Make it a shore thing – Bird of the Year 2021 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

The Green Party is calling on people to go dotty for dotterel and vote for the New Zealand Dotterel/Tūturiwhatu as Bird of the Year 2021.

“For too long, our winged friends of the beaches have been trodden on by the competition – literally and figuratively,” says Eugenie Sage, spokesperson for the Green’s Vote for the Shorebird campaign.

“Every day, the Tūturiwhatu faces the bird-en of having to protect its beach habitat and nests from careless walkers, dogs and off-road vehicles.

“With summer coming up and more of us likely to head to the beach for physically-distanced walks, there is a chance people may see one of these adorable birds or their cousins, the banded dotterel.

“And so, we’re asking everyone to connect the dots to protect the dots. Look where you’re walking, keep dogs on a leash, and do not drive on beaches or dunes or anywhere near where there may be nests.

“Tūturiwhatu already have enough to ruffle their feathers, with climate change and the risk that more extreme and frequent storms wash away nests and higher tides from sea-level rise.

“Making Tūturiwhatu Bird of the Year will help make sure the risks they face do not fly over New Zealanders’ heads.

“Only one shorebird has been crowned Bird of the Year since the competition hatched. It’s time to back the small, but mighty, New Zealand Dotterel. Make it a shore thing – vote for the shorebird.

“Or should we have a referendum on calling it the Aotearoa Dotterel?

“We believe it will help address the continued confusion with the banded dotterel by ensuring the true king of the beach always appears first in alphabetised lists.”

Alongside endorsing this absolute sweetheart of a bird, the Green Party is asking New Zealanders to give their second, third, fourth, and fifth votes to:

Kororā / Little blue penguin
Toroa / Antipodean albatross
Tara iti / New Zealand fairy tern
Kākāriki karaka/ orange fronted parakeet

ENDS

Action

Tell us your stories about our special places

Share with us your stories about the places threatened by being fast tracked for mining permits.

Action

RENAME, REWRITE, and REJECT the Regulatory Standards Bill

Submit your suggested changes to the Regulatory Standards Bill! Tell us how you'd change the bill and we could take it to the House!

Action

Anniversary of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill Referendum

If we were to legally regulate cannabis in Aotearoa, what kind of rules would you want to see around access, possession, use, regulations on sale, ...

Action

Save our Polytechs: Campaign Packs

Want to see more supports for our Polytechs? Use these resources to support the campaign!

Action

Save Our Polytechs Petition

Sign our petition today and join us in calling on the Minister for Vocational Education, Hon Penny Simmonds, to Save our Polytechs!

Action

Protect our tamariki - Sign the open letter

Every child in Aotearoa deserves to grow up with safety and stability, wrapped in aroha. Sign our open letter today and help make that a reality!

Action

Stop Growing Homelessness

Sign our petition asking Luxon and Bishop to take action to stop homelessness increasing in Aotearoa.

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Environment Announcements

Story

Hauraki Marine Bill a huge step despite Govt backtrack

The passing of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill has been hailed as a significant step by the Green Party, despite concessions...

Environment Minister abusing role to put freshwater at risk

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act have revealed the Minister for the Environment is pressuring local councils to allow ‘water t...

National direction changes mark dark day for people and planet

Today’s sweeping changes to environmental protections paint a damning picture of a government hellbent on profit at all costs, openly allowing more...

Minister for the Environment missing in action in Budget 2025

Budget 2025 makes it crystal clear that this Government has no interest in protecting nature or securing a liveable future for our tamariki.

Greens question Govt commitment to environmental protection with RMA reform

The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RM...

Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects

The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Tra...

Story

Wildlife law change a deep betrayal of public trust

The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s use of urgency to rewrite the Wildlife Act–without consultation, without an impact statement, and i...

Govt funding for biodiversity an embarrassment

The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for c...

Labour must deliver on No New Mines

The Green Party is disappointed tonight that the Government has voted down Eugenie Sage’s members’ bill to stop new mining on conservation land. Th...

Inquiry into forestry slash and land use welcome, but more needed

Today’s news of a Ministerial inquiry into forestry slash and land use in Te Tarāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa is welcome, but the forestry sector shou...

Time for Labour to deliver on No New Mines

The Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land.

Urgent action needed at home following global deal for nature

The Green Party welcomes an historic new global agreement to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade and calls on the Governm...

Story

Shane Jones’ gift to big fishing a blow to sustainability

The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s fishing industry plans to allow greater catch limits and stop on-board camera footage from being ma...

Shane Jones has no shame

Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies wit...

Fisheries consultation must put sustainability before profit

The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to prioritise long-term prosperity of our oceans in its consultation on the Fisheries Act.

Greens call for bottom trawling ban and call out Minister for lacklustre response

The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to ban bottom trawling, following news a New Zealand bottom trawler caught 37kg of coral in i...

Marine Protection Bill encouraging, but more work required

The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill is an encouraging example of what cross-party co-operation can achieve.

The Time is Now for Oceans Protection

Community organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression witho...