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.

A Whale of a Tale

On Wednesday, I was sitting in a cafe when I heard there had been a whale stranding on Southshore Beach, near New Brighton, Christchurch. I've seen whales in the ocean before but never up close, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a firsthand glimpse at one of these magnificent ocean creatures. I grabbed my camera and off I went. Unfortunately, the whale - a five-metre lactating female Cuvier's beaked whale - died just as I arrived but for all the sadness of that, there was still a beauty in the moment - her silky smooth grey skin, the yellow and white lichen-like speckles, her upright tail fin. Like most people there, I stood there will a mix of sadness and awe.

Despite the best efforts of those who had arrived early, while the whale was still struggling on the outgoing tide, it seemed inevitable that she would die. Department of Conservation representatives present said she may have already been ill, or perhaps hit by a boat and she may have come ashore to die. As is normal practice in the case of any whale stranding on the New Zealand coastline, the local Maori iwi (tribe), in this case Ngai Tahu, had been informed of the whale's death. They are then allowed to take the dead whale's jaw bone to use for carving. The body of the whale would then studied to determine a cause of death and then buried. Anyone who has watched the multi-awardwinning New Zealand movie "Whale Rider," will know that whales have a special place in Maori mythology. The North Island's East Coast iwi have often incorporated the whale into their carvings - an acknowledgement to the ancestral story of Uenuku and his sons Paikea and Ruatapu. Paikea is said to have survived a disaster at sea in which many others drowned, by calling to the gods and being saved by a whale - his tipuna (ancestors). He rode the whale to New Zealand and settled with the people at Whangara on the East Coast. The two large tribes, Ngati Porou (Eastland) and the South Island's Ngai Tahu both claim a strong ancestral links back to Paikea. www.ngatiporou.com www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

An Island Legend

Horomaka Island, Port Levy, Banks Peninuslar, Canterbury. March 2009. Ajr

This is little Horomaka Island in Port Levy on Banks Peninsular – a place of special significance to the Maori of Koukourarata Runanga. It’s a small, pine-covered island that, according to legend provides shelter for a giant octopus that lives beneath it, guarding the coastline between Banks Peninsular and the Marlborough Sounds. Horomaka was named after the great war canoe, Makawhiua that headed a Ngai Tahu contingent into Canterbury seeking revenge against Tutekawa, who had killed the wives of Tuahuriri. The initial assault failed (horo) hence Horomaka. Today the Department of Conservation in consultation with Koukourarata Runanga, is drawing up a Restoration Plan aimed at replanting native vegetation on the island. An archaeological report has already been carried out and discussions are underway with the local community to assess the best approach. www.doc.govt.nz

Planting a Marae Reserve

Port Levy, Banks Peninsular, Canterbury

Home to Te Runanga o Koukourarata

March 2009. Ajr

Kahukunu Stream bed. Port Levy. March 2009. Ajr

Come autumn, the banks of the Kahukunu Stream at Port Levy on Banks Peninsular (pictured above) will be planted out in foliage native to the area, thanks to the efforts of the people of nearby Koukourarata Marae. Kahukunu and the nearby Koukourarata Stream are both part of a riparian planting scheme that the runanga has undertaken. They’ll also be planting totara and kahikatea trees for the future use of Maori carvers; and a pa harakeke will be planted as a source of several varieties of harakeke (flax) to be used in weaving projects. In addition to these two plantings, the Koukourarata Runanga will also be creating Kakanui Reserve, on the 87-hectare block of Maori land up the valley (in the hills behind the marae). Working in partnership with the Department of Conservation, Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury and the local community, the runanga will fence the reserve and trap and poison pests. Over 10,000 native seedlings have already been gathered from within the reserve and they’re now being on-grown by Trees for Canterbury. Once well established, they will be re-planted in the reserve areas. The runanga is also hoping to release tui into the area in the future. All of these projects are being funded by the runanga’s joint venture mussel farm, which I wrote about here last week, with further assistance from Nga Whenua Rahui , a division of the Department of Conservation that supports the protection of indigenous ecosystems on Maori land. www.doc.govt.nz

Maori Tourism Success Story

Hell’s Gate and Wai Ora Spa is a 20-acre Maori-owned reserve on the outskirts of Rotorua and in 2007, after wandering through Hell's Gate's steaming thermal valleys that feature hot lakes, sulphur formations, Rotorua’s only mud volcano and the largest whirlpool in New Zealand, I gave in to the urge to roll in thermal mud in the outdoor mud baths. Mmmmmm! Plenty do – like this young German couple visiting the reserve recently.

All images supplied by The Wai Ora Group
This thermal hot-spot and spa is part of the Wai Ora Group which was started in 2008 by Bryan Hughes (Te Arawa, Tuhoe) and his wife Liza. It now also includes Mokoia Island Wai Ora Experiences, which Bryan and Liz formed when they purchased the lease for Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua; plus the Wai Ora Lakeside Spa Resort, pictured above. Bryan and Liz have used their extensive experience to create a group which reflects a modern Maori approach to business and tourism and each operation within the group follows a very specific ethos stemming from their desire to offer unique New Zealand - and specifically Maori – experiences for visitors and guests. Their Mokoia Island Experiences for instance, focus on the sharing of Maori myths and legends that have been handed down through generations; along with traditional song and dance; guided walks on the island that detail Maori use of flora and fauna along with an outline of current Department of Conservation initiatives that aim to restore endangered bird species on the island bird sanctuary. www.hellsgate.co.nz www.mokoiaisland.com www.waioragroup.co.nz www.doc.govt.nz

Southern Carving

Stewart Island. Feb 2009. Ajr

This is the Carving

On the Outside

Of the Department of Conservation Visitors' Centre

in Oban, Stewart Island

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

Meet the People - 5

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Ulva Goodwillie (Waitaha, Ngati Mamoe) is passionate about birds and in the nine years since she started taking guided walks to Ulva Island Bird Sanctuary just off Stewart Island, she’s given thousands of people a better understanding of our native birds and their conservation. Her mother named her after Ulva Island; and after fourteen years away from Stewart Island, Ulva was drawn back to the place she loved best. Her successful tourism operation is a long way from her former career as a music teacher – or so you’d think; but for Ulva, birds have a magical music all of their own.

All Photos on Ulva Island. Feb 2009. Ajr

She knows every inch of Ulva Island and the particular sound of every bird that lives there. Just by their call she knows if they are male, female, chicks or adults – and she’s just as knowledgeable about the native flora. She knows both their Maori and Latin names and she can tell you how certain plants and trees were used by Maori in the early days. “I am Maori and I operate from a Maori perspective but my walks are not Maori tours as such. My tours are about the lifestyles of the birds not the lifestyles of Maori. Most people are interested in botanical and zoological aspects but if people are interested in the Maori stories and legends of the birds and forest, I can also add those,” she says. It’s the perfect combination and sharing her passion for natural history is what excites her the most. www.ulva.co.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

Meet the People - 3

At Hokonui Marae, Feb 2009. Ajr

Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Margaret Bragg of Bluff is 75 years old and in all of those years, she has never once missed an annual titi (mutton bird) harvest. Margaret was just eight months old when she was first taken to Big Island, which is one of the mutton bird islands to the south-west of Stewart Island; and in the one year she missed visiting the island, she was actually ‘birding’ on another of the Titi Islands. Titi - also called muttonbird, sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus – is a migratory seabird and the young birds caught by Maori as an annual delicacy on the Muttonbird Islands, southwest of Stewart Island, 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. For Rakiura Maori (the only people permitted to hunt muttonbird on the islands), arrival there was always two weeks prior to the official start of titi hunting on April 1st. It was a time used by each family to chop wood, tidy up and make repairs to their little houses. And traditionally, they would have gathered kelp from the beaches back home, dried it and taken it with them to the islands where it was made into pouches to preserve the titi in. Like most ‘birders,’ Maureen eagerly awaits the titi season – she’s already booked her helicopter flight to the islands in fact; and she’s taken an active part on the Titi Committee. She has also worked as a Department of Conservation volunteer in the Saddleback Recovery Programme and takes great pride in the fact that the 29 saddlebacks released on Big Island back in 1964 have flourished and the programme has since re-distributed nearly 800 birds around the South Island.

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.

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