I would be a bad seabird scientist if I didn’t advocate for our manu moana in the Bird of the Year competition. I’m also a sad seabird scientist, because if you look at the birds that are included in the competition, it’s really not at all representative of our complement of species here in Aotearoa.

Toroa/Antipodean albatross

Whenua Hou diving petrels / kuaka were kicked out this year because…

Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) is still in L4 lockdown, which means I can’t do fieldwork. I’m running out of research-related things I can do. So as well as photographing backyard birds and wandering in the local reserve, I’m trawling the archives. A healthy dose of escapism every now and then can be a good thing. I’m also digging through photos as I draw ideas and stories together for my next book…