This is why Indigenous communities, incl. Maori, don't support de-extinction or public release of taonga genomes (the entire genetic blueprint of an individual) without proper engagement due to very valid concerns about monetising IP, biopiracy, & trademarking www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 1/3 🧵

You know your de-extinction project is on shaky ground when Indigenous experts (Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Tame Malcolm, Phillip Wilcox) & Indigenous-led news media start calling you out with well-informed home truths www.teaonews.co.nz/2026/06/05/m... 1/5 🧵

Just a breathtaking amount of hubris and a stunning lack of ethics.

We're pleased to announce applications are now open for NZ Association of Science's 2026 Medals. The closing date for all applications is 5pm Monday 3rd August 2026. The medals are ... scientists.org.nz/Awards (1/7)

There was once an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the ocean. Great morning (in a very nicely timed weather window) spent on Mou Waho in Lake Wānaka bird watching as part of the @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social conference.

There was once an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the ocean. Great morning (in a very nicely timed weather window) spent on Mou Waho in Lake Wānaka bird watching as part of the @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social conference.

Want to make a difference for our birds? Join community pest trapping and restoration efforts, become a member of Birds NZ and help with national monitoring projects, or make a donation at www.birdsnz.org.nz/membership/d.... All funds raised go towards bird research.

Hear a recap from my chat with Susana Lei’ataua on RNZ about @birdsnewzealand.bsky.social’s annual ornithological conference: www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

ICYMI: Catch up on summaries of the latest bird research from our national #ornithology conference in Wānaka - our posts are tagged #BirdsNZ2026. With more than 50 presentations, there’s something for everyone! 🪶

A huge thank you to Dawn Palmer and all the Otago organising committee for a fantastic conference weekend! We also thank our sponsors including Real NZ, Hawkshead Wines, Faunatech, Southern Lakes Sanctuary, Global Messenger, Natural Solutions for Nature, E3 Scientific for their support.

With a background as a documentary writer, director and producer, Quinn Berentson shares learnings for telling compelling science stories. Effective stories tap into emotions, making us feel, and influence our behaviour. #BirdsNZ2026

Alan Tennyson looks at the fossil relatives of emperor penguins found in southern Taranaki. What was an Aptenodytes giant penguin doing in the warm Taranaki region 3 mya? #BirdsNZ2026

Otago Regional Representatvie Dawn Palmer describes waterfowl and wader use of the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Centre. When you create a puddly habitat the birds go thank you very much, and then when it’s drained they say see ya later! #BirdsNZ2026

Oscar Thomas tracks nesting pukunui/southern dotterels to understand foraging activity to identify sites for monitoring and predator control. Sexual dimorphism was identified in breeding plumage, supported by genetic testing. #BirdsNZ2026

Vice-President Ian Armitage describes the history of Notornis, the scientific journal of Birds NZ, in publication since 1952. Digital publication began in 2006, and all articles published since the journal began have DOIs for increased discoverability. www.birdsnz.org.nz/publications/ #BirdsNZ2026

Cilla Wehi emphasises the importance of museum collections for current conservation. Kea have seen a drastic change in abundance since human arrival. Feather isotopes are used to understand kea diet through history. #BirdsNZ2026

Nic Rawlence myth-busts plans for Moa de-extinction, with a crash-course in cloning and genetic engineering. The ghosts of inbreeding past may come back to haunt us (among many other concerns), but are there current conservation applications for these tools? #BirdsNZ2026

Scott Jarvie discusses the use of the Regional Threat Classification System to assess the conservation status of the birds of Otago. An interactive dashboard was used to collate data and produce reports, and 288 species were assessed. #BirdsNZ2026

Colin Miskelly describes outcomes of rat eradication on Kāpiti Island. 1024 hrs of bird counts over 32 yrs. Strong increases in tīeke, korimako, and recent increases in kōkako, kārearea, while many small forest natives such as miromiro and silvereyes have declined. #BirdsNZ2026

Chris Bycroft describes outcomes of 20 yrs of monthly monitoring of birds on Lake Rotoiti, totalling >250 surveys. Over 82,000 birds encompassing 51 species have been recorded, with pāpango/scaup most abundant. #BirdsNZ2026

Lin Yan shares the latest technological updates from Druid, integrating tagging, monitoring, and citizen science data. New tag designs fit a broader diversity of species, proximity sensing captures individual interactions, and mobile apps support citizen science data logging. #BirdsNZ2026

Simon Lamb shares results of population surveys and survival modelling for king shags in the Marlborough Sounds. Aerial surveys can be completed in 2 hrs, covering 18 roost sites. #BirdsNZ2026

Mike Bell shares the first data on papua/Chatham Island shag foraging ecology. The shags tended to make one foraging trip each day, with fairly distinct foraging patches close to main Chatham. #BirdsNZ2026

Philippa Agnew shares updates from the kororā/little penguin colony in Oamaru. Good ocean productivity in autumn can support penguins in triple clutching, producing up to 6 fledglings in a year. However storm conditions can seriously impact success. #BirdsNZ2026

Anya Kruszewski shares the story of the rediscovery of kiwi pukupuku/little spotted kiwi on mainland Aotearoa NZ in March 2025. #BirdsNZ2026

Graham Parker shares new knowledge on kārearea from a project in the Cardrona Valley. 53 nests have been identified, but there is relatively low nest success. #BirdsNZ2026

Franny Cunninghame describes the importance of nest monitoring for mātātā/South Island fernbird as part of the Tautuku Restoration Project in the Catlins. #BirdsNZ2026

Sarah Forder from Southern Lakes Sanctuary shares outcomes of mahi to support mōhua, where predation and food competition from rats and stoats driving increasing local extinctions. 23 fledglings were produced in the core area this year. #BirdsNZ2026

Paul Kavanagh says that despite NZ’s focus on predator control, this is just one small facet of biodiversity conservation. Translocations of species such as takahē have been huge collaborative efforts. #BirdsNZ2026

Day 2 of #BirdsNZ2026 kicks off showcasing local conservation efforts with Paul Kavanagh sharing the successes achieved by Southern Lakes Sanctuary in Central Otago.

Daniel Cocker & Mats Olsthoorn have been busy monitoring nests of pukunui/southern NZ dotterels, a mountain breeding shorebird. The subspecies has fluctuated between 60-300 birds over the past ~35 yrs, heavily impacted by invasive mammalian predators. #BirdsNZ2026

Phil Battley discusses the migratory routes of huahou/red knots. Leg flagging began in 1991 to understand their movements via resightings. Technology change has provided more data to clarify their routes. #BirdsNZ2026

Ilse Corkery asks how sea level rise and storm events may impact population viability for tara iti/NZ fairy terns. Captive rearing will remain a key management tool. #BirdsNZ2026

Myrene Otis uses mark-resight data for tarapirohe/black-fronted terns in the Molesworth. 30% of birds returned to the same colony to breed. #BirdsNZ2026

Anne Schlesselmann uses our national wader census data along with braided river surveys, mark-resight, + productivity data, for an integrated population model for tōrea/South Island pied oystercatchers. A 1.8% decline/year raises threat classification. #BirdsNZ2026

Scott Bourke shares that captive rearing for kakī is vital to maintain the wild population, with only ~26% recruitment of sub-adults to the wild adult population each year, despite high numbers of eggs reared and sub-adults released. #BirdsNZ2026

Ian van Tets describes the use of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to assess body condition in small migratory birds. Calibration will be required but this offers a minimally invasive non-destructive measure of body condition. #BirdsNZ2026

Louise Hart Bodt is studying European goldfinches to learn more about characteristics of introduced populations - how have they been shaped by their new environments, and what (if any) impacts have they had in these novel habitats? #BirdsNZ2026

Theo Atkinson compares nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenies for the diverse silvereye complex in Australasia to understand their evolutionary history. #BirdsNZ2026

Julia Kovacs has been studying bellbirds in Tāwharanui. With >1000 birds banded, 5 min bird counts, and audio recordings, Julia can track spatial differentiation and dispersal, finding sex differences in distribution across habitats. #BirdsNZ2026

Rahman Rasyidi describes how tīeke in Tāwharanui have developed their own vocal culture following translocation there in 2012. One male has an entirely different song repertoire to all other males in the park - mimicking korimako/bellbirds and tūī. #BirdsNZ2026

Olivia Ediriweera discusses the physiology of chronic stress in kororā/little penguins. Method testing was conducted extracting and quantifying corticosterone from feathers, providing a protocol for future studies. #BirdsNZ2026

Seabird bycatch is an international issue, but we are just one country. Olivia Rowley emphasises the importance of collaborative efforts to collect data and influence protective legislation. #BirdsNZ2026

Erin Marshall discusses the diets of tāiko/Magenta petrel and ranguru/Chatham petrel using DNA metabarcoding. 21 prey orders were identified from faecal and regurgitate samples. #BirdsNZ2026

Inka Pleiss shares research on tītī/sooty shearwaters, that fit all the criteria to be great ecosystem indicators, helping us understand the impacts of climate change. #BirdsNZ2026

Isabelle Beaudoin focussed on ōi, grey-faced petrels, where there are differences in breeding phenology and success between eastern and western colonies. E-coast chicks were lighter and had poorer fledging success, associated with different foraging strategies across the coasts. #BirdsNZ2026

Daragh Brown asks whether seabirds and their primary prey, zooplankton, are aggregating at the subtropical frontal zone off the Otago Peninsula. Very little zooplankton was found during sampling, likely due to unusually warm sea temperatures. #BirdsNZ2026

Kalinka Rexer-Huber shares outcomes of the world’s largest drone-based survey of Gibson’s and Antipodean albatrosses in the Subantarctic. It took 2 seasons to cover the entirety of both Adam’s and Antipodes islands. #BirdsNZ2026

Ted Howard shares the latest info from the last large mainland NZ breeding colony of Hutton’s shearwaters. Geolocator data shows the Kaikōura birds overwinter off NW Australia. #BirdsNZ2026