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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY

@hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social

32 followers 26 following 42 posts

You could say we’re evolution’s concierge. You could say we’re flexible foragers with a complicated backstory. But with crashing population and weak protection, you’ve got to say we’re a bird in serious trouble.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 8d

More about the analysis (and charts!) available on request. But the main thing is a big THANK YOU. Every bird had a campaign and every campaign lifted their bird's game. So good.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 8d

We're 46! Our goal was to lift this manu toa out of the cellar, which everybody who voted Hākoakoa helped us do. In a year when all birds earned more votes (total compared to #1 votes in 2024), we beat the rate of the rising tide by a factor of 1.65 - 7th highest overachiever! #skuasforever

A Subantarctic Skua walks purposefully across a sandy beach, past clumps of feathery red seaweed. Photo taken on Enderby Island by John Woods, via NZ Birds Online.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 10d

Congratulations to second-time winner Kārearea! www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Kārearea NZ falcon crowned 2025 Bird of the Year

The kārearea New Zealand falcon has taken out the top spot in the 20th anniversary Bird of the Year competition.

www.rnz.co.nz

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 11d

TYSM! We await results ready to toast victory (i.e., out of the cellar) or drown sorrows in Elephant Seal milk. With you on the Takahē situation.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 11d

This is an all Skuas & Elephant Seals channel today. None of the species who haul up on southern shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. These creatures & their places should be valued & protected simply because they are. Also, VOTE SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Close-in photograph on a stony Macquarie Island beach. Two Subantarctic Skuas look on - very close - as an Elephant Seal pup drinks milk from its mother. One of the skuas tilts its head, waiting for the moment to get a drink itself. Mom is lifting her head to complain, but not a lot. None of the species who haul up on these shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. Yet here they are, despite all of the harms humans mete out. All of these creatures and their places should be valued and protected simply because they are.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 12d

Okay folks, this is our closing argument. We here at Team Hākoakoa think the photo speaks for itself but ask yourself: can YOU steal milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal? SKUAS CAN.

Vote Hākoakoa for Bird of the Year.
#skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Photograph of a bold-as Subantarctic Skua drinking milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal pup while its mother looks on, unamused. The pup is roaring at the skua, which is probably a mistake as it makes the milk splashing out of its mouth easier to get. Another skua in the foreground appears to be scanning the colony for other opportunities (or waiting its turn, hard to say). Text below the image says "Who's a bad@ass? We're a bad@ss. Vote SKUA." The photo was taken by Marcus Salton on Macquarie Island, near the Australian Antarctic programme stat ion there.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 12d

Vote for a Bird with the fighting spirit we need in 2025, vote SKUA for Bird of the Year. #skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

An action poster advertising Mouretsu Pirates, if Chiaki Kuriharu was a Subantarctic Skua. Skuachan brandishes an energy blaster. The text quotes the Mouretsu Pirates' most skua worldview: "Pursue, beat them to it, and take a piece of the action!" Then vote SKUA Bird of the Year!

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 12d

Kia ora e te whānau. Voting wraps up tomorrow at 5pm (AoNZ time! Note the clock change!).
If you've not voted yet, now is the time to chose the ruggedly handsome sea-faring flyer who defends his family and Gets the Job Done. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for an exciting new epic adventure, "Skua", closely resembling the similarly epic "Solo". The colours are vibrant oranges and yellows across a streaky sky. Text says "It is a lawless time. Syndicates compete for resources - food, medicine, seal carcasses. On these mean beaches, a young bird fights for survival, but yearns to fly among the stars... Hākoakoa. No more Mr Nice Bird." Vote Hākoakoa. Vote Skua for Bird of the Year.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 16d

Ae, captain. Under my flag, I will live in freedom. And I'll vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social #skuasforever #CaptainHarlock

A scene inside the Arcadia, if Captain Harlock (space pirate) was a Subantarctic Skua. The spaceship interior is drawn in black and white with numerous banks of dials, levers and other control equipment. The freedom-loving captain is saying in a speech balloon, "What? Voting is almost over for Bird of the Year?" He wears a cape and the front of his tunic is emblazoned by a skull and crossbones motif. Text below the image says "Under your flag, live in Freedom! and also, don't forget to confirm your vote for HĀKOAKOA Bird of the Year!" An inset panel in the upper right shows the exterior of the Arcadia, also busy-looking.

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Reposted by Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY

Forest & Bird @forestandbird.bsky.social · 16d

Confused by all the talk of vote validation? 🗳️We can't let spam-bots decide who gets the crown! 🤖 So we can only count verified votes. Once you've submitted your picks, you're just a click away from verification. ✅

#BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 16d

Top predators matter. Skuas matter. The whole food web depends on them doing their job just as much as it depends on primary producers. Vote for a bird who lives wild & free. Vote skua #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Image of a Subantarctic Skua (Brown Skua) soaring free above crashing waves near the Pyramid, Chatham Islands. The text says "Bird of the Year 2025" and identifies Mark Fraser as the photographer.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 17d

What counts is who you give it to. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 #skua #skuasforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for the Wild Bunch, if William Holden (and everybody else) was a Skua. A gang of Skuas have been attracted by a penguin carcass.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 17d

It happens, and there is always next year. Except for the avian influenza thing. OMMV.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 17d

Let's not kid ourselves. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Photograph of a Subantarctic (Brown) Skua eating what appears to have been a penguin. Let's not kid ourselves. These birds are predators (as are penguins) they just do their hunting out in plain sight rather than under the waves. The text says "It's 2025. The time for Mr Nice Bird is over. Avian Innovator. Flexible forager. Evolution's concierge."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18d

Relatable.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18d

An illustration of pie rats from a classic Richard Scary text, if Uncle Willy was a Chilean Skua. The text on the picture says "Wait, what? You mean pi-rates?" Vote Skua Bird of the Year 2025.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18d

We're a small time operation and appreciate your support! It's the only way we have a chance. We've gravitated toward anti-heroes, reluctant heroes with complicated narratives. Some people categorised as pirates certainly fit in that space.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 18d

We're a week into voting with one more to go, whānau ngā manu. Don't do something you might later regret. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A sequence of three black and white photographs of a South Polar Skua's relentless approach toward the photographer. It's a powerful bird defending its territory. The photos are stacked, staggered, on the left. Text on the right says "And in that final moment everything became clear to me. Vote Skua."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 19d

Vote for the bird as BOLD and ORIGINAL as you are. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Black and white photograph taken by Herbert Ponting, a member of the Terra Nova expediiton to Antarctica. South Polar skuas are shouting at Ponting to keep his distance. The text includes a quote from R.F. Scott's diary: 6 january 1911, “To-day I walked over our peninsula to see what the southern side was like. Hundreds of skuas were nesting and attacked in the usual manner as I passed.”
Vote for the Bird as BOLD and ORIGINAL as You are.

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 19d

This year, vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year. #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for the movie "Fistfull of Dollars" if the movie was "Fistfull of Petrels" and the lead role was played by a Skua. Behind the reluctant hero, a baddie is sprawling backward, about to meet his maker. The text above the picurre reads "In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous bird who ever lived!" The text below reads "Hākoakoa in A Fistful of Petrels" and "Vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 20d

Remember, we're on your side. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for Mad Max, if Mad Max was a Skua. The poster is firey orange and dark brown hues with a fuzzy background sky full of smoke. The text is simple. "...Remember, he's on your side. Vote SKUA."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 20d

Just to say, feathers are perfect for any weather. (Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.) Vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025

Photo of two South Polar Skuas displaying to each other in a snowy scene near the Australian Antarctic base Mawson. Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.

Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 20d

Life is hard at sea. All seabirds are remarkable survivors, and many of them need better help than humans are providing. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 but please, then stay engaged. Find out more about what you can do.
@forestandbird.bsky.social

Phtograph of a Subantarctic (Brown) Skua on Campbell Island. The rich brown stands out against the windswept background of low grasses and steep cliffs in the distance. Two maps in the lower right show global seabird diversity and threatened status. Both light up in angry red around New Zealand. The text says "Of the ~10,000 bird species on Earth, only ~360 are seabirds. Most are poorly protected. New Zealand is a hotspot for seabird diversity and for seabirds under threat. Please, don’t let voting for Bird of the Year be the only thing you do to help protect these remarkable survivors."

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 21d

🤩 That's us! Look at that handsome bird! Let's see... Tarāpuka? Tarāpunga? Koekoeā? Toroa? Who else is shouty?

Melanie Newfield @melanienewfield.bsky.social · 21d

I decided to get behind #Birdoftheyear2025 so I've written a guide and done some drawings for 9 underappreciated birds. Here's one for hākoakoa #skua since I was inspired by @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social
The guide comes out tomorrow. Can you guess which other birds are on my list?

A felt pen drawing of hākoakoa, a large brown seabird flapping its wings and with its beak open, caption "be loud and proud".

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Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social · 21d

Macquarie Island is now pest-free, but for a time, Skuas were the ones on the job. Pest eradication practices took a toll on Skuas, but plants and birds are both rebounding. Vote for the bird who was there for you when you didn't even know it. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

In this scene from Macquarie Island, back when Skuas were the only ones on the pest eradication job, two skuas are making a meal of a rabbit. The rabbit has been blurred for privacy. The text says "The OK eradication expert. Vote SKUA. Avain innovator. Flexible forager." Bird of the Year 2025.

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