Winged Adonis
Thu, 08 Oct 2009 9:27 am – Posted by Mandy | 7 Comments
Guest Blogger: Campaign Manager for the Hihi, Emma Gilkinson
Winged Wonders
Sun, 27 Sep 2009 2:20 pm – Posted by Mandy | 1 Comment
Guest Blogger, Campaign Manager for the Albatross, Mandy Herrick
Kea: A Bogan-tastic Bird
Fri, 18 Sep 2009 9:50 pm – Posted by Mandy | 4 Comments
Guest blogger: Co-Campaign Manager for the Kea, Mandy Herrick
Ahem, before you go off and vote for, the best bird in the world - our lovely, conniving, uber intelligent kea - I’d like to acknowledge the good people at the Natural History Unit who provided the footage for this video; illustrator extraordinaire, Kieran Rynhart who penned the pictures, final-cut pro guru Davey Boy and sound recordist Phil Yule. Now go vote! http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/poll
A Bird with Too Few Lovers
Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:29 pm – Posted by Mandy | 2 Comments
Guest Blogger: Campaign Manager for the Masked Lapwing & Field Officer for Forest & Bird, Aalbert Rebergen
Masked Lapwing, Photo: B Donald
I’m not surprised that the spur-winged plover, or better: “masked lapwing” as it is called in Australia and the rest of the world, receives little mention in the ‘polls’ or receives praises from our VIPs.
Some may think that it’s not even a native and can’t qualify for “bird of the year”. But it is as much a New Zealand native bird as the welcome swallow, pied stilt, silvereye, white-faced heron (good on you Steve Braunias!) and several others.
It’s just an amazing bird and boy do kiwis hate them. People hate their “awful noise”; they can’t stand the fact that they defend their chicks vigorously against harriers and possibly magpies. Or that they are SO successful, SO Australian maybe……?
Billed to win?
Thu, 10 Sep 2009 8:21 am – Posted by Mandy | 11 Comments
Guest video blogger: Presenter and Campaign Manager for the Royal Spoonbill, Jeremy Wells.
Kakariki: International Bird of Mystery
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:21 am – Posted by Mandy | 8 Comments
Guest blogger: Campaign Manager for the Kakariki: Phil Bilbrough
I’m cool. I look great - anyone who says different is jealous. I am Kākāriki, eight inches of attitude. Vote for me in Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition.
Red-crowned parakeet, Photo: creative commons, digital trails
I’m a local and one that stands out. I am colour and personality. Beautiful light green, with blue in my wings, and a crimson crown, I have a yellow body and wings, and sometimes an orange crown. I make my counterparts look dour – browns, greys, blacks, white with spots, and the occasional deep blue – they only flash colour and personality.
Doubtless
Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:06 pm – Posted by Mandy | 2 Comments
Guest blogger: Poet & Campaign Manager for the Pied Stilt, Sam Hunt
Ed’s note: Sam Hunt lives amongst the birds in the Kaipara Harbour, so I asked him to be a campaign manager for one of his favourite neighbours - the pied stilt - a bird which has polled poorly in our annual Bird of the Year competition. Here’s his response. Mandy
Pied Stilt, Photo: Craig McKenzie
There aren’t too many birds I don’t love in some way or other. And it’s a tough ask, to choose your favourite.
I’ll give it a go and say poaka. There’s nothing I don’t love about these birds. I love the way they don’t give too much of a toss about nests. A few sticks and twigs do the trick. So long as it carries the eggs safely.A scoop on a sandbank, again, a few twigs. That’s home.
After at least fifty years, watching these birds, I can still be fooled by their “broken wing” display. This is defence of that nest, of home. If a stilt’s nest is threatened, they’ll affect a broken wing and a broken leg, tumble down the shoreline, distracting the intruder completely. It’s a stunning performance.
Ode to the grey warbler: a singer of songs
Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:25 am – Posted by GraemeHill | 13 Comments
Guest Blogger: Graeme Hill, Secretary, Campaign for the Grey Warbler 2008 (and Radio Live Host)
2007 was a landmark year for Gerygone igata, or the grey warbler, or the riroriro, or the Bird Of The Year, or the Coolest Bird in New Zealand. At long, long last the underbird got the recognition it deserved, and if you read on I will put the case why it deserves to win this year as well.
But first, an apology:
Towards the end of a long and hard campaign last year some regrettable things were said by the Grey Warbler campaign about other birds. I was tired, I was emotional and I broke. I’m sorry.