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News

News

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

Garden bird survey could help mental health

This story by John Lewis originally appeared in the Otago Daily Times. While participating in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey is obviously good for birds, it turns out it may also be good for our mental health. The country’s longest-running annual citizen science project begins today, and it is hoped thousands of people will … Read more

Eyes to the sky as annual garden bird survey begins

This story was originally published by RNZ. The country’s longest running citizen science project, the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, started Saturday. People are being encouraged to head out into their gardens over the next nine days to spend an hour counting all the birds they see and hear. The survey helps scientists understand the … 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

Native bird numbers soar in the South

This story by John Lewis originally appeared in the Otago Daily Times. Ornithologists and bird lovers are aflutter after learning kererū, fantail and tui populations have exploded in the southern regions over the past decade. Survey founder Dr Eric Spurr said results from the 2022 New Zealand Garden Birds Survey showed there had been “positive … Read more

10 ways to attract native birds to your garden

Harakeke (Phormium texan / NZ flax) in flower

This is an excerpt from a story by William Hansby on Stuff. We’re seeing a lot more native birds in our garden at the moment, including pīwakawaka (fantail), tūī, kōtare (kingfisher) and pihipihi (silvereyes), but they don’t seem to stay for very long. So it was with delight that I read this week the Department of … 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