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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

More about the analysis (and charts!) available on request. But the main thing is a big THANK YOU. Every bird had a campaign and every campaign lifted their bird's game. So good.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

We're 46! Our goal was to lift this manu toa out of the cellar, which everybody who voted Hākoakoa helped us do. In a year when all birds earned more votes (total compared to #1 votes in 2024), we beat the rate of the rising tide by a factor of 1.65 - 7th highest overachiever! #skuasforever

A Subantarctic Skua walks purposefully across a sandy beach, past clumps of feathery red seaweed. Photo taken on Enderby Island by John Woods, via NZ Birds Online.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

TYSM! We await results ready to toast victory (i.e., out of the cellar) or drown sorrows in Elephant Seal milk. With you on the Takahē situation.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

This is an all Skuas & Elephant Seals channel today. None of the species who haul up on southern shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. These creatures & their places should be valued & protected simply because they are. Also, VOTE SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Close-in photograph on a stony Macquarie Island beach. Two Subantarctic Skuas look on - very close - as an Elephant Seal pup drinks milk from its mother. One of the skuas tilts its head, waiting for the moment to get a drink itself. Mom is lifting her head to complain, but not a lot. None of the species who haul up on these shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. Yet here they are, despite all of the harms humans mete out. All of these creatures and their places should be valued and protected simply because they are.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Okay folks, this is our closing argument. We here at Team Hākoakoa think the photo speaks for itself but ask yourself: can YOU steal milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal? SKUAS CAN. Vote Hākoakoa for Bird of the Year. #skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Photograph of a bold-as Subantarctic Skua drinking milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal pup while its mother looks on, unamused. The pup is roaring at the skua, which is probably a mistake as it makes the milk splashing out of its mouth easier to get. Another skua in the foreground appears to be scanning the colony for other opportunities (or waiting its turn, hard to say). Text below the image says "Who's a bad@ass? We're a bad@ss. Vote SKUA." The photo was taken by Marcus Salton on Macquarie Island, near the Australian Antarctic programme stat ion there.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Vote for a Bird with the fighting spirit we need in 2025, vote SKUA for Bird of the Year. #skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

An action poster advertising Mouretsu Pirates, if Chiaki Kuriharu was a Subantarctic Skua. Skuachan brandishes an energy blaster. The text quotes the Mouretsu Pirates' most skua worldview: "Pursue, beat them to it, and take a piece of the action!" Then vote SKUA Bird of the Year!

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Kia ora e te whānau. Voting wraps up tomorrow at 5pm (AoNZ time! Note the clock change!). If you've not voted yet, now is the time to chose the ruggedly handsome sea-faring flyer who defends his family and Gets the Job Done. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for an exciting new epic adventure, "Skua", closely resembling the similarly epic "Solo". The colours are vibrant oranges and yellows across a streaky sky. Text says "It is a lawless time. Syndicates compete for resources - food, medicine, seal carcasses. On these mean beaches, a young bird fights for survival, but yearns to fly among the stars... Hākoakoa. No more Mr Nice Bird." Vote Hākoakoa. Vote Skua for Bird of the Year.

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Reposted by Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY

Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Confused 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

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Top predators matter. Skuas matter. The whole food web depends on them doing their job just as much as it depends on primary producers. Vote for a bird who lives wild & free. Vote skua #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Image of a Subantarctic Skua (Brown Skua) soaring free above crashing waves near the Pyramid, Chatham Islands. The text says "Bird of the Year 2025" and identifies Mark Fraser as the photographer.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

It happens, and there is always next year. Except for the avian influenza thing. OMMV.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

We're a small time operation and appreciate your support! It's the only way we have a chance. We've gravitated toward anti-heroes, reluctant heroes with complicated narratives. Some people categorised as pirates certainly fit in that space.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

We're a week into voting with one more to go, whānau ngā manu. Don't do something you might later regret. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A sequence of three black and white photographs of a South Polar Skua's relentless approach toward the photographer. It's a powerful bird defending its territory. The photos are stacked, staggered, on the left. Text on the right says "And in that final moment everything became clear to me. Vote Skua."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

This year, vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year. #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for the movie "Fistfull of Dollars" if the movie was "Fistfull of Petrels" and the lead role was played by a Skua. Behind the reluctant hero, a baddie is sprawling backward, about to meet his maker. The text above the picurre reads "In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous bird who ever lived!" The text below reads "Hākoakoa in A Fistful of Petrels" and "Vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Just to say, feathers are perfect for any weather. (Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.) Vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025

Photo of two South Polar Skuas displaying to each other in a snowy scene near the Australian Antarctic base Mawson. Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Life is hard at sea. All seabirds are remarkable survivors, and many of them need better help than humans are providing. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 but please, then stay engaged. Find out more about what you can do. @forestandbird.bsky.social

Phtograph of a Subantarctic (Brown) Skua on Campbell Island. The rich brown stands out against the windswept background of low grasses and steep cliffs in the distance. Two maps in the lower right show global seabird diversity and threatened status. Both light up in angry red around New Zealand. The text says "Of the ~10,000 bird species on Earth, only ~360 are seabirds. Most are poorly protected. New Zealand is a hotspot for seabird diversity and for seabirds under threat. Please, don’t let voting for Bird of the Year be the only thing you do to help protect these remarkable survivors."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

🤩 That's us! Look at that handsome bird! Let's see... Tarāpuka? Tarāpunga? Koekoeā? Toroa? Who else is shouty?

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Macquarie Island is now pest-free, but for a time, Skuas were the ones on the job. Pest eradication practices took a toll on Skuas, but plants and birds are both rebounding. Vote for the bird who was there for you when you didn't even know it. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

In this scene from Macquarie Island, back when Skuas were the only ones on the pest eradication job, two skuas are making a meal of a rabbit. The rabbit has been blurred for privacy. The text says "The OK eradication expert. Vote SKUA. Avain innovator. Flexible forager." Bird of the Year 2025.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Enrich a movie by adding your pick for #BirdOfTheYear The Power of the Skua

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

A bird's just gotta go its own way. Vote Skua for #birtdoftheyear2025

In this classic movie poster updated for the Skua era, "Cool metacarpus Skua" leans against the handle of a grass whip. The colours are heavy, olive green, dark orange, and posterised denim. But the bird is cool.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Just look at that amazing cuzzie. 🤩

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Looks like a cozy nest site to me. Sensible parents, skuas make their nests near where the resources are - colonies of other birds and seals. Vote for the bird that puts family first - vote Hākoakoa Skua for #birdoftheyear2025 #skua #skuasforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

A photo of two adult skuas at their nest site surrounded by low bunch grasses. A fuzzy brown chick sits between them. The skuas' plumage is rich brown with flashes of white. Text below the image says "Hākoakoa stay close to shore in breeding season, nesting on headlands and areas of low vegetation near colonies of tasty penguins, prions, and shearwaters, or near seal colonies where carrion and milk are right there for the taking. Vote for the family bird. Vote SKUA."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

It's family values day here at Team Hākoakoa. You'll struggle to find a bird more devoted to its chicks than Skua. Just look at that fuzzy brown face. How could you not vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025? #Skua @forestandbird.bsky.social

A photograph of a Hākoakoa parent with its fuzzy brown chick. The parent is displaying loudly while the chick is looking at you, already planning its next move. Text on the image says "More than a pretty (aggressive) vace, Skua are devoted parents who often form polyandrous family units. Chicks venture out to explore their world quickly." Photo credit Penny Pascoe via Australian Antarctic programme.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

With regard to the unfortunate incident (headbonk), we acknowledge the rough & tumble world of survival. As you are too big to carry away & were clearly too alive at the time for other foraging purposes, we regret any actual bloodshed. #birdoftheyear2025 #skuaforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

An archive newspaper article shows a proud Skua ancestor defending its nesting area against US Naval forces at Cape Royds, Antarctica. Text to the right says: "Flexible Forager, Defender of Liberty. birdoftheyear.org.nz Vote SKUA The Bird we need in 2025." A banner at the lower right reads "non metimur ova mea", which means something like "don't measure my eggs."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

We here at Team Hākoakoa are opposed to all forms of state violence - procedural, structural, and rhetorical - including Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Act 1953, which gives the thumbs-up to profile and shoot us.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

After an online course by somebody who knows more than we do about this stuff (@sarahmackattack.bsky.social) we are getting our sticker game into gear. Loud, proud, skua.

A sheet of stickers hot off the press. It's row upon row of shields with brown skuas with flames for wings. The message on the sticker says "Loud, proud, Skua."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

It's almost time! @forestandbird.bsky.social #birdoftheyear2025 voting starts Monday, the 15th. A friendly reminder from the folks here at Team Hākoakoa to make your votes count. Vote SKUA.

A group of handsome Hākoakoa Brown Skuas stand facing the viewer on a hill top above a kelpy shore. The sea and sky are flat, leaden blue. Text on the image says "Hey, you there. Yeah, I mean you. Bird of the Year voting starts Monday. Vote SKUA. Don't make me tell you again."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Bird books say we're "large, noisy and aggressive” to which we say: you got a problem with that? Somebody’s gotta clean up the carcasses and sort the weak from the strong. Vote Hākoakoa Subantarctic Skua for Bird of the Year. #skua #forestandbird #birdoftheyear2025 Photo by Ross Brooks

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