New Zealand Fairy Tern Charitable Trust

14/04/2026

14/04/2026

Well done everyone for all the hard work

31/03/2026

How lovely are these .

26/03/2026

Just wanted to thank everyone that contributed to this . It truely is a wonderful read. You can still buy the hard copy

Tara Iti NZ Fairy Tern 'Notornis' special issue published online

The March 2026 special issue of our scientific journal 'Notornis' has been published free-to-view online with a sole focus on the Tara Iti New Zealand Fairy Tern. This bumper special issue contains 14 papers and 8 short notes across 208 pages, illustrated with 61 colour photos and 90 maps, graphs and table. Together they provide a comprehensive summary of the history of Tara Iti and the ongoing and increasingly inventive attempts to ensure the survival of our rarest endemic breeding bird.

Link to the full issue:
[https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Notornis_Vol-731_March-2026.pdf]

Individual papers can be downloaded here: [https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/society-publications/current-quarterly-publications/]

As a registered charity, Birds New Zealand relies on membership subscriptions and donations to support the important work we do for the birds of New Zealand:
Join: [https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/membership/join-now/]
Donate: [https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/membership/donate/]

Cover artwork by Catherine Beard

26/03/2026

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2019027636/massive-challenge-to-keep-fairy-tern-birds-alive

The fairy tern; one of Aotearoa's smallest birds remains in big trouble after a turbulent breeding season saw a third of the eggs or new hatched chicks eaten by predators. 29 tara iti eggs were laid across three of the birds' four breeding sites this season, but keeping them alive reamins a massive....

24/02/2026

Yay!
This is so awesome to read .
well done everyone

09/02/2026

The March 2026 issue of our scientific journal Notornis will be a book-sized special issue focused entirely on fairy tern | tara iti. The individual papers contained in the special issue will be freely available to all on the Birds New Zealand publications archive. We are planning a limited print-run of the book, which will contain identical text, but with additional photographs between the ‘chapters’.

If you wish to receive a printed copy of the book, pre-payment of $35 must be received by the end of 10 February 2026. The cost includes courier delivery (to New Zealand addresses only – international orders must provide a New Zealand address and arrange their own international courier).

The size of the print run will be determined by the number of pre-paid copies – there will be no spare copies available for later purchase.

Please email info[AT]fairytern.org.nz with Notornis in the subject line to order a copy and to receive instructions for payment (Cover illustration may vary from below).

04/02/2026

Check out Melissa Boardmans new tees . which feature NZ shorebirds 😍

29/01/2026

16/01/2026

More news on our wee babies at the zoo. 🌷

23/12/2025

Come on people . What’s it going to take ;(

Only about 40 adult tara iti survive in the wild, and of those just 10 are breeding females.