The Bird of the Year competition, run by Forest & Bird since 2005, is one such fillip.
It is something uniquely Kiwi, so to speak, and something which helps take our minds off the rest of the world.
One of the country’s most successful environmental marketing campaigns, it has, in one way or another, found itself into many homes and businesses, never ceasing to spark media coverage.
After all, who doesn’t love birds, especially those quirky avians which these islands are fortunate to claim as their own.
Yet it is not all wine and roses for our birds, as we well know. Some species are struggling along but doing OK, others are in considerable trouble and their numbers are slipping, and a few are critically endangered.
To lose any of these species would take away a chunk of what makes our country special and what makes us New Zealanders.
Heck, we are even nicknamed across the world after our most famous bird.
Even using the word "lose" is a form of gaslighting, a shifting of the blame on to some other ethereal force which we have no control over, when in actual fact extinction would be largely due to human actions.
It would be easy for an inexorable decline to set in for some of our species, in an environment which is not supportive or protective enough of many aspects of our indigenous flora and fauna.
Unfortunately, that is very much the background at present, with a government which has shown us repeatedly it is far more interested in putting the economy ahead of the environment, and mining and prospecting ahead of frogs, snails, moths and any other creatures which dare to get in the way.
For that reason, endangered birds somehow seem even more endangered right now.
This competition is a great vehicle for getting us thinking about the birds we see in our gardens, our parks and in the bush, and it is inspiring that people hold such strong opinions over which species deserve the title.
The red-billed gull-tarāpunga and the yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho, are early Dunedin favourites for the crown.
But there are also more than 70 other birds waiting for your vote.
Make sure you take the time and do your bit to protect our feathered friends.
Voting closes on Sunday at 5pm.
Gone today, here tomorrow
The ongoing saga about the fate of late-night United States talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel and his serendipitously named programme has taken another twist, with the latest news he will be back on air again this week.
The conniptions around the screening of Kimmel’s show accurately reflect the political turmoil swirling across the US following the murder of conservative influencer, activist and Republican favourite Charlie Kirk.
President Donald Trump and his cadre have predictably labelled Kirk a martyr and are taking violent offence at suggestions he was anything other than a loyal and good citizen with the "correct" opinions — if you are a white, male Republican that is.
Anyone with human decency on either side of the political divide will agree Kirk’s shooting was a horrific and despicable act, as assassinations always are.
But it doesn’t change the fact that much of what he promulgated was viewed by many as being racist, sexist, divisive and odious.
Kimmel is back, and now it appears his show had never actually been cancelled, but he was instead only suspended "indefinitely" for comments he made about Kirk which were considered beyond the pale.
Trump and his ilk, and supporters of Kirk’s right-wing group Turning Point USA, will be livid that Kimmel was merely down but not out and will now be able to continue to express views contrary to those they deem patriotic.
The lifting of the suspension is to be applauded by all lovers of free speech.
After all, in the present-day US, some people clearly find it an uncomfortable truth that free speech should apply equally to everyone.
