Hot on the heels of Valentine’s Day comes more good news from Cupid. New Zealand’s beloved kākāpō, 2020 Bird of the Year winner (and recipient of recent funding from our Soar Initiative), is currently in the middle of successful breeding season.

We sat down with Dr Philippa Agnew to take a deep dive into her work, discovering why our ‘Little Blue’ has such a big role to play in the ocean, within the local community and throughout New Zealand.

Since 2009 Project Island Song has provided a pest-mammal free wildlife sanctuary for several rare and endangered species across the seven main islands of Ipipiri in the eastern Bay of Islands. Keeping track of bird populations can be tricky. However thanks to some feeding stations, remote cameras and our delicious millet, the project team has started off on the right foot…

The winners were announced at the Topflite New Zealand National Bird Show in July, this big Hamilton event the grand finale after many months of hard work and loving care from breeders around the country.

The list of fictional birds is seemingly endless. From the blustery Foghorn Leghorn to the sleepy Good Night Kiwi, the madcap chaos of Woody Woodpecker to the creeping insanity of Poe’s The Raven, there’s a bird for every occasion and every story. Here are five of our favourites…