One good tern ... deserves a vote

A “tenacious” little local is being championed by a Marlborough environmental restoration group as part of the 2025 Bird of the Year competition.

The 2025 campaign for the Black-Fronted Tern/Tarapirohe is being led by the East Coast Protection Group, who see the bird as an “icon for people to connect with” to find out more about the habitats in which it lives.

ECPG’s Wendy Sullivan says their chosen candidate – an endangered local commonly seen on East Coast beaches during winter before spending breeding seasons on braided rivers like the Wairau and Clarence – has a presence that reaches across the region.

“When we engage with schools or the wider community, and they learn about the story of these birds, the East Coast beaches and braided rivers, they’ll help protect other their own backyards,” says Wendy.

“Part of our job is to engage with the community by finding innovative ways for people to connect with nature - not only here on the East Coast beaches, but all of Marlborough, with the Tarapirohe as an icon for people to connect with.

“The Bird of the Year campaign was looking for campaign managers earlier in the year, and I thought it would be a really neat way to for our group to promote a bird, and then that would help promote our group.”

And while the ECPG wanted a commonly-found local candidate to support, Wendy says the characteristics of the endangered bird ties in well to their efforts.

“It’s found across the South Island, but it’s a very Marlborough bird and they’re such a lovely, dynamic and tenacious bird to watch.

“While they don’t have a true number with estimates about five to ten thousand total, we’ll go on trap line walks down Marfells Beach and see dozens of them here in the winter.

“It’s nicknamed the Sea Swallow because it’s so agile when swooping and feeding, and they’ve got quite a lot of personality.

“If you try and walk through a colony when it’s breeding, and I don’t recommend people doing that just because you could stand on eggs or chicks, they’re a tiny, wee bird full of fight and protective energy despite their size.

“They’re tough too – if you can imagine over summer on a hot day on the braided rivers with heat coming off the stones and a big nor wester blowing down the valleys, it’s a tough environment and they’re just so tenacious.

“It’s actually quite a nice analogy for our environmental efforts as a group, because if we see more of them, we’ll know we’re doing a good job protecting them.”

Vote for the Black-Fronted Tern/Tarapirohe at https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/