Birds of a feather

Alan Froggatt, a keen tramper, noticed a few years ago that bird-life that had once swarmed New Zealand bush and forests seemed to be disappearing. He looked at bird surveys and found that there had been about a 33% decline in some species around the Kapiti Coast, where he lives.

Shocked and alarmed by the trend, Alan has since been involved in a wide range of conservation and ecological restoration projects. A long-time member of Birds New Zealand and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, all of the knowledge Alan has gathered over the years about our endemic bird species and what makes them unique has now been gathered together in his new book his new book, The Story of New Zealand’s Unique Birds (From Adzebill to Yellow-Eyed Penguin).

It is a comprehensive catalogue of some of our most remarkable endemic bird species that Alan hopes will help New Zealanders gain a deeper understanding of just how unique our birds are in the world, and open their eyes to new species, as well as the danger some of our birds are in.

“The book focuses on New Zealand’s ‘deep endemics’; the remarkable and unique birds found on our main islands,” Alan says.

One of Alan’s favourite native birds is the bellbird, or korimako or makomako. “Listening to a bellbird sing its heart out is pretty hard to beat.”

He’s also fond of the yellow-eyed penguin, thought to be one of the most ancient of all living penguins, and the weka, which he describes as a “cheeky bird with an almost criminal character”.

Alan hopes his book will encourage more Kiwis to look out and care for our diverse native birdlife, and do their part to help protect them from ongoing dangers such as loss of habitat, predators and environmental changes.

He also has another book out in June celebrating the Great Stories of New Zealand Conservation, bringing together some of the great challenges and triumphs of protecting our vulnerable food and fauna.