Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 15/01/2026Spotting the iridescent blue-green shimmer of a kōtare sacred kingfisher is an unexpected urban moment – perhaps on a power line or in your backyard! ✨ Kōtare are adapting to urban landscapes in Aotearoa, and there are ways we can help them thrive further. 📸: Maurice Summerfield, Dan Dirks 3163
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 05/01/2026Not sure what bug to vote for in Bug of the Year? Use our handy guide 🙂↕️ Vote here: bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz 1177
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 31/12/2025Happy New Year, ngā mihi o te tau hou! 2026 will be a big year. We’re excited to use every opportunity we can to amplify nature’s voice. Aroha nui to you and your loved ones as we welcome in a new year 🥳 📸: Original photo, William Harland 22812
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 09/12/2025🌳🪶 The Government has announced their proposal to replace the RMA. Here's our first take 🌳🪶 254
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 06/10/2025🦅✨ Speed-swoop into style and snag a pair of kārearea earrings by Remix Plastic – designed to celebrate the fierce and fabulous 2025 Bird of the Year. $2 from every pair goes directly to support vital conservation mahi, so you’re not just looking good, you’re doing good too🎉https://remixplastic.com/ 083
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 28/09/2025And now... 🏅A few words from our winner🏅 #BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear @thomassainsbury 02414
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Confused by all the talk of vote validation? 🗳️We can't let spam-bots decide who gets the crown! 🤖 So we can only count verified votes. Once you've submitted your picks, you're just a click away from verification. ✅ #BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear 11810
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 13/09/2025Need some help choosing which birds to vote for in the 20th Bird of the Year? Download our handy flowchart. Voting opens Monday! 👉https://f.mtr.cool/euvawqrgje #BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear 23424
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 11/09/2025🧱🐦 Missed out on a bird brick kit? Here’s your second chance! 49 sets of each bird (pīwakawaka, kākāpō, tūī and pekapeka) will be available at the Wellington Brick Show along with a chance to meet their creator @bricks.by.mike_ 📅 13 September 📍 Walter Nash Centre, Lower Hutt #BOTY2025 0148
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 08/09/2025Wear your Bird of the Year vote as eco-friendly jewellery. ✨ Turning waste into treasure, Remix Plastic is donating $2 from select pairs of their stunning bird earrings, studs, and pins – including pūteketeke and hoiho – to support our conservation mahi. 👉 remixplastic.com #BOTY2025 010
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 03/09/2025Critter of the Week fans – new merch has landed! $5 from every purchase goes to supporting conservation heroes. 👉 joyya.com/en-nz/collections/critter… 0126
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 01/09/2025🌿🌿🌿 Three easy ways to start conservation for Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Tūroa, Conservation Week, 1 to 7 September 2025. 1. Pick up rubbish 2. Support pest control 3. Vote nature 🐦Let’s make conservation part of everyday life. We’d love to hear your ideas for making it more accessible 💚 072
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 06/08/2025🦜 Celebrate 20 years of Bird of the Year and take home your own piece of history with our limited-edition brick-built model, developed by @bricks.by.mike_ ! Only 200 are available, so get in fast before they waddle away!! f.mtr.cool/delugiizam 0238
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 02/08/2025🔥 These past Bird of the Year winners are looking for a match! From viral heartthrobs to underdog glow-ups, these plucky singles know how to ruffle feathers and steal hearts 🐦💔 👉 Keen to campaign? They’re waiting for you. f.mtr.cool/xsglwvyqlx 031
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Some birds have flocks of fans ... these guys are still looking for “the One”. Swipe right on these cuties before someone else snaps them up 💘 Become a campaign manager: www.forestandbird.org.nz/apply-be-b… 020
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 19/07/2025“It’s the trawling that’s turned thriving [ocean] ecosystems into lifeless mud.” We're standing with the Hauraki Gulf Alliance on the Rainbow Warrior, calling for a complete ban on bottom trawling in Tīkapa Moana. It's time to protect our marine life & end this destructive practice once and for all. 0136
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 18/07/2025A loaf-sized shrimp? The supergiant amphipod, or Alicella gigantea, lives 7 km below the ocean’s surface and is a monster compared to other shrimp. The extreme pressure at the depth they live in is theorised to have led to their gigantism, just like the colossal squid 🦑 📸 Alan Jamieson (CC-BY-SA) 086
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 28/06/2025Forest & Bird’s Nicola Toki joins broadcaster John Cowan on NewstalkZM’s Real Life at 7.30 tonight to talk about what shaped her passion for nature, why many people don’t realise the scale of our biodiversity crisis, and how we can turn it around. f.mtr.cool/nevovblnlc 052
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 09/06/2025The battle of the birds is BACK! 🐦✨ Bird of the Year returns this September. 🗓️ Voting will open Monday 15 September 🗓️ Voting will close Sunday 28 September You can sign up now to become a campaign manager. 👉 f.mtr.cool/xjbevgkqfr 02718
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 30/05/2025Meet Philophthalmus attenuatus, the seagull eye parasite you never knew existed (and probably wish you still didn’t). Listen to Richard talking to Jesse on RNZ for today's #CritterOfTheWeek. 📸 Image by flaxington www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro... 030
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 29/05/2025Denniston might look rugged and empty from a distance – but get down low and you’ll discover a tapestry of rare mosses, alpine daisies, sundews 🌱🦎 💚 Add your observations or browse the wild wonders already spotted: 👉 inaturalist.nz/projects/cel... #CelebratingDenniston #WarOnNature 0205
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 28/05/2025📣 Want to take action for climate & nature this week? Our friends at @350nz.bsky.social are organising protests around the country calling on ANZ to cut ties with coal giant Bathurst Resources – the company behind plans to dig up the wild and irreplaceable Denniston Plateau. ❌⛏️🌿 350.org.nz/coal/ 0104
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 06/05/2025Nzers ❤️ public conservation land, but DYK that… - there are different levels of protection? - many types are at risk due to Government’s Fast-track development legislation? - the Government is trying to make it easier to sell off this public land?! For more go to www.facebook.com/forestandbird 051
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 05/05/2025🤔 “Likely the most poorly known large mammal species of modern times” is how the spade-toothed whale, Mesoplodon traversii, is described 🐋 🎧 Forest & Bird’s Nicola Toki tells RNZ’s Jesse Mulligan what scientists DO know 🔍about this mysterious Critter of the Week www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro... 082
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 02/05/2025♻️ Circular in more ways than one! Introducing the new, limited-edition Re:band collection by Remix plastic – made from bird banding waste leftover from DOC mahi. Wearable in two ways and $2 from each piece goes to us! 👉 Grab yours at www.remixplastic.com 💚 Reduce waste – Look great – Do good 💚 020
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 02/05/2025🚨 Rat hunt at Tarapuruhi Bushy Park near Whanganui! 🐀 CE, Nicola Toki: “We’re throwing everything we have and everything we can at it.” 🥾 If you are physically fit & have got good backcountry skills and trapping experience – help our hunt for a rat & please volunteer: bushypark.nz/join-the-cau... 021
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 27/04/2025Pīngao or golden sand sledge is a wonder of a #nzplant - naturally binding together #sanddunes for #climateresilient #coastlines 🏖️ Choose Nature-based Solutions - they work! 💯 www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/choose-nature-based-solutions #naturebasedsolutions #ClimateAction #nzconservation 073
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 17/04/2025Quiz Time! 🥚🔍 Can you identify which NZ species laid each of these eggs? (Need a bit of help - look in the comments) 🐣 252
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 14/04/2025“It’s called the state of environment report but it should be called the state of extinction report.” Forest & Bird Chief Executive Nicola Toki telling it like it is on 1News last night. Check out the full clip here: www.tvnz.co.nz/news/one-new... 0122
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 11/04/2025You can eat our #CritterOfTheWeek... Karengo is a group of red seaweeds considered the nori of Aotearoa. But don't just think sushi 🍥 you can eat it like pasta, chips, or bake it into cakes. 📷: Jorge Jimenez via iNaturalist CC BY-NC 4.0 151
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 09/04/2025🚨The Govt is reviewing the Fisheries Act. If you're part of the 69& of NZers concerned about the moana, the time to speak up is now! Submissions close 5pm Friday 11 April: www.mpi.govt.nz/consultation... 141
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 08/04/2025DYK, hydrocoral is a colony of animals & a close relative of jellyfish! 🤯 Like many taonga of Aotearoa, they’re under threat — ocean acidification caused by climate change will weaken their carbonate skeletons 🪸 Red coral is precious & #TooCoolToLose. www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/to... 162
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 07/04/2025*What* a finale for TVNZ’s Endangered Species Aotearoa?! 🐋 🦜 🏝️ ICYMI, there’s a stunning line-up of species both in the sea and on the land.... Thanks to @nzonair.bsky.social for their support 🌱 - catch up on the episodes via @tvnz.bsky.social! 0164
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 07/04/2025✨Tonight! ✨The final episode of TVNZ’s Endangered Species Aotearoa airs at 7.30pm on @tvnz.bsky.social & TVNZ+. 🏝️ Tune in to travel across the Pacific & meet some incredibly special creatures. 🦜 🐋 Thanks to @nzonair.bsky.social! 080
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 04/04/2025#JonToogood has donated the handwritten lyrics of ‘Home Again’ to #OursNotMines, in support of NZ’s precious conservation land. We’re thrilled to see the legendary Kiwi musician join the campaign for a future for Aotearoa that doesn’t include mining on public #ConservationLand! 44111
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 02/04/2025Vehicles driving on beaches endanger shorebirds, marine mammals, and fragile dunes. We’re already pushing the Government on marine issues. Now councils must play their part by creating bylaws to protect our coastal and marine wildlife before it’s too late. www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/tu... 032
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 02/04/2025Did you meet Whangamarino Wetland on Monday night on TVNZ’s Endangered Species Aotearoa? Exclusive to this amazing habitat in the mighty Waikato is the equally amazing 🌸 swamp helmet orchid 🌿 #TooCoolToLose 1239
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 01/04/2025The StoryWalk is open now – or head along to the official launch party, 11am Monday 14 April, for a free BBQ and a chance to win some prizes 🥳 Path is suitable for prams and bikes – but please leave your furry friends at home. More details: www.facebook.com/share/1BbdyG... 120
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 01/04/2025Follow the story as it unfolds around the easy path, and soak up the lush surroundings of Northbrook Wetlands – the kind of habitat perfect for swamp-loving wildlife like pāpango and pūtangitangi (and maybe pūteketeke)! 121
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 01/04/2025👀 Looking for a fun school holiday activity in Ōtautahi that gets kids out into nature? The children's book 'Five Wee Pūteketeke' by our CE Nicola Toki has been transformed into a StoryWalk in Rangiora 🌿 163
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 30/03/2025💧 Wetlands are the most effective natural carbon sinks we have. But, when they burn, they become major carbon sources. 🌿 Keeping wetlands wet is key to climate resilience💧 It's a Nature-based Solution (NbS) – and it works! 💚 Read more: www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/ke... 062
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 29/03/2025Dean reckons that glorious red bloom-blaze – plus booming birdlife from teeny titipounamu to roroa great spotted kiwi – can be chalked up to solid and sustained pest control efforts, including 1080. Read more: www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/ra... 📷: Janae Fitzgerald 080
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 29/03/2025On a late summer tramp down the Paparoa Great Walk on the West Coast, our Northland conservation manager Dean experienced a riot of crimson blanketing the ngahere. It was the best flowering season for southern rātā in 8 years, the locals say. 📷: Janae Fitzgerald 1150
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 28/03/2025While adult yellow mayflies may be delicate & gentle, as nymphs they're the complete opposite 😈 they're New Zealand's only carnivorous mayfly species, ambushing unsuspecting bugs with a lightning-fast CHOMP. Check out this ruthless hunter in action! 📷: Philip Summerhays via iNaturalist CC BY-NC 4.0 001
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 28/03/2025Mirror mirror waterfall, who's the prettiest mayfly of all? 🪞💧 Our canary-yellow elegant #CritterOfTheWeek, the piriwai yellow mayfly 💛 They're also ripped as, with 10-pack abs. No mouthparts, though – these short-lived beauties are all buzz and no bite! 📷: Emily Roberts via iNaturalist CC BY 4.0 171
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 27/03/2025‼️ The Government doesn't want you to see fishers catching (and killing) protected species like Hector's dolphins, hoiho, and albatrosses. They want to hide the reality of fisheries bycatch by making footage from cameras on boats exempt from the OIA. 🧵 📷: Krista Hupman/Tim Costnar/Luc Hoogenstein 13315
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 26/03/2025Nature has some climate superpowers up her sleeve⚡How many of these🌿Nature-based Solutions (NbS)🌿have you heard of? By working with nature, for nature, we can create healthier, more resilient communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Choose NbS - they work! www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/ch... 050
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Taylor thinks #Powelliphanta snails are pretty special! And what’s not to love about snails that can live for up to 25 years, grow shells up to 90mm across, and slurp worms like spaghetti? 🐌🐌 #TooCoolToLose #TheSeedPod 053
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Kaikōura really turned it on for Pax and Nicola in episode four of TVNZ’s Endangered Species Aotearoa tonight! In case you missed it, head over to TVNZ+ to catch up and see the pair check out Aotearoa New Zealand’s only alpine breeding seabird. Thanks to @nzonair.bsky.social! 1163
Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Tonight! Don’t miss the “wildlife bonanza” in Kaikōura - and, find out what cuteness cures Pax’s sea sickness... [Hint: it’s not our favourite Bird Nerd’s endless seabird facts] TVNZ's Endangered Species Aotearoa airs on @tvnz.bsky.social. Made with support from @nzonair.bsky.social 🩵 051