Forest Service.  During the 1980s Ian was appointed to advisory positions for forestry development and conservation in Samoa and elsewhere in the South Pacific, also in South East Asia.  Since 1991 he has been an independent consultant in forestry development in Asia, especially in China. 

Ian joined the OSNZ in 2001 and was Regional Representative in Wellington for six years.  He became a life member of the society in 2004.  He contributed to the organisation of the 2006, 2011 and 2019 society conferences that were hosted by Wellington Region and he led the organisation of the 2008/10 Wellington Harbour Bird Survey, and surveys of the Pauatahanui Inlet between 2012 and 2024.  Ian joined Council in 2012.  He has been an enthusiastic contributor to and supporter of the eBird system since it was introduced.  Ian contributed to the design and construction of a new digital database for Beach Patrol records that aims to systematically document the identity, location and numbers of birds found dead on New Zealand beaches.  More recently, Ian contributed within council of a comprehensive review and reconstruction of the Society’s constitution, adopted at the 2024 AGM in Nelson, to ensure that it is compliant with the requirements of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.

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.