News

The simple joy of counting birds

How citizen science is helping to reveal the state of our feathered friends. This is an excerpt from Ellen Ryker’s piece in the Spinoff’s weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. The annual Garden Bird Survey took place last week, calling on citizen scientists across Aotearoa to count the birds in their backyard, or at their local … Read more

Will tūī numbers continue to climb in Canterbury?

This story by Will Harvie originally appeared in The Press. Bird watchers and gardeners are being urged to keep a lookout for feathered visitors as the annual garden bird survey kicks off with hopes strong that tūī sightings will be up again in Canterbury. The annual survey by Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research encourages all New Zealanders … Read more

Increase in Kererū, piwakawaka, and tūī – garden bird survey

Photo: Supplied/ Tony Stoddard

Listen: “We know people are doing lots of work to improve things for birds with predator-free initiatives and restoration initiatives” – Survey co-ordinator Dr Angela Brandt RNZ’s Morning Report talked all things Garden Bird Survey with survey co-ordinator Dr Angela Brandt recently. Twitchers are recording more kererū, pīwakawaka, and tūī in their backyards each year, … Read more

What’s going on with the birds in your garden?

Silvereye. Photo: Rob Osbourne.

SunLive: Do you know how many birds visit our back gardens? The State of New Zealand Garden Birds|TeāhuaongāmanuotekāriiAotearoa 2022, a report released by Manaaki Whenua-LandcareResearch, shows the latest results from New Zealand’s longest-running citizen science project – the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey. The annual survey, which began 16 years ago, is held every year … Read more

Big increase in kererū and pīwakawaka seen in New Zealand gardens – survey

RNZ, 18 February 2022 New research shows there are significantly more kererū and pīwakawaka in our backyards than there were 10 years ago. The findings come from the New Zealand Garden Bird survey by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, which is the country’s longest running citizen science project. Last July as part of its annual survey, almost 15,000 … Read more

Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Did you catch this great interview with Kennedy Warne on Radio New Zealand? It’s the the annual Garden Bird Survey this week, where the public is invited to count birds in their backyard or local park or reserve for an hour any time between now and Sunday and report the results to Manaaki Whenua – … Read more

Bird numbers up in garden survey

The Gisborne Herald interviewed Dr Angela Brandt, Manaaki Whenua researcher and ecologist, following the release of the 2021 New Zealand Garden Bird Survey report. Results from a national bird survey show a positive trend for native birds like kererū, unlike introduced species such as starlings, which have shown a decline over the years. “What’s exciting … Read more