New Zealand Post might not appreciate how many hours Malcolm Pullman spent lying around in sand dunes at Waipu Estuary to get a great shot but the national stamp agency can pick a good photo.
A photo Mr Pullman took of a fairy tern, which he described as "probably the most endangered bird in the world", is among five of New Zealand's most endangered seabird species featured on NZ Post's recently released special conservation stamp issue.
There are known to be only about 45 survivors of the little tern. "And it chooses to hang out here in Northland," Mr Pullman said.
The seabird which Maori called tara-iti lives and breeds at only five sites, all in Northland.