Critic Te Ārohi is officially backing the Pukunui (Southern NZ dotterel) for Bird of the Year, an annual Forest & Bird election that pits 75 birds against each other in a battle for awareness and conservation resources. Before you ask: no, while Salient Mag’s Editor has gotten a tattoo of the Kororā for her campaign, I will not be following suit.
Kiwis’ love for our feathered friends is notorious. Just look at what we call ourselves. We wipe out populations of other species (sorry possums) in their honour. It wouldn’t be too far off to say that New Zealanders care about the annual Bird of the Year about as much as the general elections. And by casting your vote in this year’s election, you could help fund resources to wipe out the feral cats preying on the poor old Pukunui, of which there are only 101 left.
Last year’s Bird of the Year campaign made international headlines when Comedian John Oliver delighted in throwing his full weight behind the Pūteketeke (Australasian crested grebe). He went all out with an aggressive campaign that had all the flavour of American zeal for “bigger is better.” This involved a special appearance on his show in a Pūtekeke costume in all its mulleted glory.
John Oliver apparently had the blessing of Forest & Bird, but the campaign managers of the other birds likely looked on in dismay as their own campaigns were steamrolled. The Pūteketeke (not the most charming of birds, might I add) took home 80% of the overall voting count with 290,374 votes – a bit more than second-place, which went to the North Island brown kiwi with 12,904 votes.
It was all in good fun. John’s campaign raised awareness for our native birds, and there’s nothing that gets New Zealanders going quite like a mention of our humble abode on the global stage (especially when we’re often left off world maps). At the end of the day, though, the competition is to get real outcomes for the winner. Our passion for birds isn’t unfounded; they genuinely need our help.
When considering what bird Critic might back this year – kindly prompted by Facebook commenters calling us out for not having begun a campaign yet, and Radio One starting a beef over our apparent hate of the Hoiho – I thought about what bird might need the help the most. Red-billed gulls and the Hoiho were in our DMs, but then I remembered a short film my Science Communication peers put together last year for the 2023 Bird of the Year campaign in support of Pukunui.
Aptly titled Underbirds, Abi, Brady, and Isabella travelled to Stewart Island to interview the two rangers there who live in isolation as Department of Conservation rangers protecting the Pukunui. One ranger, Daniel Cocker, has worked with them since he was 14. He’s the campaign manager for the Pukunui, and has borne witness to their dropping numbers as the bird has lost each year.
Wild Dunedin’s account admin is “not mad, just disappointed” in Critic for apparently turning our backs on the local Hoiho in this year’s campaign. Dunedin, they tell me, are banding together for the Hoiho. Emerson’s made a special brew. Radio One made memes and a jingle. But my heart is with the Pukunui.
In the film, Daniel expresses the heartbreak and exhaustion of their continued fight for the wee things – a fight without the proper tools to do so. Though our campaign might not be as flashy as the Hoiho and the Kororā, I encourage you to cast your attention to the quiet bird tucked in a remote part of our southernmost island. Your vote could help to save them from extinction.