Around 200 ornithologists and bird enthusiasts are gathered in Wanaka this Kings Birthday Weekend. The 2026 NZ Bird Conference and Birds New Zealand AGM is being held at the Lake Wanaka Centre - and is Aotearoa's largest annual conference on birds and bird research. Natalie Forsdick is the President Birds New Zealand and she joins Susana Lei'ataua.

Peter Boshier was the Chief Ombudsman from 2015 to 2025, responsible for handling complaints about and investigating the administrative conduct of public sector agencies, including official information requests. He was active in the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), serving between 2019 and 2022 as President of the Australasia and Pacific Region and then as Second Vice President of the IOI. He was elected President of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in the United States of America, the only New Zealander to hold that position. He was appointed to the District Court in 1988 as a Family Court Judge, subsequently being appointed as the Principal Family Court Judge in 2004. Mr Boshier held that position until 2012 when he was appointed a Law Commissioner. Sir Peter joins Susana Lei'ataua to reflect on his King's Birthday Honour.

There is plenty to do in the garden over winter, gardening expert Lynda Hallinan says.

Glenys Scandrett is a familiar name to many dancers in the Southland region. She has received a Queen's Service Medal, for a career spanning more than 65 years both performing and teaching classical ballet. She opened Scandrett Dance Academy in Invercargill in 1997, and many of her students have gone on to become professional dancers.

Tuatara are a national treasure - a taonga. They are a rare reptile found only in New Zealand and are the last survivors of an order of reptiles that thrived in the age of the dinosaurs. Among those invited to be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in today's Kings Birthday Honours list is Emeritus Professor Alison Cree - leading zoologist and herpetology expert. Alison Cree speaks to Anna Thomas.

Chef Monique Fiso has built a career on bringing native ingredients back onto the menu, at her Maori-Samoan inspired restaurant in Wellington, Hiakai. Monique Fiso tells Anna Thomas which ingredients deserve more love in the kitchen.

Joseph Dituri has spent 95 days in a metal cabin just off the coast of Florida, 9.1m below the ocean's surface. The biomedical engineer has smashed through the previous record of 73 days spent underwater without depressurisation. Joe Dituri speaks to Anna Thomas from his ocean lodgings.

The world's oldest practising doctor is about to become the subject of a new documentary. 100-year-old neurologist Dr Howard Tucker has witnessed advances in medicine right through from lobotomies to computerised imaging. Dr Howard Tucker talks to Anna Thomas all the way from Cleveland, US.

Do you know someone who seems to thrive on chaos? Maybe even yourself? Holistic psychologist Dr Scott Lyons explores the stress-related condition and offers advice for healing in a new book.

At the front of the Salvation Army's Whangarei store, you'll find a section of one-of-a-kind garments which have been given a new lease of life. A group of volunteers picks through 10 tonnes of discarded fabric and mends the highest-quality finds. Intercept Fabric Rescue founder Jenny Hill tells us more.