The Ornithological Society of New Zealand

	The Ornithological Society of New Zealand (Inc.)
OSNZEO@slingshot.co.nz

Fostering the Study, Knowledge and Enjoyment of Birds

Founded in 1939 the OSNZ was incorporated in 1953 and now has about 1000 financial members world-wide. A feature of OSNZ is the diversity of its membership, which ranges from professional ornithologists and government institutions in New Zealand and overseas through secondary and tertiary students and experienced amateur observers to learners and beginners. No special qualifications are required for admission and membership is open to all who are interested in birds.

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GENERAL SOCIETY INFO
	The banded dotterel Charadrius bicinctus (also known as double-banded plover), is endemic and relatively widespread throughout New Zealand. However, it does migrate to parts of Australia during the winter. This image was taken near Ahuriri Estuary in Hawkes Bay in December 2009. This photo was taken by Brent Stephenson (www.eco-vista.com), and is copyrighted 2010.

Updated February 2010
OSNZ BOOK AUCTION Click here for details of books... And latest bids can be found here...
The OSNZ Conference & AGM 2010 will be held in Tahunanui (Nelson) during Queen's Birthday weekend 2010 (4 - 7 June) Details are available here... The Registration Form can be downloaded here... For an interactive map click here...
National Wader Counts At its last meeting, Council confirmed that regions should continue with the OSNZ Wader Counts on a National basis. Read more... 2008 report available here...
*All published Notornis* and Southern Bird issues are now available online again: http://www.notornis.org.nz New issues that are less than 3 years old are password protected and only accessible to OSNZ members. Your login consists of a username (your email address that you have provided) and password** (the letter "N" in front of your 4 digit membership number that is printed on your renewal form) - for example N1234.
Update on delayed OSNZ journals Due to delays in checking proofs by authors, the September and December issues of Notornis are now scheduled for posting in March 2010. The good news: December Southern Bird, June Notornis, an exciting Book Auction List, and the 2010 Conference Registration Form, will all be in your letter box before Christmas!
State of New Zealand's Birds The annual documents "State of New Zealand's Birds" for 2008 has been added to the Publications page and can be downloaded as PDF documents. The President's cover letter for State of New Zealand Birds 2008 is available here...
NEW Project & Activities Committee After a couple of years of incubation, the OSNZ’s Project and Activities Committee has eventually hatched. The Committee plans to work closely with Regional Representatives to foster and support wider knowledge and enjoyment of birds among OSNZ members and beyond, with the goal ultimately of increasing both research output and quality. Field courses and other hands-on activities, as well as helping members start their own projects, are all being considered as ways of achieving this. Read more...
New Council Member – Peter Frost Peter Frost is an ecologist living in Wanganui but working intermittently overseas, mostly at the Center for International Forestry Research in Indonesia. He was born in England but grew up in Africa, where he lived and worked for almost 60 years, mainly in Zambia, Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe (latterly at the University of Zimbabwe (1987-2006), where he was successively lecturer, Associate Professor and finally Research Associate at the Institute of Environmental Studies within the University), before coming to New Zealand in 2006. When in Wanganui, he monitors seasonal and other changes in the wader and waterbird populations on the Whanganui River Estuary, among other things.
NEST WATCH 2010 YOU have a great opportunity to contribute to the Society’s Nest Record Scheme by participating in NEST WATCH 2010. Read more...
OSNZ AGMs & Conferences are held on Queens Birthday weekends. Future venues and dates are: 2010: Nelson: 5 - 7 June 2011: Wellington: 4 - 6 June 2012: Bay of Plenty: 2 - 4 June
International Ornithological Congress 2010 To be held in Brazil - check out their website for more details.
BORROWING OSNZ BOOKS + PERIODICALS Did you know that over 300 OSNZ books and about 110 OSNZ Periodicals are held at the Auckland Museum Library? We encourage you to have a look at this valuable material! You can now download lists of OSNZ books and periodicals: For OSNZ Books click HERE For OSNZ Periodicals click HERE In addition, the Auckland Museum Library has an exceptionally strong collection of books on birds. Although not all are catalogued online, you will get a fair idea of the resource through the Museum's Library catalogue. 1) How you can access bird books Many of the books are available for borrowing through the interlibrary loan scheme. Simply take the details of the books you want to your local public library (a charge may apply). If you are in Auckland, you are very welcome to visit and use the Library during opening hours. Visit their website. Alternatively, you can ask our OSNZ Librarian to photocopy selected pages from a book. Enquiries other than for loans can be made to library@aucklandmuseum.com 2) How you can access periodicals and articles You can request copies of articles or parts of journals by contacting our OSNZ Librarian. Alternatively, if you wish to receive journals regularly, you can ask our OSNZ Librarian to get your name added on a circulation list (a charge may apply). So make use of those books and periodicals and get in touch with the Library!
FREE ATLAS FOR NEW MEMBERS!!! The Society is extending the presentation of a free copy of the Atlas of Bird Distribution in New Zealand 1999-2004 to each new member joining OSNZ while stocks last. In addition, all new members will receive a copy of the index to Notornis, Fifty years of bird study in New Zealand 1939-1989. Pass the word to people who maybe haven’t got around to joining the Society yet that now is a very good time to do so. Not only do they obtain membership of the premier society for those with an interest in birds and ornithology in New Zealand and the South Pacific but they will also receive these two essential books on New Zealand ornithology. The atlas is an impressive and weighty book that which will be a delight for anyone with even a small interest in New Zealand’s birds. For details of how to join the OSNZ click here or contact you local regional representative.
OSNZ greeting cards for sale! The cards are New Zealand made and feature pied stilt, fantail, kakariki, and tui, painted by Mrs Janet Marshall. The price is: $3 for 10 cards with envelopes, or $3 for 20 cards without envelopes (size: approx. 130x100mm). Please contact your Regional Representative for more details.

Dead birds on the Beach? The OSNZ Beach Patrol Scheme, which started in 1951, involves recording dead birds on New Zealand’s beaches. The aim is to provide information and improve our understanding on distribution, abundance, seasonal/annual movements and migration of birds. Although designed initially to record information on sea birds, the scheme has now been extended to capture information on all birds found dead on beaches. Following members requests, a beach patrol data sheet (record form) is now available online and can be downloaded here either as a Word RTF file (return by email), or as a PDF file (return by fax or post). Alternatively you can continue filling in cards, obtainable from the Beach Patrol Organiser (Lloyd Esler) or through your Regional Representative. Please refer to the Beach Patrol Scheme section for more details and instructions on how to fill in a data sheet or card. The new beach patrol data sheet also has detailed instructions printed at the bottom. Please fill in data sheets or cards whenever possible! Ingrid Hutzler (Executive Officer)
eBird www.eBird.com/nz 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
Birds and Wind Farm development 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.
OSNZ Arctic wader colour-banding project - click here for more information