Newsletter #102
Top image:
Tēnā koutou katoa,
It’s coming up to that time of year when a fierce competition takes place. Not between the birds, but to grab your attention and demand that you cast your vote in Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition. Voting commences 9am Monday 15 September and closes 5pm Sunday 28 September.
This year, Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre is leading the campaign to vote for ngutuparore wrybill. And with a bit of collaboration with BRaid and others who shall remain nameless to avoid accusations of bias, they have devised a cunning plan/campaign strategy.
Now we here at BRaid know that we can’t show bias to any one particular braided river bird. And we know that you all have your favourites. But this year we’re asking you to temporarily set aside your preferences and help spread the word. If you can’t quite bring yourself to Vote ‘#1 Wrybill’, remember, you can vote for up to five birds. And keep in mind that unlike ‘people’ elections, anyone, anywhere in the world can vote in this election!
Unfortunately I’ll be away from tomorrow until after voting commences, so we’re asking all of you to please spread tell friends, families, and use social media to Vote Wrybill! To help with the campaign, there are some great stories and photos for you to share, here. These will be updated as the campaign commences.
Ngā mihi,
Sonny Whitelaw
manager@braid.org.nz
News/articles
- Newsroom: We strangled our rivers; now they’re fighting back “A river which might have roamed 60km back and forth across the Canterbury plains over the centuries has been funnelled into a narrow channel just a few hundred metres wide.”
- Bioprotection Aotearoa: Braided rivers need protection for their terrestrial biodiversity tool “Braided rivers certainly act as physical structures and watery processes – but they are also spaces of unique and important terrestrial biodiversity, and this aspect merits much more attention and investment.”
- Nature: Should we treat rivers as living things? “Rivers are born, evolve and die, and can bring life — and death. We might respect them more if we saw them as animated by spirits of their own.”
- Waimakariri DC: Join Us in Welcoming the Birds back to the Waimakariri District The Flock is back!
- Down to Earth: Ramsar COP15 closes in Zimbabwe with renewed commitment to wetland conservation “The nine-day event ended with the adoption of 13 resolutions that highlight the vital role of wetlands in sustaining ecological health, biodiversity, and climate resilience.”
- Radio NZ: Devastating cyclones to get 20-35 percent wetter with fossil fuel emissions
- Resilient Rivers: Nature Based Solutions (webinar series)
- Radio NZ: (podcast) Getting ready for H5N1 bird flu
- Radio NZ: (podcast) Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish
- North Canterbury News:
Research & Reports
- Calkin; Land use change in and around Aotearoa New Zealand’s braided rivers, UC Masters Thesis
- Pompei: Monitoring the extent of braided river cover classes in Waitaha Canterbury – a 2012 and 2024 comparison, Environment Canterbury Science Summary R25/38 “…86,820 ha of braided riverbed was categorised as useable braided river bird nesting habitat for 2012. This increased to 119,070 ha in 2024.”
- Fallahshahroudi et al; A male-essential miRNA is key for avian sex chromosome dosage compensation, Nature article (open access) Birds use a tiny RNA fragment to balance sex chromosomes.
- Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare Group: Report to 31 July 2025
