Forest & Bird’s annual ‘Bird of the Year’ competition has been a passion project for Dragonfly data scientist, Yvan Richard, for over a decade. This year, Dragonfly Data Science is officially joining the flock as the competition’s provider of verified vote counts.
Now in its 20th year, Bird of the Year has become a highlight for Kiwis and bird lovers worldwide, shining a spotlight on the unique birdlife of Aotearoa and the importance of conservation. What started as a grassroots idea has grown into a national, and sometimes global phenomenon, with more than 52,500 votes cast in 2024 alone.
Between local enthusiasm, international attention, celebrity endorsements, and passionate advocates, tallying the votes fairly is no small feat. With thousands of votes discarded every year due to cheating, typos, or missing confirmations, this aspect has made a robust, transparent system essential.
This system is where Dragonfly comes in, officially contracted to provide verified vote counts and manage reporting for the 2025 Bird of the Year competition.
To manage the scale and complexity of the votes, Yvan has developed an interactive dashboard that visualises every vote, flags anomalies, and ensures transparency in the results.
Yvan’s involvement with the competition dates right back to 2015, when he first began tracking votes. In 2017, he alerted Forest & Bird to cheating for the white-faced heron, and became the unofficial scrutineer - a role he is pleased to see formalised into an official project with Dragonfly this year.
“Simply put, I like birds,” Yvan says. “It’s nice to step into a world where we’re celebrating and learning more about New Zealand’s unique bird species, far beyond just those you might see in your back garden, like the fantail.”
“In the past, validating votes was a tedious, manual process. Now, with the dashboard, we can filter duplicates, check confirmations, and spot unusual voting patterns quickly. It makes the process smooth, accurate, and fun - which is exactly what this competition should be.”
Two decades on, Bird of the Year has become a nationwide movement, with participation driven by schools, community groups, and social media campaigns.
“Bird of the Year has created a really effective model for engaging communities with conservation,” Yvan says.
“It shows what’s possible for other species too - whether it’s zooming into our endangered species, or even looking into plants, insects, or fungi. The goal is to spark curiosity and care for the natural world in ways that are accessible, fun, and informative.”
Voting antics
Over the years, Bird of the Year has seen its fair share of colourful controversies. From spirited social media campaign wars and enthusiastic multiple-email voters, to foreign interference and the infamous year a mammal species took the crown, the competition has seen it all.
In 2023, comedian John Oliver launched a surprise global campaign for the pūteketeke (Australasian crested grebe). Billboards in major cities, a plane banner over Brazil, and even a costume on The Tonight Show drove a record-breaking 290,374 votes for the bird, lifting the total number of votes that year to 381,000.
“These moments are all part of the fun,” says Yvan. “It shows how much attention our wildlife can attract, even from halfway across the world. At the same time, it’s why a robust system is crucial - to keep things fair while still letting the creativity shine.”
Project team
Read more
- Yvan uncovered hacks into the Bird of the Year website in 2017
- Yvan’s data preparation for Bird of the Year in 2019
South Island robin photograph CC BY Sylvain Cleymans
Dragonfly and XEquals have been indispensable partners in the cultural phenomenon that is Bird of the Year. For more than five years, Dragonfly has brought deep technical expertise and a collaborative spirit to one of our most complex challenges: ensuring a fair, transparent voting process.
Dragonfly’s latest dashboard is a game-changer - giving us real-time insights, robust vote validation, and the ability to manage data securely and efficiently. The team consistently goes above and beyond, adapting to new requirements and providing thoughtful training so our staff feel confident using the tools.
Working with Dragonfly and XEquals means working with people who care about outcomes as much as we do. We’re proud to acknowledge their contribution and look forward to continuing this partnership.
Fran Hill
Business Services Manager
Forest & Bird .