Hākoakoa/Skua BOTY

More about the analysis (and charts!) available on request. But the main thing is a big THANK YOU. Every bird had a campaign and every campaign lifted their bird's game. So good.

A Subantarctic Skua walks purposefully across a sandy beach, past clumps of feathery red seaweed. Photo taken on Enderby Island by John Woods, via NZ Birds Online.

We're 46! Our goal was to lift this manu toa out of the cellar, which everybody who voted Hākoakoa helped us do. In a year when all birds earned more votes (total compared to #1 votes in 2024), we beat the rate of the rising tide by a factor of 1.65 - 7th highest overachiever! #skuasforever

Kārearea NZ falcon crowned 2025 Bird of the Year The kārearea New Zealand falcon has taken out the top spot in the 20th anniversary Bird of the Year competition.

Congratulations to second-time winner Kārearea! www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

TYSM! We await results ready to toast victory (i.e., out of the cellar) or drown sorrows in Elephant Seal milk. With you on the Takahē situation.

Close-in photograph on a stony Macquarie Island beach. Two Subantarctic Skuas look on - very close - as an Elephant Seal pup drinks milk from its mother. One of the skuas tilts its head, waiting for the moment to get a drink itself. Mom is lifting her head to complain, but not a lot. None of the species who haul up on these shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. Yet here they are, despite all of the harms humans mete out. All of these creatures and their places should be valued and protected simply because they are.

This is an all Skuas & Elephant Seals channel today. None of the species who haul up on southern shores to raise their young have an easy time of it. These creatures & their places should be valued & protected simply because they are. Also, VOTE SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Photograph of a bold-as Subantarctic Skua drinking milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal pup while its mother looks on, unamused. The pup is roaring at the skua, which is probably a mistake as it makes the milk splashing out of its mouth easier to get. Another skua in the foreground appears to be scanning the colony for other opportunities (or waiting its turn, hard to say). Text below the image says "Who's a bad@ass? We're a bad@ss. Vote SKUA." The photo was taken by Marcus Salton on Macquarie Island, near the Australian Antarctic programme stat ion there.

Okay folks, this is our closing argument. We here at Team Hākoakoa think the photo speaks for itself but ask yourself: can YOU steal milk from the mouth of an Elephant Seal? SKUAS CAN.

Vote Hākoakoa for Bird of the Year.
#skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

An action poster advertising Mouretsu Pirates, if Chiaki Kuriharu was a Subantarctic Skua. Skuachan brandishes an energy blaster. The text quotes the Mouretsu Pirates' most skua worldview: "Pursue, beat them to it, and take a piece of the action!" Then vote SKUA Bird of the Year!

Vote for a Bird with the fighting spirit we need in 2025, vote SKUA for Bird of the Year. #skuasforever #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for an exciting new epic adventure, "Skua", closely resembling the similarly epic "Solo". The colours are vibrant oranges and yellows across a streaky sky. Text says "It is a lawless time. Syndicates compete for resources - food, medicine, seal carcasses. On these mean beaches, a young bird fights for survival, but yearns to fly among the stars... Hākoakoa. No more Mr Nice Bird." Vote Hākoakoa. Vote Skua for Bird of the Year.

Kia ora e te whānau. Voting wraps up tomorrow at 5pm (AoNZ time! Note the clock change!).
If you've not voted yet, now is the time to chose the ruggedly handsome sea-faring flyer who defends his family and Gets the Job Done. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A scene inside the Arcadia, if Captain Harlock (space pirate) was a Subantarctic Skua. The spaceship interior is drawn in black and white with numerous banks of dials, levers and other control equipment. The freedom-loving captain is saying in a speech balloon, "What? Voting is almost over for Bird of the Year?" He wears a cape and the front of his tunic is emblazoned by a skull and crossbones motif. Text below the image says "Under your flag, live in Freedom! and also, don't forget to confirm your vote for HĀKOAKOA Bird of the Year!" An inset panel in the upper right shows the exterior of the Arcadia, also busy-looking.

Ae, captain. Under my flag, I will live in freedom. And I'll vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social #skuasforever #CaptainHarlock

Confused by all the talk of vote validation? 🗳️We can't let spam-bots decide who gets the crown! 🤖 So we can only count verified votes. Once you've submitted your picks, you're just a click away from verification. ✅

#BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear

Image of a Subantarctic Skua (Brown Skua) soaring free above crashing waves near the Pyramid, Chatham Islands. The text says "Bird of the Year 2025" and identifies Mark Fraser as the photographer.

Top predators matter. Skuas matter. The whole food web depends on them doing their job just as much as it depends on primary producers. Vote for a bird who lives wild & free. Vote skua #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for the Wild Bunch, if William Holden (and everybody else) was a Skua. A gang of Skuas have been attracted by a penguin carcass.

What counts is who you give it to. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 #skua #skuasforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

It happens, and there is always next year. Except for the avian influenza thing. OMMV.

Photograph of a Subantarctic (Brown) Skua eating what appears to have been a penguin. Let's not kid ourselves. These birds are predators (as are penguins) they just do their hunting out in plain sight rather than under the waves. The text says "It's 2025. The time for Mr Nice Bird is over. Avian Innovator. Flexible forager. Evolution's concierge."

Let's not kid ourselves. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Relatable.

An illustration of pie rats from a classic Richard Scary text, if Uncle Willy was a Chilean Skua. The text on the picture says "Wait, what? You mean pi-rates?" Vote Skua Bird of the Year 2025.

We're a small time operation and appreciate your support! It's the only way we have a chance. We've gravitated toward anti-heroes, reluctant heroes with complicated narratives. Some people categorised as pirates certainly fit in that space.

A sequence of three black and white photographs of a South Polar Skua's relentless approach toward the photographer. It's a powerful bird defending its territory. The photos are stacked, staggered, on the left. Text on the right says "And in that final moment everything became clear to me. Vote Skua."

We're a week into voting with one more to go, whānau ngā manu. Don't do something you might later regret. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Black and white photograph taken by Herbert Ponting, a member of the Terra Nova expediiton to Antarctica. South Polar skuas are shouting at Ponting to keep his distance. The text includes a quote from R.F. Scott's diary: 6 january 1911, “To-day I walked over our peninsula to see what the southern side was like. Hundreds of skuas were nesting and attacked in the usual manner as I passed.” Vote for the Bird as BOLD and ORIGINAL as You are.

Vote for the bird as BOLD and ORIGINAL as you are. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Poster for the movie "Fistfull of Dollars" if the movie was "Fistfull of Petrels" and the lead role was played by a Skua. Behind the reluctant hero, a baddie is sprawling backward, about to meet his maker. The text above the picurre reads "In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous bird who ever lived!" The text below reads "Hākoakoa in A Fistful of Petrels" and "Vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year."

This year, vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year. #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for Mad Max, if Mad Max was a Skua. The poster is firey orange and dark brown hues with a fuzzy background sky full of smoke. The text is simple. "...Remember, he's on your side. Vote SKUA."

Remember, we're on your side. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Photo of two South Polar Skuas displaying to each other in a snowy scene near the Australian Antarctic base Mawson. Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.

Just to say, feathers are perfect for any weather. (Photo by Kimberley Kliska via the Australian Antarctic Programme website.) Vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025

Phtograph of a Subantarctic (Brown) Skua on Campbell Island. The rich brown stands out against the windswept background of low grasses and steep cliffs in the distance. Two maps in the lower right show global seabird diversity and threatened status. Both light up in angry red around New Zealand. The text says "Of the ~10,000 bird species on Earth, only ~360 are seabirds. Most are poorly protected. New Zealand is a hotspot for seabird diversity and for seabirds under threat. Please, don’t let voting for Bird of the Year be the only thing you do to help protect these remarkable survivors."

Life is hard at sea. All seabirds are remarkable survivors, and many of them need better help than humans are providing. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 but please, then stay engaged. Find out more about what you can do.
@forestandbird.bsky.social

🤩 That's us! Look at that handsome bird! Let's see... Tarāpuka? Tarāpunga? Koekoeā? Toroa? Who else is shouty?

In this scene from Macquarie Island, back when Skuas were the only ones on the pest eradication job, two skuas are making a meal of a rabbit. The rabbit has been blurred for privacy. The text says "The OK eradication expert. Vote SKUA. Avain innovator. Flexible forager." Bird of the Year 2025.

Macquarie Island is now pest-free, but for a time, Skuas were the ones on the job. Pest eradication practices took a toll on Skuas, but plants and birds are both rebounding. Vote for the bird who was there for you when you didn't even know it. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A skua in a car that formerly belonged to Dan Draper. The bird looks cool, unbothered, ready to get to work. A cigarette smoulders in a wing draped casually out the window of the car. The text reads: It's 2025. The time for Mr Nice Bird is over. Avian innovator. Flexible forager. Evolution's concierge. Vote for a bird who cleans up the mess. Vote Skua BOTY.

Vote for the bird who cleans up the mess. Vote SKUA #birdofhteyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for the blockbuster movie, The Skua Ultimatum. The scene is muted shades of blue, off-kilter, streaky, and mostly out of focus. A handsome skua in Matt Damon's clothing strides toward the viewer. The text on the poster is clear: Vote Hākoakoa BOTY.

The Skua Ultimatum: VOTE SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

A poster for the hit TV show Wednesday, if Wednesday Addams was a Skua. The text says HĀKOAKOA with a quote underneath: "I act as if I don't care if people dislike me. Deep down, I secretly enjoy it." Vote SKUA for Bird of the Year.

Don't put me on a pedestal, just vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 #skuaforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

Enrich a movie by adding your pick for #BirdOfTheYear

The Power of the Skua

In this classic movie poster updated for the Skua era, "Cool metacarpus Skua" leans against the handle of a grass whip. The colours are heavy, olive green, dark orange, and posterised denim. But the bird is cool.

A bird's just gotta go its own way. Vote Skua for #birtdoftheyear2025