Bay birds need vote in Forest & Bird's annual Bird of the Year comp

The New Zealand dotterel, which nests in Hawke's Bay, is a competitor in the annual Bird of the Year competition. Photo/Supplied

Forest & Bird's annual Bird of the Year competition features many Hawke's Bay birds.

The competition, which opened yesterday, asks New Zealanders to vote for their favourite bird in the hopes of raising awareness of the threats they face.

Hastings-Havelock North Forest & Bird branch chairwoman Linda Johnson said there are many birds locally that deserve a vote including the bittern, which is a shy and secretive bird in serious trouble.

There has been lots of work done in Hawke's Bay to help the bittern and numbers are slowly increasing in Ahuriri, she said.

Other birds of note to the area are the blue duck, New Zealand dotterel and
kokako.

"They are also in some trouble and are gorgeous birds."

To help these birds, and others in the region, the most important thing to do is ensure their habitat is protected and protect them from dogs and cats, Ms Johnson said.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Hawke's Bay biodiversity coastal marine compliance ranger Rod Hansen said he hoped people would vote for the endangered New Zealand dotterel because it was such a "unique little bird".

A 10-year project by DOC in Hawke's Bay has helped to restore numbers of the rare bird at Aramoana Beach.

"It is a threatened species and is recovering so well in Hawke's Bay," he said.

"It runs up and down the sand ... it talks to people and it squats on the sand to lay its eggs.

The New Zealand dotterel also has an interesting decoy act when threatened by predators, he said.

The birds are usually in pairs and if chicks or eggs are threatened one of the pair will run around pretending it has a broken wing to act as a distraction.

Most New Zealand birds try to attack predators but this is a "clever" method, he said.

Another "incredible" bird found in Hawke's Bay is the bar tailed godwit which flies to places as far away as Russia to breed every winter and comes back to New Zealand in time for summer.

"They're quite an amazing bird ... we get up to 300 in Hawke's Bay."

DOC biodiversity ranger Kelly Eaton said the royal spoonbill is a special bird in Hawke's Bay, as well as the kiwi and blue duck.

Lots of work is being down by different conservation groups throughout the region to protect these birds, she said.

The Bird of the Year competition involves well-known New Zealanders acting as "campaign managers" for their favourite birds with many going to great lengths to get votes for their chosen bird.

This year, the conservation status of each bird has been added to the competition's website to educate New Zealanders on just how many native birds are threatened.

Last year's winner was the kokako, which flew into first place with 3614 votes.

Voting began yesterday and closes on Monday, October 23, at 5pm. The winner will be announced at 9am on Tuesday, October 24.

Visit www.birdoftheyear.org.nz for more information and to vote.