“NZ bird artist Melissa Boardman conveys her love for the native birds of New Zealand through her distinctive gouache illustrations.

Melissa’s illustrations draw on her fascination with nature - her art is inspired by her own encounters with Aotearoa’s wildlife.

Melissa offers art prints of her bold and descriptive depictions of native birds as well as a range of thoughtful stationery products and bird merch.”

I absolutely adore our native birds…

I’m passionate about sharing my love for birds and inspiring others to care about them too.

Birds inspire everything I do, I create a range of thoughtful products that feature my original illustrations of native birds. I believe in creating long lasting high quality products that can be treasured for years.

I use the most eco-friendly materials and processes available for each product. I use recycled paper in my stationery items, eco-friendly cotton paper for my art prints, and use minimal packaging. Most of my products ship plastic-free with the exception of Art Prints which require clear sleeves to keep the prints safe in transit and storage.

My process

In nature I gather inspiration that I channel into my illustrations, thoughtfully showcasing the characteristics and charm of native birds. I love being immersed in nature and spend a lot of time observing birds and learning about their distinct behaviours and personalities so I can portray them in my art.

I use my own photographs for reference and have an extensive catalogue of bird photos that I refer to when finding inspiration for a new illustration. Gouache is my medium of choice and I use it for all of my physical illustrations. Each illustration is created with tiny individual brush strokes - I use the smallest brushes available and each bird can take anywhere between 3 days and 3 weeks to complete.

About me

My mission is to share my love and enthusiasm for native New Zealand birds, to inspire others to become invested in nature and ultimately be more passionate about protecting our precious wildlife and natural spaces.

I convey my passion for nature by sharing photos and stories of my wildlife encounters and through my illustrations. Illustrating birds allows me to celebrate their unique beauty, highlight their distinctive features and creatively express how inspirational they are to me. Making shareable and accessible native bird products gives others the opportunity to wear a representation of their favourite bird or display them in their home as a way to keep nature close or as a reminder of a fond bird experience.

Photographing birds provides me not only with reference images for my illustrations, but a visual record of my experiences with native birds that I can share. By sharing stories and photographs of my encounters with birds in the wild I hope to encourage others to spend more time in nature and seek out their own experiences, make their own connections and become more in-tune with the natural world.

Having spent many hours observing and studying birds I have gained a deep understanding of what their behaviours indicate. I particularly enjoy sharing interesting observations that I witness and encouraging others to become interested in bird behaviour. I feel that by slowing down and paying attention we can gain so much insight into what is happening around us, whether it’s a bird gathering material for a nest, courtship feeding a mate or alarm calling at a predator nearby. I believe that curiosity and thoughtfulness lead to a deeper understanding and respect for the nature that surrounds us.

Being respectful to wildlife is of utmost importance to me and being cautious around birds allows me to spend time with them without disturbing or interfering with their natural behaviour. I advocate for ethical photography - for being quiet, patient and giving birds space and I feel that better and more rewarding experiences arise from being quiet and respectful. I will always stand up for a bird if its wellbeing is compromised, after all, the welfare of wildlife is much more important than getting a photo.

I have an affinity with the hidden gems in nature - the quiet, small and often overlooked species that are not only charming but have significant importance to the fragile balance of our ecosystems. I have a genuine connection to titipounamu (rifleman), our smallest native bird and absolutely love sharing stories about their incredible, complicated lives. I spend several hours a week volunteering at Zealandia Ecosanctuary where I help with monitoring the titipounamu population. During breeding season this involves nest checking, assisting with banding the nestlings and checking on newly fledged chicks.

My involvement in conservation extends past the Zealandia fence, I explore local reserves searching for signs of titipounamu and other rare birds. I also trap for introduced pests in my own garden and have planted many native plants around my home. I really enjoy being able to share the many ways I celebrate nature in my life, and I strive to be an advocate for appreciating nature and being curious and respectful of the wildlife around us.