Rotorua's Sacred Gulls

In 1823, the northern Ngapuhi tribe, led by Hongi Hika, attacked Rotorua's Te Arawa people on Mokoia Island in the middle of Lake Rotorua. Te Arawa were warned of the pending attack by the disturbed flight and squawking of Nga Tarapunga - the red-billed gull - and were prepared for the enemy as a result. Since then, the gulls have been tapu (sacred) to the people of Te Arawa.

Both red- and black-billed gulls breed in their thousands at Te Arikiroa (Sulphur Bay) on the edge of the lake (near the Polynesian Spa) and the red-bills also roost here outside breeding season. The little sandy beach at Te Arikiroa was also the scene of an inter-tribal battle centuries ago, when the people of Ngati Tangaroa-mihi and Ngati Tama (Tama-ihu-toroa) clashed. The dead and dying were said to be so thickly strewn about that they resembled inanga (whitebait) cast on the shore. Things are much quieter today and it's a popular bird-watching spot. You'll also frequently find photographers at work early in the morning, trying to capture the mood as morning mists and geothermal steam mix over the water. There's a msyterious beauty about the place then.

A Rock, A Bird, A Pattern

One Bird - HUIA

Curved of Beak

Painted on a Rock
Photographed at Ngai Tahu's
Hui-a-Tau, Colac Bay, Southland
November 2009

Our Feathered Friends

I’ll confess from the start that this is not the best picture of our pretty native tui that you’ll ever see. I was in the middle of the bush on Ulva Island (near Stewart Island in the very south of New Zealand) with a small camera and an inadequate zoom, so everything is a little fuzzy - although you can still he his shiny green-black plumage and the distinctive white wattle under his beak. So that’s the excuses out of the way…. Now to one of our loveliest song birds…. It seems hard to believe now but the tui was once an important food source for Maori. When I was doing one of the kai features for Ngai Tahu’s TE KARAKA magazine recently, I spoke with one man, who said his grandmother always loved tui. She’d catch them, pluck them (the feathers were used for cloaks and kete decorations), impale them on a stick and roast them over a fire. Like most people in this day and age of rigorously enforced penalties for harming native birds, I was slightly horrified. I could hardly believe him. But he was right of course. Maori would frequently hunt and snare the birds at the beginning of winter when the birds were fat and healthy. It still seems a shame to me – they wouldn’t have made the biggest feast after all and they sing so beautifully. Tui are also masters at mimicking other birds and animals and in the old days, Maori are said to have kept young male birds in cages and taught them to talk. The birds would be kept in isolation – away from any noises they could copy – and new words would be repeated until the bird had learned them. The phrase 'me he korokoro tui – like a tui’s throat' is also high praise for a gifted speaker.

Birds of a Feather

The Kakariki is a small brightly coloured native parakeet that lives in and around the edges of native forest, often in large noisy groups. The red feathers of their head were prized by Maori for use in feather cloaks, or to secure to the ends of tiaiha (spears). The birds were caught with handmade snares using bait as berries. As legend has it, Maori used to believe that the brilliant orange-red feathers of another, much larger native parrot, the kaka, which has an incredible burst of colour under its brown-green wings, were stolen from the kakariki. Kakariki in fact, literally means small kaka. As Margaret Orbell points out in her very useful book, The Natural World of Maori, the birds sometimes raucous chatter has been likened to human behaviour in the simile 'ko te rua porete hai whakarite,' ‘just like a nest of kakariki.’ I took these photos of kakariki on Ulva Island, near Stewart Island – with a very small camera and from a long distance, hence the blurry quality. But they give you an idea of the kakariki’s vibrant colouring and distinctive red head.

A Bird in the Hand

The South Island Robin

Pitoitoi or Toutouwai
Like a number of small forest birds that had no use as food or for their feathers, the robin was considered by early Maori to have special powers in telling in the future. If you heard a robin's call on your right side, it was good luck and if you heard it on the left, it was bad luck. I photographed this little down down on Stewart Island. Robins are incredibly friendly and as you walk through the forest, they hop out onto the paths in front of you. If you scratch the earth with your hand, or with a stick, they'll hop over to hunt for bugs. Because their numbers have severely declined they are a protected bird and this little guy has banded ankles thanks to conservation efforts by the Department of Conservation.

Bird Tales: The Red-Billed Gull

Unfortunately I haven't been able to establish the precise Maori name for this, the red-billed seagull. I've found at least five different words for seagull - katete, akiaki, karoro, tara, and tarapunga. Maybe they refer to different species of gull? As always, any knowledgeable comments left below greatly appreciated. What I have discovered about the red-billed gull though, is that it was once considered tapu, or sacred around Lake Rotorua. This arose from an incident in 1823 when the northern Ngapuhi tribe attacked the Te Arawa people, who were hiding on Mokoia Island in the middle of Lake Rotorua. Unknown to them, Ngapuhi had brought their canoes in from the coast for the attack. But they were unexpectedly foiled - to a degree - when the colonies of red-billed and black-billed gulls shrieked in alarm when they saw the canoes, alerting the Te Arawa people to enemy presence. After the battle, in which many lost their lives, the Te Arawa tohunga (priest) recited a karakia (prayer) over the gulls, declaring them sacred so they would not be harmed.

A Bird in the Bush

I’ve introduced you to our fabulous kereru before but I thought these photographs warranted a second post. I took them some months back in the native bird enclosure at Orana Wildlife Park here in Christchurch. Officially Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae, this gorgeous chubby bird is usually known as kereru in Maori, although Northland Maori also call it kuku or kukupa. Maori hunted the birds for food and their feathers and although it is now illegal to hunt kereru, they are still caught illegally in some places. That, coupled with habitat loss, competition and predation, has seen their numbers gradually decline – not that it seems that way sometimes, when these fat birds ‘whoosh’ across the treetops in search of their favourite berries.

Since the extinction of the moa, the kereru is now the only New Zealand native bird with a large enough beak to eat, digest and disperse the large fruits of native karaka, tawa and taraire trees and without them, large tracts of native forest would soon begin to disappear. Thankfully, in a good year, with plentiful food supplies, they can nest up to four times, laying a single egg in a flimsy nest, which hatches after 28 days. Particularly diligent pairs of birds have been known to incubate an egg in one next, at the same time looking after a large chick in a second nest nearby.
When you get up close to these birds you can see why they would have been a popular part of the Maori diet. Growing to around 22 inches in length, they usually weigh between 550 and 850 grams – plenty chubby enough for a taste treat. They’re one of my favourite birds - not to eat I hasten to add – rather to admire. I love their slightly-out-of-proportion bodies – the tiny heads and that big cuddly puffed-out chest; the iridescent glow of their colourful feathers; and the soft cooing sound they make as they roost high up in the trees. They’re still relatively common in Canterbury – especially over on Banks Peninsular. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Words for Birds

PiwakawakaKERERUtuiHUIAkakapopukekopitoitoikiwimanukorowhiowhioparerarakirakikoroheapiopioMOArupetarapungaTITIKOTARETOROAKOTUKUtui wekakakataiKEAKAKAtiekeHURUHURU

Birds of a Feather

Meet Nestor meridionalis – The Kaka, a medium sized parrot (18 inches long), endemic to the forests of New Zealand. Although no longer as common as its close relative the kea (which looks very similar), you can still find kaka quite commonly on Stewart Island. There are four species of the bird and if you’re not venturing anywhere near Stewart Island, your best chance of seeing one will be in a zoo or bird sanctuary. Along with our beautiful, plump wood pigeon – kereru – the kaka was once a favoured game bird for Maori. It should be noted that they quickly learned the perils of its sharp beak, which could easily cut its way out of snares; instead they learned to spear the bird, or catch it by its feet. Its bright red feathers were also sought after for weaving kakahu (cloaks). I photographed this gorgeous bird in a Stewart Island garden in February.

Meet the People - 11

Stewart Island Feb 2009 Ajr

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Phillip Smith (Ngati Mamoe, Waitaha, Ngai Tahu) can be found at the helm of his boat MV Wildfire almost every day of the week. Based at Oban on Rakiura (Stewart Island), Phillip – a fifth generation islander – runs the kiwi spotting operation Bravo Adventure Cruises at Little Glory Bay in Paterson Inlet. He’s been doing that since 1990 and in that time he’s introduced over 20,000 people to one of our most precious birds in the wild. Before that he focussed on fishing and hunting charters around the island; and he’s also had a stint working at the island’s salmon farms. Suffice to say he knows Stewart Island like the back of his hand. There isn’t a bay, a beach or a stretch of land on this large southern island off the coast of Southland that he hasn’t explored.
In addition to his tourism activities, Phillip is also a trustee of the Rakiura Maori Land Trust and one of the tangata tiaki (guardians) of the Te Whaka a Te Wera Mataitai – a customary fisheries reserve that was gazetted in 2004, which aims to restore and protect the fish stocks of Paterson Inlet for all New Zealanders. He’s passionate about that – about conservation in general in fact – and he’s worked hard to help rid Stewart Island of predators that prey on kiwi.
Stewart Island Feb 2009 Ajr
“We’re lucky here on Stewart Island to have over 25,000 tokoeka (South Island Brown Kiwi); they’re not endangered here as they are on the mainland but we want to make sure it stays that way. There’s nowhere else in New Zealand where you can walk along a sandy beach at night and see kiwi hunting for sandhoppers among the seaweed,” he says. Phillip makes no guarantees that you’ll see a kiwi on one of his trips but his strike rate hovers around 98%. “We almost always see one or two kiwi. The most we’ve spotted in one night is seven and there are other treats like Hooker sea lions, seals and little rock hopper penguins. There’s always something to see,” he says. http://www.stewartisland.co.nz/

Birding on the Titi Islands

I’ve never been to the Titi Islands and I’m never likely to get there – certainly not for ‘birding’ – the annual harvest of titi or muttonbirds. You have to be a descendant of Rakiura Maori to be able to do that. Rakiura Maori are the sole kaitiaki (caretakers) of the Nga Moutere Titi, the 21 Titi Islands scattered around much larger Stewart Island in southern New Zealand waters. I did however get a few photographs of some of the more northern of the Titi Islands when I was crossing Foveaux Strait on the ferry recently on my return from Stewart Island.

The Titi Islands are one of the few places where customary harvest of birds has continued since Pakeha arrived and the customary rights of Rakiura Maori are now recognised in law. Titi, muttonbird, sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus – they’re all the same – is a migratory seabird and the young birds caught by Maori as an annual delicacy are fat with the oils of the fish eaten and regurgitated by their parents. The parent birds come home every night, having eaten pilchards, shrimps, sprats and small squid and the young birds gobble down their oily dinner and grow very, very fat. (It’s no wonder they smell on cooking). Generations of families make the annual pilgrimage to the islands on April 1st and capture bird by reaching down into the bird’s underground burrow.

Photograph of display at DOC Information Centre, Stewart Island. Ajr

In the old days, titi were often preserved in a poha like the one pictured here. Inside the poha is a waterproof bag made of bull kelp. The birds were cooked and then placed in the bag in their own (cooked) fat (a process known as tahu). Air pockets were squeezed out by hand to create a vacuum seal that kept the food fresh for 2-3 years. That bag was protected by an outer wrapping of harakeke (flax), tied together with the bark of the totara tree.

One Rare Bird

Tokoeka, Makaawhio Runanga. Bruce Bay. Feb 2009. Ajr

This is the Haast Tokoeka, which, along with the Haast Rowi from Okarito, is our rarest kiwi. The Maori named it tokoeka because it has hindquarters like a weka and a beak like a tokotoko (walking stick). It is specific to Haast in South Westland, although a different sub-species of Tokoeka are found on Stewart Island. The Makaawhio Runanga has kaitiaki (guardianship) over both species in Haast, and works closely with the Department of Conservation to protect them and encourage their breeding. Eggs are collected and sent to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, where the New Zealand Conservation Trust runs a very successful kiwi breeding programme and is part of Operation Nest Egg in partnership with DOC. When the chicks are around a month old (and strong enough) they are released onto predator-free islands in Marlborough Sounds. www.doc.govt.nz www.nzconservationtrust.org.nz www.makaawhio.maori.nz

Spotting Saddlebacks

Saddleback. Ulva Island. Feb 2009. Ajr

The day I joined Ulva’s Guided Tour of Ulva Island Bird Sanctuary we had barely gone fifteen feet before we had spotted ten bird species. The one I was most excited about was the Saddleback or tieke as the Maori call it. It belongs to New Zealand’s unique wattlebird family (Callaeidae), an ancient group of birds that includes the endangered kokako and the extinct huia. There are two sub-species – the North Island Saddleback and the South Island Saddleback. My photo – a sneaky glimpse from afar between tree branches - doesn’t show the bird’s gorgeous red-brown ‘saddle’ but it does show its cute little wattles. The Department of Conservation is actively engaged in a recovery plan for both North and South Island tieke, releasing them onto predator free islands – like Ulva Island – so that their populations might recover. Thirty South Island saddlebacks were released on Ulva Island eight years ago; now there are 250 living there, so the plan is obviously working well. www.ulva.co.nz www.doc.govt.nz

Taonga Species

Kakapo. DOC Visitor Centre, Stewart Island. Feb 2009. Ajr

I’ve just spent a very ‘birdy’ three days working down on Stewart Island and the little pest-free bird sanctuary of Ulva Island, which the Department of Conservation recognises as the ‘Showcase Project’ for its Southern Conservancy. I would have loved to have made it to Cod Fish Island to find out more about one of our rarest birds and the world’s heaviest parrot, the kakapo, which the Maori consider one of their taonga (treasured) species, but time ran out for getting necessary permits. I did however, catch up with this fellow – a taxidermy example – on display at the Stewart Island DOC visitor centre. Hundreds of years ago kakapo were common; now there are only 91 known kakapo left and these are all restricted to pest-free offshore island bird sanctuaries and they are closely monitored by DOC and teams of willing volunteers. When the DOC established the National Kakapo Team in 1995 there were just 51 birds left but thanks to their careful monitoring and breeding programme, the population has increased by 78%. For Maori, the kakapo has strong cultural, spiritual and traditional associations and DOC works closely with the major South Island iwi (tribe) Ngai Tahu in their protection and management. Today the birds are also appreciated for their quirky personalities and their odd characteristics – their strange booming noise, the fact that they are known to live to an old age (possibly up to 90 years) and the fact that they are flightless, nocturnal and live in burrows and only in New Zealand. You can find out much more about this intriguing bird and the Kakapo Recovery Programme by clicking on www.kakapo.org.nz, where you can meet some of the named adult birds personally.

Southern Arts - A Fleeting Glimpse

Whataroa, South Westland. Feb 2009 Ajr

We flashed through the tiny South Westland town of Whataroa, 35 kilometres north of Franz Josef quicker than the blink of an eye on Thursday afternoon - on the long journey from Haast to Christchurch (six hours). But that was time enough for me to poke my camera out the car window and snap this fleeting image of Kotuku Maori Fine Art Gallery, which has obviously been named after the kotuku (white heron) colony at nearby Okarito Lagoon. www.okarito.co.nz www.whiteherontours.co.nz

Island Sanctuary

Mokoia Island. Aerial View. Image supplied by Wai Ora Group

Lake Rotorua’s Mokoia Island is a private tribal island owned and governed by four local hapu (tribes) of Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Uenukukopako, Ngati Rangiwewehi and Ngati Rangiteaorere. It has held a prominent place in Maori cultural history and its fertile soils saw early Te Arawa people using it to grow food crops – especially the kumara (sweet potato). Today it provides an excellent example of partnership conservation -the island’s restoration and protection is headed by the Mokoia Island Trust Board while the Department of Conservation provides technical advice and practical support; and DOC in conjunction with Mokoia Island Wai Ora Experiences carry out a quarantine check of all guests visiting the island, in order to protect the breeding programme of several of New Zealand’s most precious native birds.

Guided Mokoia Island Tour. Image Supplied by Wai Ora Group

Top: Tieke or Saddleback. Bottom: Kakako. Images supplied by Wai Ora Group.
Access to Mokoia Island is strictly limited to permitted operators only - the team at Mokoia Island Wai Ora Experiences for instance. They run a number of fascinating tours that give visitors an insight into this beautiful, mysterious place. I particularly like the sound of their Birds of Mokoia tours. Mokoia is New Zealand’s only inland island bird sanctuary and it has New Zealand’s largest population of Tieke (Saddleback), a bird that takes its English name from the band of colour running across the adult bird’s back. According to Maori tradition, the saddle marking was caused by the man-god Maui when he scorched the feathers of the bird after capturing the sun. In addition you’ll see tui, weka, toutouwai (North Island Robin), kokako and kiwi. (Like the extinct Huia, the kokako and tieke are part of the Wattlebird family and are found nowhere else in the world). www.mokoiaisland.com www.tearawa.iwi.nz

A Bird in the Hand

Wood Pigeon, Takamatua. 2007. Ajr

Meet Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae, more commonly known to we New Zealanders as Kereru, or wood pigeon, although Wikipedia will tell you “they’re not the same as the (true) wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), which is a member of a different genus.” I adore these chubby, colourful birds and it’s no wonder to me that early Maori considered them a delicacy - they do look very juicy. I took this photo about eighteen months ago at a friend’s bach at Takamatua on Banks Peninsular, where kereru are relatively common.