Bird of the Year campaigns heat up ahead of voting

Saturday, 26 October 2019

The competition to be elected the nation's favourite bird is getting tense with alliances, rivalries, and meme-wars taking over the internet ahead of voting.

Voting for Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year election opens at 9am on Monday and runs until 5pm Sunday November 10. 

And in a new twist, the system has changed.

Instead of a First Past the Post system, voters can now rank up to five birds, similar to STV voting.  

'The new voting system means no-one has the torturous job of picking just one favourite from all the incredible birds that call Aotearoa home. And the ranking system has given rise to some clever new campaign strategies,' Forest & Bird spokeswoman Megan Hubscher said.

'A 'penguin party' has been negotiated between the different penguin species, with some powerful backers involved. Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium is supporting the hoiho/yellow eyed penguin, while Wellington Zoo is hoping to help out Wellington's tiny sushi lovers, the kororā/little blue.'

One rockhopper fan has even tried to get Beyonce to back the bird with a tweet linking the penguin with 'Becky with the good hair' mentioned in one of the pop star's song. 

Hubscher said there were also underdog coalitions being formed, with team tuturuatu/shore plover and team hihi/stitchbird hoping to stitch up the competition with a two tick campaign.

'Meanwhile, the Gibson's albatross has some serious backing, with the Minister of Conservation herself on its campaign team.'

It's the 14th year Forest and Bird has run the competition. In 2018 it was kererū who flew to an early lead, managing to take top spot comfortably with more than 2000 votes.

During the competition, Bird of the Year campaign managers advocate on behalf of their chosen bird, using creativity, humour, and sneaky tactics to win votes. 

Hubscher has previously said it was this passion, quirky originality, and light-hearted trash-talking that made the competition so much fun to take part in. 

Bird lovers can cast their votes at www.birdoftheyear.org.nz, and will have two weeks to make a final decision on their top five birds. The winning bird will be announced on Monday 11 November.

All the online campaigning can be followed at www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/social