It’s a very important time of year guys. An pivotal election is already underway. Tensions are elevated. Competition is strong, and the stakes are very high. Things could get ugly.
Voting has a lot of pressure, I don’t want to screw it up!
Some of you nosy humans have been harassing me on social media about who I’m voting for this year. But come on, isn’t obvious? I mean I drop hints and talk about it all the time.
Surprise! I’m voting for the kākāpō for Pres….I mean New Zealand Bird of the Year.
Meeting Sirocco in Wellington
To be fair, if you’ve been following me for a while, it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. I mean, I pretty much ramble on about these quirky birds as often as I can! Kākāpō have an amazing story that deserves to be shared with the world, and I want to do my part as best as I possibly can! Current goal – I want everyone to know what a kākāpō is. If anyone is interested in joining my team in charge of kākāpō brand awareness – hit me up.
So before humans arrived in New Zealand, the islands were home only to birds. Imagine that! But we brought pests, like ferrets, stoats, possums, rats and cats which almost decimated them.
Kākāpō, like so many of New Zealand’s native birds, need our help. Going from the 3rd most common bird in New Zealand to fewer than 150 left today, they are the prime example of an amazing creature facing extinction – it’s our fault they’ve almost disappeared so it’s up to us to help bring them back! Collective historical and social responsibility people!
Some of this years chicks in Invercargill
Kākāpō footprint on Codfish Island
Ever year Forest and Bird holds a “Bird of the Year” competition in New Zealand, and this year I volunteered to be the campaign manager for my beloved kākāpō. What a surprise, I know. DIBS!
I mean it was a tough call because I love all of New Zealand’s native birds, listening for their calls on hikes and following the amazing conservation projects around helping them. After all, they are almost all facing the same issues.
Besides kākāpō, Fantails are probably my favorite bird, especially as I have them living in my garden, though the cheeky kea (alpine parrot) and the chubby kererū woodpigeon (that gets drunk on fermented berries and falls out of trees – a bird after my own heart), are a close second.
But at the end of the day, kākāpō are in the number one spot for me. I’ve held the famous Sirocco at Zealandia last year (best moment of my life; I just about died) and visited Whenua Hou, one of the three offshore islands where kākāpō live, and I am determined to use all of my blogging powers to help them as much as I can!
Codfish Island/Whenua Hou
Sirocco
Here are five reasons why I am voting for kākāpō for Bird of the Year and why you should too!
1. Kākāpō are the misfits of the parrot kingdom. They can’t fly, are nocturnal and are seriously endangered. So many of New Zealand’s birds face this but kākāpō have it bad. There are less than 150 left, and their breeding cycles are frankly bizarre and involve a subsonic mating boom call that travels for miles. Say what?
2. I’m pretty sure kākāpō are dinosaur birds, a relic of a bygone age. I mean look at them! How cute are they? Apart from being huge, rotund and shaped like a giant avocado (kākāpō are the heaviest parrot in the world), they kinda look like an owl and a parrot had a baby. But what surprised me the most was their smell which is strong and musty, like the inside of an old violin case. Yes, you read that right. A prehistoric bird that actually smells old.
Lisa 2 – all kākāpō have names
Kākāpō feathers are collected from the ground on Whenua Hou and give to the local Māori iwi
3. Kākāpō live for a long time. Like, a really long time. I’m talking an average of 90 years give or take. Respect.
4. The most famous of kākāpō is Sirocco, who rose to fame with a viral video of him getting frisky on the BBC. Sirocco was sick as a baby and was hand-reared by people and accidentally imprinted on them – he thinks he’s human. Like one time he jumped off a jetty and tried to swim, and he used to build his bowls to boom into (to attract the lady kākāpō) on the path to the toilet. Then he would surprise “boom” at an unlucky lady ranger headed to the bathroom in the middle of the night and try to climb up her leg and mate with her. Sigh. Men.
Sirocco selfie – gives you an idea of how big these birds are
Some very young chicks this year
5. I believe kākāpō deserve to be Bird of the Year because 2016 was an epic year for them, with one of the best breeding seasons ever with 34 chicks being born. This is a big deal guys! It was also the year that Kākāpō Recovery got enough funding to sequence the genomes of the entire species to help save them. Though finally, I also think kākāpō can become the case we need to show the world that extinction can be stopped, and yes, we can actually make a difference, setting an example for the rest of the endangered birds in New Zealand.
Don’t forget to vote for kākāpō for Bird of the Year – pretty please! You also will get the chance to win an expedition trip to the Subantarctic Islands!
Oh, and I’m also voting for Hillary for president of the US because OBVIOUSLY. Don’t know how you can be a sensible, sane, moderately-educated human being and not vote for her. Over and out.
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Great post! It’s really interesting, I haven’t heard of these birds before. Thanks for sharing this great post 🙂
Thanks!
I love that you’re highlighting the incredible wildlife in New Zealand! ?
I gotta say though, Gary Johnson has strong qualifications and gets my vote. And I’m sane, sensible, and pretty well-educated…
Love the blog!
Sane and educated maybe, but not very sensible because you’re throwing away your vote in the most important election of our generation.
I get it. People tell me that I’m throwing my vote away all the time, and I get what they mean. But I always have the same response to them, and it’s what I’ve heard Gary Johnson say himself – it’s not throwing away your vote if you really believe in who you’re voting for.
I believe that Johnson would make a fantastic leader. I like where he stands on a lot of issues. And he’s the only candidate that doesn’t make me feel like I’m being manipulated.
I agree with you – this is the most important election of our generation. And it’s an election that has been sick with fear and anger and violence and hate.
When I walk in and out of a voting booth, I don’t want to feel that way. I don’t want to stand in front of my ballot and feel that fear and anger, just because other people are telling me that the way I want to vote is pointless.
I know that Johnson has no chance to win, but the election system is not really about winning or losing; it’s about letting your voice be heard. Casting a vote for a candidate that I don’t fully support would not only be throwing my vote away, it would be throwing my voice away.
That being said, after watching the final debate last night, I feel less apprehensive about a President Hillary Clinton (because I really don’t feel like Trump stands a chance anymore). She was very presidential, in my opinion. We disagreed on a few issues, but she spoke with passion and I respected that a lot.
I’m not writing this comment because I want to get into some silly online debate with you – not at all. I see those all the time and I just roll my eyes (you know the kind I’m talking about). I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I have a lot of respect for you and how you’re running your business and your life.
I’ve just been having so many people angrily shouting their opinions at me, trying to make me feel bad about my vote, and no one is actually asking me how I feel about the issues. They just want to tell me I’m wrong.
All right, I’ve made this long enough.
Enjoy the New Zealand spring – I’m so jealous!
I 100% totally respect your comment and I really appreciate you writing all that. For me I really value being able to see other people’s side. This is the most important election of our generation and it’s very close, and I think it’s going to be decided by the people who vote for 3rd parties or don’t vote at all. At this point Trump could do or say just about anything and his fans will still support him (the comments online are terrifying). This election isn’t about the candidates it’s about choosing democracy and progression, make no mistake, there are only two candidates running and to vote for a 3rd is akin to not voting at all, and every vote will count in this election. Imagine how you will feel if Trump wins – because it’s votes like yours that will decide that. will you be comforted knowing that you did nothing to stop it? I’m not going to write in Bernie Sanders, Batman or even Michelle Obama as a candidate even though I wish they were on the ballot.
Seconded! A great philosophy professor of mine shared some advice from his father: you vote your heart in the primary, then for the lesser of two evils on election day. While I do believe that everyone should vote how they want (especially if the alternative is not voting at all), I also firmly believe that if you don’t want Trump, you need to vote Clinton. While I’d love to see a real third party candidate on the debate stages and ultimately on the ballot with a reasonable chance of winning, our system is not going to change in the next two weeks. No matter the results of this election, anyone with half a brain should be obligated to be more involved in local politics and communities, because that’s where change starts. It’s not enough to simply vote in the presidential election; we need to stand up and fight for change.
Voted!
wahoo!
Sent in my ballot yesterday….for president that is and obvs Hillary. And just wrote a post on how to move to NZ if Trump becomes president haha. I used to work for DOC and on one of the biodiversity funds to help protect the kakapo. Love it!
what a cool job!!