New Zealand’s birds

Every issue over the next year, the team behind Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) looks at conservation issues surrounding different species from the UK and beyond, using beautiful images to inspire. This month it focuses on New Zealand’s birds and wi

Only a few New Zealand bird species could be said to be thriving, and many are threatened to varying degrees. Here is why

Visitors to New Zealand are often struck by how similar the landscape is to the UK and parts of mainland Europe, and in many locations they’re not wrong. Over the last two centuries or so, European settlers have had a profound and devastating impact on the natural environment, especially in low-lying, agriculturally-productive lowland areas. Rolling farmland, scattered trees, and herds of cows and sheep have replaced native scrub and woodland in many areas. And the similarities to ‘back home’ extend to the wildlife, too, of course, to the extent that introduced plants often outnumber native species.

Of course, it is not just farming that has had an impact on New Zealand’s environment: add to the mix other human activities, from mining to logging, and the result is a much-altered landscape in many areas. Green and lush it may be, but native it is not in many places.

One of the most profound impacts on wildlife is evident in New Zealand’s avian fauna. Native species evolved for millions of years in the absence of land mammals (except bats) until the arrival of Man, along with a menagerie of cats, dogs, Stoats, rats, you name it.

As a result, 42% of endemic bird species have become extinct since Man first set foot on New Zealand soil. Of the survivors, only a few could be said to be thriving, and many are threatened to varying degrees, with introduced alien birds often outnumbering natives.

However, this man-made ecological disaster has made Kiwi conservationists even more resolute in their determination to halt the tide of extinctions and where possible reverse the trend. They are not ones to take prisoners.

Like others of their kind, Chatham Albatrosses are entirely at home at sea, gliding masters of the air that seldom need to flap their wings