Although kakapo didn’t win Bird of the Year in 2011, they certainly took out top honours on the Conservation Blog. Nine out of our top ten posts are exclusively, or in part, about this much loved New Zealand parrot.
#10 Notes from an island sanctuary
This fantail chick lives right outside Chris' lounge
This recent post was the first from our new ranger on Maud Island, Chris Birmingham. You loved hearing about his life on the island, which is also home to Sirocco the kakapo. We’re all looking forward to hearing a lot more from Chris in 2012.
#9 Kakapo ‘curse’ hits breeding season – but more eggs to come
Kakapo chicks
Containing some of the first news of the 2011 kakapo breeding season, as well as a cute kakapo pic, this post promised to be a crowd favourite – and it was!
#8 Animal Health Board staff help save kakapo
We love our kakapo stories, and this one – told by Jane Sinclair of the Animal Health Board, who was lucky enough to win a trip to Whenua Hou/Codfish Island – was no exception.
#7 Mini miracles as kakapo chicks pull through
Kakapo chick, just hours old
The 2011 kakapo breeding season had us all on the edge of our seats. With so few of these beautiful and charismatic birds left, we held our collective breath as news came in from Codfish Island about each and every mating, egg and hatching.
The DIY egg – stuck together with glue and masking tape after kakapo Suzanne stood on it – was one of your favourite stories of the season.
#6 The great ‘kiwi in Russia’ mystery!
Special Agent Kiwi
Remember the kiwi that mysteriously turned up in the Russion port of Sochi back in May? Oh, that’s right, it was actually a common bittern. Never-the-less, it provided the material for this tongue in cheek story that appealed to the conspiracy theorist in us.
#5 Jobs at DOC: Spokesbird for Conservation, Sirocco the kakapo
Munchin' on a kumara-pop
Our ‘Jobs at DOC’ series provides behind the scenes insights into the jobs and the personalities of DOC workers. The post about our very own spokesbird for conservation, Sirocco the kakapo, was by far your favourite of these, taking out 5th place in our top 10.
#4 Vote now! Remix the sounds of NZ competition
The grand finale of our New Zealand Music Month competition was always going to be popular. In it, our judges – Sirocco the rock star kakapo and Simon the mad morepork owl – played and commented on the top five tracks and then left it over to you, our savvy readers, to pick the winner.
#3 What New Zealand native species are you?
Native species quiz
This native species determination chart was the star of our Conservation Week series.
Over 3,000 people took the fun and fact filled test and, interestingly, we discovered that readers of the Conservation Blog are overwhelmingly kea!
#2 The world’s first takapo eggs
Our April Fool’s day post, about the world’s first takapo eggs being discovered on Maud Island, was a huge hit.
Haggis and Sirocco with their newly found eggs
Almost 5,000 of you have read and shared this fun and far fetched story.
#1 Remix my mates during NZ music month and make me a bona fide rock star!
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, and to raise the profile of New Zealand’s avian songsters, Sirocco the kakapo put out the call for the musically talented to remix the sounds of New Zealand’s unique birds.
Sirocco the rockstar kakapo
This post received over 3,500 views in one day, and thousands more since then, making it the clear winner of our most popular post of the year.
What was your favourite?
Our top 10 blog posts for 2011 were chosen based on the number of people who viewed them. Do you think this accurately reflects the best of the blog?
Do you have a personal favourite that you’d like to comment on (that either did or didn’t make it onto our top 10 list)? We’d love to hear from you.
