In the latest edition of Forest & Bird magazine, Ann Graeme shared her experience watching kōtare raise their chicks in her Tauranga garden. Read more here:

Using bird-scaring stickers, keeping cats indoors, or fitting cats with collars can help minimise fatalities. These are small actions that make our cities safer for our bird neighbours 🏡

Māori have long admired the patience and vigilance of sacred kingfishers on watch – so much that elevated sentry platforms in pā are named kōtare. 

Kōtare are adapting to urban living, but built environments still bring risks. Domestic cats and window collisions threaten these beautiful manu.

These patient hunters perch on power lines and tree branches, scanning the ground below for kai. Their prey is varied: everything from skinks and beetles to earthworms, wasps, cicadas, and even crabs when they visit estuaries in winter!

These brilliant manu are part of a global family. About 120 kingfisher species live across more than 100 countries worldwide 🌏 

In Aotearoa, kōtare are hardy and adaptable. They nest in well-designed holes they dig in clay banks, rotting tree trunks, even phoenix palms.

Forest & Bird is backing the avatar moth – a tiny, beautiful, day-flying moth that lives only on the Denniston Plateau. It was discovered in 2012 and named after the film because its home – like Pandora – is under threat from a mining company.

Read more about the reforms here:

While we digest more, we’ll keep you in the loop, but rest assured we will be advocating for our wildlife every step of the way. For more information, read our media release:

This is the biggest change to environmental protection in generations: it deserves a robust process. Given the rushed and flawed approach with fast-track legislation, it is crucial that everyday Kiwi can have their say to shape these crucial protections.

✅ The biggest opportunity in the legislation is the inclusion of environmental limits. We want to see limits that are strong and science-based to protect communities and wildlife.

⚖️ There is also risk that councils will weaken biodiversity, freshwater, and coastal protections to avoid compensation and litigation for protecting nature.

🏞️ The biggest concern is the weakening of protections for nature on private property. Everything from deforestation to water pollution can happen within private land. Excluding these effects is a recipe for environmental decline.

The new system announced yesterday is a huge piece of law: about 750 pages. We've started digesting the proposals and what they mean for nature. We have some initial concerns and recommendations.

It is crucial that our environmental laws help people and nature thrive. By having a system that is simpler and more effective, we can improve people's lives while caring for our wildlife.