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A team of dedicated conservationists is trying to convince kiwis to stand behind birds that not even a mother could love.
Voting opens for Forest & Bird’s annual Bird of the Year competition at 9 am on Monday.
The campaigns have already taken flight on Twitter, and the reigning champion hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, has announced that he will not seek re-election.
Former Dunedinite Alec Dawson is leading the campaign for the Arctic skuas, a wandering seabird that migrates between New Zealand and the Arctic each year.
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Dawson works as an environmental activist in London and said he has “nothing else to do” as the city enters a month-long Covid-19 lockdown.
“Nothing represents the horror show of 2020 like this horror show of a bird.
“The skúa is what we call kleptoparasite, which means that it feeds mainly by stealing food directly from the puffin mouth. They have also been documented to hunt and eat baby penguins.
“Just nasty birds everywhere.”
Don Scott / Stuff
A skua looks at a press photographer in Antarctica.
But Dawson said there is good reason to vote for them.
“They are not very well known and have their own conservation problems.
“Here in the UK, the local Arctic skua population is declining, and in New Zealand their cousin the brown skua is quite threatened.”
There are only about 2,000 brown skuas left in New Zealand, and Dawson said he has heard reports that they are attacked by humans because they are so aggressive.
“The skuas are a bit different. They are travelers and I think they can represent New Zealand’s relationship with other countries and the rest of the world. “
JOSEPH JOHNSON / STUFF / Stuff
Lovers of red-billed gulls say public opinion is a major barrier to their conservation.
University of Otago zoology student Chris McCombe is running the campaign for the red-billed gull, which has appeared on the ballot for the first time.
“Red-billed gulls are often overlooked … but if you really stop and look, they are very charming.”
McCombe said they have a bad reputation.
“They gather in massive gangs and poop everywhere, and they are very loud.
“They are just living their lives, they don’t care what you think. It really is quite admirable. “
McCombe said he always makes his day watching them do fun business.
“But if you go to see them on a breeding site, it’s a completely different story … They are very family oriented.”
JOHN BISSET / STUFF / Stuff
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher chases seagulls away in Oamaru’s financial district.
Sadly, he said the number of red-billed gulls has been declining for decades.
“Their main food source is krill, which has been greatly affected by climate change. In fact, that’s why you see so many poking around urban areas. “
He said that a great barrier to its conservation is public opinion.
“People don’t care, or they hate them.
“But they are natives, they deserve respect and love. This is also his home. “
SUPPLIED / HERMANN FRANK / Things
Bright cuckoos spend the summer in New Zealand, where they lay their eggs primarily in gray warbler nests.
Jordy Kunz, a conservationist from Wellington, is one of those behind the Bright Cuckoo campaign. He describes him as “a really badass bird.”
“They kick the eggs of the gray warbler out of the nest and lay their own eggs there, then have the mother of the warbler raise her young.
“She will continue to feed him, even when he grows much larger than her. Babies are also very demanding when they are not feeding.
“It must be very confusing for a bird.”
Kunz said the cuckoo population is in good health, so they hope to use their campaign to raise awareness of the birds that need the most help.
“They are the fun side of conservation and can help children realize how great it can be.”
Tom Lynch / Stuff
Tom Lynch, Education Officer at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, captured this rare image of a bright cuckoo chick being fed by its smaller surrogate father.
Bird of the Year 2020 aims to help New Zealanders get to know their native birds, many of which are threatened by introduced predators, pollution, human development and climate change.
People can vote for their five favorite birds until 5pm on Sunday, November 15.
