Given the current situation I'm going to try and post a birb picture each day! Cause birbs always help when things are a bit shit. First up is Freedom, a Kōkako who lives up on Pirongia Maunga and loves to attack her reflection in shiny car doors

The bird for day two is this very hungry Campbell Island Pippit! I mean that is some serious stockpiling right there!

Okay I think we need another bird today - exceptional times and all that. This Hihi is yelling at the top of his lungs to tell everyone to get home and stay home now! Sending love to you all right now

Day three - lets go with this hilarious Light Mantled Sooty Albatross from Campbell Island - complete with the classic 'don't look at me straight on' bird expression.

Day four - a Tūī in the rain - from our old backyard in Kirikiriroa Hamilton - for @jennyhorrocks!

Didn't have the best day - luckily having been through the earthquakes I figured out pretty quickly that it was just normal (in these circumstances) stress. So to end the day I want to share another photo - it's so lovely to read the comments on the thread so far - thank you!

This is a very pretty Kakaruwai/South Island Robin - one of the friendliest of Aotearoa's birds - always keen for a photo op! Taken in Bealey Valley near Arthur's Pass

Day 5 - this gorgeous Southern Royal Albatross. Aotearoa is so lucky to have 86 species of seabirds that breed on the mainland or on offshore islands. If you ever get the chance (after lockdown!) to go offshore and see these birds - it really is the most special experience!

Day 6 - nearly missed today! Here is a super cute juvenile kawau paka - little shag, hanging out at Eastbourne beach on Christmas day last year Highly recommend reading 'The Seabirds Cry' by Adam Nicolson for a fascinating insight into cormorants and shags!

Day 7 - Seems as good a time as any for a Snares Crested Penguin hanging out on Tini Heke (Snares Islands)! Think i'll start using #dailylockdownbirds as a way to keep the daily bird goodness in one place!

Day 8 - a hungry red crowned Kākāriki at Zealandia sanctuary last year #dailylockdownbirds

Day 9 - I am so excited to share these! The cutest little California Quail chicks also from Zealandia. I think I read recently that this species, while introduced, fills a similar niche to the extinct Koreke New Zealand Quail #dailylockdownbirds

Day 10 (I started this when we went into self-iso the day lvl 2 was announced so this is days since then not the official lockdown!) - aw it's a lovely scene of parent and child...oh wait...there were a few gasps from the viewing platform during this exchange! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 11 - we are a week into the level 4 lockdown but only on the first day of Takahē Awareness Month. So here is a round Takahē to cheer up your day! Must try to get some more Takahē shots when lockdown is over, this is the only one I could find!

A very late day 12 birb - this cheeky female Hihi! One of my favourite places at Zealandia is up behind the dam where you can sit for hours and watch the antics of these wee ones #dailylockdownbirds

Day 13 - a very common seabird in Aotearoa, the karoro or black back gull. I do really love their juvenile colouring!

I'm pretty sure this is a juvenile black back gull but my seabird ID skills are still pretty rusty so any experts please do correct my IDs if they are wrong! Always keen to learn!

Day 14 - another juvenile, this time a Tieke - North Island saddleback! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 15 - we're all settled into our lockdown routine now. It's not terribly different from other times in my life, although I do miss being able to drive to the ocean or forest. Today's #dailylockdownbirds are these adorkable Hoiho on Shoe Island, Maukahuka/Auckland Islands.

And by 'being able to drive' I mean having @ZackDorner drive us to the ocean or forest because now that i'm finally more able to learn to drive, learning has been put on hold yet again

Day 16- another seabird, an Antarctic Tern! Highly recommend searching out some Nth Hemisphere bird accounts for updates about the return of seabirds up north
@Finnmarkbirding @skomer_island & @SteelySeabirder
who is running an awesome seabird cup right now! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 17 - this adorable and slightly grumpy Miromiro from the forest surrounding the Whakapapa river in the central North Island! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 18 - an elusive shot a Cape Petrel. They are not scarce at all on the high seas but I did spend a long time trying to focus on these wee moving targets while battling swells and seasickness & then we came across a raft of them off Tini Heke Snares Islands! #dailylockdownbirds

I think I also started muttering to myself in a semi-sedated haze (turns out i'm quite prone to seasickness) 'must get a photo of a cape pigeon for @SophieFern, must get a photo of a cake pigeon' It's not the sharpest shot out there but it's something!

Day 19 - another seabird, cause lets face it, they rule! Here is a gorgeous Toroa Southern Royal Albatross on Motu Ihupuku/Campbell Island in Aotearoa's subantarctic, home to their main breeding colony! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 20 - the roundest of Tītipounamu imitating an easter egg, then a grumpy egg. These juvenile Tītipounamu were playing in a little faerie glade in Bealey Valley near Arthur's Pass. Also known as Rifleman, they are the smallest of our birds in Aotearoa. #dailylockdownbirds

Day 21 - a korimako in a Kōwhai! I collected some Kōwhai seeds from alongside the Waikato river yesterday - I'm keen to try native seedling propagation. I also have some very special white kākā beak seeds that I'm attempting to germinate at the moment! #dailylockdownbirds

Day 24 (missed a few days from taking a Twitter break over the w/e) - lets go with this pretty Campbell Island Pippit for #dailylockdownbirds. And lets all remember that someone's value as a person is not defined by their age or health status.

Day 25 - an actual lock down bird! Finally found a few flocks around our neighbourhood on the weekend! This cheeky wee piwaiwaka was a great companion on our walk #dailylockdownbirds

Day 26 - another actual lockdown bird, this time a pretty tauhou with 100 thanks to my very patient husband @ZackDorner who waited 20 minutes while I waited for the flock to come closer to the footpath #dailylockdownbirds

Day 27 - a very regal kākā at @Maungatautari1 sanctuary - can't wait till it is safe to return to the maunga and to catch up with the birds as they get ready for winter #dailylockdownbirds

Day 28 - a Northern Giant Petrel chick tucked up in the megaherbs on Enderby Island for #dailylockdownbirds. If you want to check out more of our subantarctic islands you can watch the Prime slow TV trip down to Antarctica & through the Southern Ocean https://www.primetv.co.nz/go-further-south-catchup

And a bonus shot to show how cozy this (not so little) chick was tucked up in their nest in the megaherbs. Although this nest was right near the edge of some very wind swept cliffs so just as well they had a buffer!

Day 30 (had another day off Twitter!) - today's #dailylockdownbirds are playing hide and seek! These juvenile Auckland Island shags are hard to spot - but they are pretty gorgeous once you see them!

Just zoomed in and spotted this one's expression

Day 31 - a posing Pāteke, a very special endemic mainland duck species. This wee one was hanging out at the dam on Tiritiri Mātangi island back in February #dailylockdownbirds

Day 32 - a light mantled sooty albatross off Campbell Island! I have to admit that before a few years ago I had not given much consideration to seabirds. Now I can't get enough of them - they truly are amazing! #dailylockdownbirds

Light mantled sooty albatross are particularly gorgeous although their harsh cries sound like a screaming child which is particularly disconcerting when roaming remote subantarctic islands!