Birdlands: A decade in the wild for university researcher

Research Fellow Dr Edin Whitehead has spent the past decade following seabirds across some of Aotearoa's most remote and spectacular landscapes. Now those journeys have taken flight in her new book, Birdlands.

Published by Penguin Random House and launching on 6 October, Birdlands combines science, photography and personal narrative to share Whitehead's remarkable journey from budding biology student to seabird scientist and award winning conservation photographer.

Whithead says the title captures a vision of Aotearoa that predates human settlement.

"Before people arrived, without the presence of land mammals, this entire country and the outer islands were the domain of birds," she says.

"All of this was bird land. And, in many ways, it still is."

The book represents more than ten years of work and also draws on experiences of Whitehead's doctoral research at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. Through striking photography and stories from the field, it offers readers a rare glimpse into the world of seabird science and the wild places that continue to inspire her.

"I am so excited," Whitehead says. "It's ten years of my life in words and images."

A celebration of Aotearoa's birdlife, Birdlands emerged from a period of uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic when Whitehead began revisiting photographs, field notes and stories collected over years of research and travel.

"It incorporates part of my PhD research, but in a completely different way," she says.

"There's the PhD thesis, but no-one should read that," she laughs. "This is a much more accessible way to tell the story."

The origins of Birdlands can be traced back to 2019 and Whitehead's involvement in The Brilliance of Birds, a project that saw her travel around New Zealand photographing native birdlife.

"We thought there was an opportunity to tell the behind-the-scenes story," she says.

"What is it actually like to go out and photograph birds? What is it like to conduct bird research? Over time all those stories and photographs were funnelled into Birdlands."

The result is a richly illustrated chronicle of a decade spent in forests, on coastlines, aboard research vessels and on remote offshore islands, documenting species that many New Zealanders never have the opportunity to encounter.

Whitehead's fascination with birds began much earlier.

Her parents, both medical doctors, nurtured her curiosity about the natural world. Her father, photographer and bird enthusiast Tony Whitehead, introduced her to birdwatching and helped develop the photographic skills that would later earn her national recognition.

"He is the reason I am the photographer I am, and my mum is the reason I am the writer I am," she says.

The book also acknowledges the many researchers, conservationists, volunteers and mentors who supported her journey, including long-time academic supervisor Associate Professor Brendon Dunphy.

"He's the reason I'm still studying seabirds ten years later," she says.

Since completing her master's research with Dunphy in 2017, Whitehead has continued to build a career at the intersection of science, conservation and visual storytelling.

Today she is recognised as one of New Zealand's leading wildlife photographers, winning the Wildlife category winner for the 2025 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards.

Yet despite the accolades, Whitehead remains most at home in the field.

One of the book's most memorable threads follows her progression from undergraduate student to researcher working on remote sub-Antarctic islands, a journey that came full circle in 2023 when she joined an albatross research programme as a field assistant.

"When I was finishing my Bachelor of Science, I had the opportunity to visit the sub-Antarctic islands on a scholarship," she says.

"That experience made me realise I wanted to do research biology and study seabirds. They're amazing."

Birdlands will be released just as Whitehead heads back into the field for another seabird research season, travelling to Pokohinu in the Mokohīnau Islands, 100 km northeast of Auckland.

"We launch the book on October 6," she says. "Then we're off to do seabird fieldwork, which is exactly what the book is about."

This latest offering from Whitehead is ultimately an invitation to slow down, look up and reconnect with the extraordinary wildlife that has shaped Aotearoa for millennia.

Through science, photography and storytelling, she hopes readers will discover what she has long known: that the islands of New Zealand remain, in many ways, a land defined by birds.