Buller's shearwater, Puffinus bulleri, is perhaps one of the most beautiful of the shearwaters and easily seen around much of Northern New Zealand. This image was taken off the eastern tip of North Cape during April 2009.

This photo was taken by Brent Stephenson (www.eco-vista.com), and is copyrighted 2009.

David Lawrie, President
David joined the Society in the mid 1960s after Ross McKenzie (a former president of the Society) discovered him stalking a flock of oystercatchers with a pair of binoculars. Ross was at the time taking part in a Manukau Harbour census and, following permission from David’s parents, took him for the rest of the day and nurtured his interest in birds for several years.

Ever since this encounter David has realised the value of nurturing people with an interest in birds and often gets as much enjoyment from showing birds to people as he does with actual observations.

David is a team player and has the desire to encourage others around him to all work for the common cause. This not only makes the tasks more enjoyable but it means that the work load is more evenly spread and much more can be achieved.

Unfortunately David’s busy schedule, and running a mid sized business, means that he will not be able to travel around the regions as much as previous presidents have been able. However he is always contactable to provide advice and suggestions whenever possible.

Bruce McKinlay, Vice President
Bruce has been a member of the Ornithological Society since the 1980’s and, while not always an active member, has participated in Harbour Studies on Otago Harbour and led an Atlas mapping project for Dunedin City.

Since joining Council in 2007 Bruce has focused on arranging a contract with Te Papa Press for a revised Checklist of New Zealand Birds; leading a scoping exercise to examine options and priorities for our web presence; and providing a context for ongoing Council discussions about wader counting and frameworks to pursue this.

As Vice President he sees his priorities as seeking to build capacity in the regions to undertake more bird studies, working with the Activities and Developments Committee to provide training opportunities for members, and continuing to be opinionated during Council email exchanges.

In his day job Bruce works in the Otago Conservancy of the Department of Conservation where he provides contributions to Weka, skink, Yellow-eyed Penguin, albatross and insect conservation programmes.

Paul Garner-Richards, Treasurer
Paul has been a member of OSNZ since 2004, when he arrived in New Zealand from the UK. Having married into the Bell family he had little choice in joining the Society!

Paul has always had an interest in birds and conservation. He has worked with his wife Biz on several projects around the world, including a couple of rat eradications and the monitoring of black petrels on Great Barrier Island. He now hopes to take a more active role in Society activities.

He lives in Blenheim and works for Interislander as second mate aboard the M.V. Kaitaki.

Keith Owen, new Council member
Keith has been a member of OSNZ for about 40 years, a past regional rep of the former Volcanic Plateau Region, and is a current member of the Bay of Plenty Region. He co-ordinated the recent Bay of Plenty shorebird surveys and co-ordinated the five-yearly water bird census of the Rotorua Lakes (18 lakes) over the last 20 years.

Keith is employed as a technical support officer specialising in fauna and habitats, working out of the Department of Conservation's Bay of Plenty Conservancy Office in Rotorua. He has experience in a wide range of species conservation and management programmes, both nationally and more recently regionally. Keith hopes his experience and background will be of assistance to the society in achieving its objectives over the next period of its development.

YOU have a great opportunity to contribute to the Society’s Nest Record Scheme by participating in NEST WATCH 2010.

Nest Watch 2010 aims to collect 2010 Nest Record Cards for Blackbirds and Song Thrushes during the 2009/1010 breeding season. Both species occur throughout the country (see Atlas maps on pages 254-257) so every member should be able to contribute - you shouldn’t need to go further than your garden or local park. If every member contributes just 2 cards we can reach our target!!

Why study Blackbirds and Song Thrushes?
We want to collect sufficient records to allow us to compare aspects of breeding biology throughout the country. Earlier studies (in the 1940s and 1960s) indicated that Blackbirds started breeding later at St Arnaud, Nelson than those in Auckland, but that there was very little difference in Song Thrushes. Does the same hold true today?

Global climate change is already impacting the timing of breeding of some species in the northern hemisphere, but at present there is little information available for New Zealand, apart from a long-term study of Starlings at Lower Hutt which suggested that ‘laying dates varied with food availability which fluctuated according to climatic events’.

Separating the nests
Both Blackbirds and Song Thrushes build relatively large, bulky nests, that of the Blackbird being the larger. Nests usually are made of grass, plant stems, dead leaves, thin twigs and roots. Song Thrush nests may also contain moss and lichen. The Song Thrush nest is lined with a smooth layer of mud or rotten wood pulp, whereas the Blackbird usually incorporates some mud in the nest cup, but lines the nest with fine grass, pine needles and dead leaves.

Separating the eggs
Blackbird: light blue covered with fine reddish-brown speckling and mottling
Song Thrush: bright, light blue with a small number of black or purple-brown spots, speckles or small blotches.

Nest Record Cards are available from your RR or can be downloaded here.

Further reading
Bull, P.C. 1946. Notes on the breeding cycle of the Thrush and Blackbird in New Zealand. Emu 46: 198-208.
*Flux 1966. Breeding of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds at St. Arnaud, Nelson. Notornis 13: 142-149
Gurr, L. 1954. A study of the blackbird Turdus merula in New Zealand. Ibis 96: 225–261
Kikkawa, J. 1966. Population distribution of land birds in temperate rainforest of Southern New Zealand. Trans. R. Soc. N.Z. (Zool.) 7: 215-277.
Marples, B.J. & Gurr, L. 1943. Emu 43: 67-71.
*McKenzie, H.R. 1945. A Blackbird nesting story.NZ Bird Notes 1: 110-112.
*Tily, I. 1946. The nesting activities of a pair of Blackbirds. NZ Bird Notes 1: 117-120.
Tryjanowski et al. 2006. Date of breeding of the starling Sturnus vulgaris in New Zealand is related to El Niño Southern Oscillation. Austral Ecology 31: 634-637.

* Papers can be downloaded from our Notornis site: http://www.notornis.org.nz/ FREE of charge!

For details of how to join the OSNZ click here or contact you local regional representative.

Ever wondered what to do with your bird observations? Do you want to know how many species of bird you have seen in New Zealand but are too lazy or shy to make a list? The OSNZ’s “Atlas of Bird Distribution in New Zealand 1999-2004” was a great achievement but we mustn't stop now. What is happening to birds in New Zealand today? Is the intensification in agriculture and the "dairy boom" affecting even NZ's common birds? Did you know red-billed gulls are declining all over New Zealand - is this serious or a minor readjustment?

Through collaboration with Cornell University and the Audubon Society of America, the Ornithological Society of New Zealand is proud to present this state of the art system for the recording of all your bird observations.

This program allows anyone who wishes to (not just OSNZ members), to enter bird observations from New Zealand (and incidentally anywhere else in the western hemisphere). This data is then compiled into your very own monthly, yearly, regional and life lists for the user AND it contributes data that can be used by scientists to assess the status of New Zealand's birds. It enables all who visit the site to view maps of bird distribution in New Zealand and updates users on rare bird sightings and lists for over 100 "hotspots" around the country. We hope that as many users as possible will take advantage of this program to add an extra dimension to their bird-watching and help science and conservation. If you visit a spot regularly, are working in the back blocks or even if you just record birds on the way to work or in your backyard you should add these observations to eBird. There are so many things we don't know about New Zealand’s birds that eBird may help us resolve.

We hope eBird will help us answer many questions that Scientists and bird-watchers in New Zealand have asked:

For example

• · When do the first cuckoos arrive each year - do they first arrive in the north and filter down the country or do they get to most places simultaneously?
• · Are cuckoos declining?
• · Where do the introduced finches go in the winter?
• · Which introduced birds migrate in NZ?
• · Which native bush birds migrate in NZ?

All these questions require lots of observers making regular records. Even if you don't do regular counts already why don't you start? You can do it whilst walking the dog, driving to work, driving to the beach house, going for a relaxing bush walk - when ever. You can make a difference - take a look at www.ebird.com/nz

International Ornithological Congress 2010
To be held in Brazil - check out their website for more details.

The OSNZ Scientific Committee and Council have prepared a document covering the potential effects of wind turbines on birds, for the benefit of those undertaking an Assessment of Environmental Effects for wind farms in New Zealand, and for those reviewing any such assessment. Please click here to see the document in full.