![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_1380.jpeg?resize=525%2C211&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nI\u2019ve just read an article about the worldwide rise in popularity of birdwatching.<\/p>\n
Apparently the \u00a0boom dates back to the lockdowns of the COVID era, when we all had more time on our hands to observe nature, as well as baking sourdough and watching Netflix. The article mentioned Birds New Zealand, the more popular but less impressive name for The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Inc. There is also an M\u0101ori name, and a nifty non traditional logo.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inspired, I had a look at the website, and various membership options. When signing up, they ask for the usual contact information – name, address, email, etc – and also gender – why? – but also, more chillingly, year of birth. This is used to calculate the price of a lifetime membership. I suppose they are scientists but this seems horribly hard nosed and actuarial to me. Why not ask about smoking history and BMI while they\u2019re at it? In spite of my misgivings, I\u2019ve signed up anyway. Not only am I doing a good deed for nature, but I also get a free book(let) on seabirds.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_1379.jpeg?resize=525%2C339&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve just read an article about the worldwide rise in popularity of birdwatching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8Ukf-3nN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":74,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/03\/kirsty-an-origin-tale\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":0},"title":"Kirsty: An origin tale","author":"Interloper11","date":"August 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I\u2019ll be interviewing Dr Kirsty Jordan, a middle aged white female anaesthetist from Wellington in New Zealand, who has just set up a blog, AccordingtoKirsty.com. Kirsty is married to the long-suffering Simon, a GP, and has three wonderful daughters; two lovely dogs, and one grumpy old one; five fish;\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1312,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/20\/green-fingers\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":1},"title":"Green fingers","author":"Interloper11","date":"December 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I love \u201cPlant Identification New Zealand\u201d. It\u2019s the most wholesome thing on facebook. It\u2019s a bit like a Bob Ross painting lesson for boosting your general wellbeing. \u00a0 Featuring my brother Hamish, the other doctor in the family, but the more erudite one - he has a PhD in botany.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/1D403A40-E7CC-41C0-91A3-287F4A617743-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5320,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/16\/more-fuckery-from-air-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":2},"title":"More fuckery from Air New Zealand","author":"Interloper11","date":"August 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"66% of my offspring were meant to be flying home for mid semester break next weekend, but they\u2019ve just been informed that their flights have been cancelled. Not postponed, not delayed, not rescheduled - \u00a0cancelled. And no refunds either, of course - they can apply for a credit. Unbelievable.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7849,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/03\/a-whole-new-ball-game\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":3},"title":"A whole different ball game","author":"Interloper11","date":"May 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I read the other day that the first international sporting tour to New Zealand was the All England cricket tour in 1864. This seems incredible to me. The trip here would have taken anywhere from 75 to 120 days back then. The trip was combined with a tour in Australia,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/96F052CE-97B1-4DB0-BF4B-0ECF35094C28-300x211.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9067,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/23\/samoa-day-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":4},"title":"Samoa day 9","author":"Interloper11","date":"June 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m writing this when I\u2019m meant to be napping. I read an article a few days ago that said the brains of people who had afternoon naps are seven years younger and with 15 cubic cms more bulk than non nappers, which I\u2019ve enjoyed telling Simon about as he doesn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/IMG_2723-300x225.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7865,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/07\/notorious\/","url_meta":{"origin":13007,"position":5},"title":"Notorious","author":"Interloper11","date":"May 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog is nothing if not timely, with its finger right on the pulse of the zeitgeist. Hence I\u2019m going to talk about \u201cThe Slap\u201d at the Oscars. I remember thinking even at the time that it was a dumb, Neanderthal thing for \u00a0Will Smith to do. Possibly you could\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/565312E2-B291-4100-8AF3-220F5A6CE83A-300x294.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}