This page has been set up as a bit of a fun way of 'challenging' each other. Many birders keep a list of species they see, and this page is designed along the lines of the list run by Tony Palliser in Australia and the SA 700 Club run by Zest for Birds in South Africa. Anyone can submit a list total by emailing Brent Stephenson. Even if you feel you have a small list, submit it anyway.

The initiation of a 200 Club has occurred, with those birders who have supplied a list of 200 species for New Zealand being included. A list of 200 species in New Zealand is a great target for birders to aim at, and takes a fair bit of time to achieve. With the recent increase in people submitting lists, we now have a staggering total for New Zealand of 263 species, set by Brian Bell. Many New Zealand and overseas birders will know of Brian and his impressive lifetimes work with New Zealand birds. He really has set a target for other birders to aim for! Birders in the 200 Club are shown in bold in the list below and have an * beside their name.

With the advent of books such as 'The Big Year' by Mark Obmascik, year listing has become a more popular birding phenomenon. So we have started a 'Year listing' table as well. Hopefully this will gain momentum amongst both NZ and oversea birders. In 2004 three birders submitted year lists (and these have also been posted on the SurfBirds website), and hopefully we have a few more for 2005!

1. The Checklist to be used in this exercise is "The 'Official' New Zealand Birders checklist". The list can be downloaded as a PDF version here.
2. The geographical boundary for the list is defined as mainland New Zealand, offshore islands (all sub-antarctics and Chathams, not including Macquarie Island or Norfolk Island), its territories or anywhere within the 200 NM limit.
3. All species counted should be seen alive and in the wild (island populations are countable including all species on Tiritiri Matangi, Kapiti Island, Ulva Island, etc.). Beachcast birds, as long as they are still alive, are countable.
4. Birds must be seen, hearing calls or song of a species does not count.
5. Submissions should be honest, accurate and dated. Any entries for species not currently on the New Zealand checklist must be verified by the Rare/Unusual Birds Committee of the OSNZ.
6. Entries shall not be made without permission from the owner.

The 'Official' New Zealand Birders checklist can be downloaded here as a formatted PDF 'checklist'. Click on the image below to download the document, then print to be able to 'tick' those boxes. This list is also available in other formats, please email Brent. This list is bound to stimulate some discussion, so forward your comments and criticisims to us by email.

This checklist is for personal use, please do not use it commercially or post on any other website. If you would like to do so, then please contact us first.

Colour coded version

Non-colour version

Version 1.0
Released on 23/02/05

Version 1.1
Released on 02/04/05 – non-coloured version also released

• Border around ‘Northern pintail’ removed
• ‘ Status’ colour coding changed
• Extra ‘Status’ column added to include information on whether the species is endemic (En), native (Na), introduced (In), or a non-breeding migrant/straggler/vagrant (Nb)
• Addition of two extinct species – Stead’s bush wren and Iredale’s (Stewart Island) snipe – due to one Lister having seen these species before their extinction
• Mention made in the text at the start of the list that birds must be seen to be included. Birds cannot be included if only heard
• Tentative inclusion of Australian reed warbler on the list pending acceptance by the OSNZ RBC
• Changed Gould’s petrel, P. leucoptera, to New Caledonian petrel, P. caledonica, as records in New Zealand almost certainly represent that species
• Black-fronted tern genus changed from Chlidonias to Sterna
• Red-crowned parakeet changed to endemic following specific separation of New Caledonian and Norfolk Island populations from New Zealand mainland populations
• Addition of Hochstetter’s parakeet, C. hochstetteri, as above
• Split red-billed gull, L. scopulinus, from silver gull, L. novaehollandiae, and therefore relegated to endemic
• Golden pheasant added to the list – feral population breeding on Aroha Island

Planned in next update –

• inclusion of sub-specific information where relevant
• inclusion of contact information for overseas birders who discover unusual birds