The 2025 Birds New Zealand Conference was held in Auckland from 31 May to 2 June at the Novotel & IBIS Auckland Ellerslie Hotel. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Youth Hub Leader and bird-nerd Ellis Luo reports on the experience.
I was lucky enough to attend the Birds NZ Conference at the Ellerslie Novotel from 31st May to the 1st June. Both days were jam-packed with knowledgeable ornithologists presenting their cutting-edge research and monitoring of Aotearoa’s birds. See the Conference's full list of abstracts here.
The insight from this conference I gained was invaluable; a lot of it is very applicable to the work we do here in Forest & Bird Youth. A major theme of the conference was the importance of conservation: not only acknowledging the disturbing loss we are experiencing in some species but also celebrating many of our unbelievable successes.
Being surrounded by fellow bird enthusiasts is a surreal but incredibly happy feeling.
It’s no secret that the simultaneous threats of climate change and introduced predators are continually causing immense damage to our natural environment. Yet we can’t forget what we’ve achieved that is taken for granted. Without substantial volunteer effort since the 1990s, kōkako would have become locally extinct in the Hūnua ranges due to habitat fragmentation. Yet through the tireless efforts of conservationists, the Hūnua kōkako population is now thriving and declared genetically robust by 2023. In Tāwharanui Regional Park, the exclusion of introduced pests and restoration of habitat has resulted in natural immigration of korimako bellbirds from Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, and kiwi in the park are doing so well, they’ve begun spilling beyond the fence line.
Let’s all be inspired by our wonderful and resilient manu to keep fighting for nature!
Ngā Māhuri Tiaki | Forest & Bird Youth is a network of Forest & Bird that amplifies the voices and experiences of young people aged 14-25 years in conservation and environmental affairs.