Maui Vs Te Ika

Maui uses his special fish-hook to land the great fish that formed the North Island of New Zealand. That's true folks - whilst the South Island is a (slightly rocking) kayak, the North Island is a great dead fish.

As you can see, there is some friendly rivalry between North and South! I'm a mainlander, born and raised.

Of course, the North Islanders also consider themselves maindlanders...

Anyway, a maxicard style piece I rustled up for a chap in Kuwait, who probably doesn't want it (he's a stamp collector), but hey - I'm getting my art into Kuwait!

Puteketeke, the Crested Grebe

Today I thought I would share with you one of my most favouritest birds - The Crested Grebe.

Although Australian in origin, the Crested Grebe has established itself at home in the South Island of New Zealand. A cosmopolitan species has close cousins in Africa and the Palaearctic, as well as Australia of course. It can be found in many of the clear, shallow subapline lakes east of the Southern Alps, and also in Westland. During a particularly cold winter, when these lakes freeze over, the grebes take flight and migrate closer to the coast.

The species are almost entirely aquatic, and rarely, if ever, come onto dry land (although they do occasionally scramble onto mud banks, as seen here). Indeed, although they are strong fliers, they are rarely seen in flight and it is thought that they move between lakes at night. To take to the air, they require water for lift off, and take off much like swans - with a running start. Their feet are positioned very far back, almost under their tail, which makes walking difficult and also means that if they misinterpret their landing spot and land in a shallow puddle instead of on the lake, they will fall on their face. The latin name Podiceps is derived from podex meaning "rump" and pedis meaning "Foot" - so literally = "rump foot". These feet however make them swift swimmers and expert divers. They make deep dives in pursuit of live prey - crustaceans, insect larvae and fish and can stay down for several seconds - the longest recorded dive was 53 seconds.

Courtship involves an elaborate dance, and is most beautiful to behold. In early spring the pairs begin to form and the male performs for the female, splaying his neck ruff and arching his head crest. Then both birds rise in the water, facing each other and shake their heads, crests erect, whilst uttering low, moaning cries. It is a beautiful, syncronised ballet, and I hope one day to witness it.

Nests are built of sticks, rushes and waterweed, collected together to form a large, untidy island of a mound. Usually this is anchored to some sort of plant formation at the verge of the lake. The hen lays up to six eggs over a period of as many days and incubation starts immediately. Chicks therefore hatch at intervals, and sometimes older siblings will take off with one parent whilst the other hatches out the remaining eggs. Chicks ride on their parents back, usually in pairs until they become too big to do so. Some still make an attempt, however.

Never particularly populous, one pair of grebes tends to inhabit one lake, and thus they are quite difficult to see in the wild. One lake on the West Coast, Ianthe, is reported to hold higher numbers of these regal birds, and I recently visited there and was lucky enough (on the return visit) to find a single Crested Grebe, cruising the lake. I believe I may also have observed them at Lake Alexandrina in my youth, but as an avid birdwatcher, do wonder now if that was just fanciful, wishful thinking as I never saw them close-up. The grainy photo taken at maximum zoom is without any shade of a doubt, however, a Crested Grebe:

Pekapeka, the Short Tailed Bat

The only terrestrial mammals found in New Zealand are bats, of which there are only two species (a third now being extinct). They are small, ancient bat species weighing only 12-15 grams. Although they use sonar to fly, they spend rather a large amount of time on the ground, where they forage for insects, grubs, and also enjoy sipping nectar and pollen. They use their front limbs to scramble around on the forest floor and their wing-thumb is extended into a claw, helping them dig into rotten logs, and also to climb with some skill. Indeed, it is a relatively slow flier and rarely gets more than three metres above ground. In flight they have been described as looking rather like ungainly butterflies. During the daylight hours, they gather in hollow trees or excavated tunnels, in large groups. If the weather is too cold for them to venture out, they go into a “torpor” state in which their body limits its functions until the weather warms up. It is not as intense as hibernation. In late summer, the females form into nursery groups and the males roost separately. The males sing from strategic points to attract their mates, and the females can travel up to 10 km to make their selection. Only one pup is born per season and grows to maturity within 12 weeks.

Conservation Week - the duck with teeth

Auckland Island Merganser
(RIP 1902)

The Merganser is a type of fish-eating duck and there are a number of species found worldwide. They are unusual in having serrated edges to their beak, which are ideal for holding onto their fishy prey. This smart wee bird was found in the Auckland Islands, south of New Zealand and also fossils suggest perhaps some other offshore New Zealand islands too. It is believed that predation and hunting by humans are responsible for its decline. Whilst capable of flight, it preferred to duck and take cover when threatened, making it a "sitting duck" for predators.

Conservation Week - the Price of Fashion

Huia

(RIP 1960)

The Huia is one of three bird species in New Zealand with a unique bill. The female's bill is long and curved, and the male's shorter and sharper. It is thought that this aids in them foraging differently. The male uses his shorter, stubby bill to chisel away at the tree bark, whereas the female uses hers to pluck insects from hollows, like a giant pair of tweezers. Apart from this striking sexual dimorphism, very little is actually known about this beautiful bird, as it was little studied. However, its feathers were greatly prized, particularly the white tipped tail feathers. This bird was considered sacred to the Maori, and only those of very high rank were allowed to wear the feathers. Because of its unusual beak differences, moutned specimans were greatly sought after by museums and private collectors. With rather a lot of profit to be made, the poor huia - already threatened by habitat destruction and mammalian predation, was hunted to extinction. It is one of the ironies, that the rarer something gets, the more desireable it was to shoot, kill and mount them. The tail feathers also became a highly desirable fashion item - worn by the elite Europeans.

And with this, the huia's fate was sealed.

Tomorrow, I think I shall introduce you to an extinctwaterbird.

Enigmatic Raupo Stalker

Kaoriki, the New Zealand Little Bittern

(RIP 1890)

The enigmatic Little Bittern had a close relative in Australia, but was larger, more chesnut in colouration and stripier. It was a shy and solitary bird that stalked through raupo swamps and salt-water lagoons. Seldom seen and little studied, they disappeared from the face of the earth only 20 years after getting formally identified. Now it has been replaced by the larger Australasian Bittern, a self-introduced immigrant.

Tomorrow's bird - probably the Huia. If I can get it looking right!

Conservation Week - Piopio

Piopio, the New Zealand Thrush
(RIP 1963)

This charming forest bird is not a thrush at all and was for many years classified in its own family. It is now, however, considered to be related to the bowerbirds and birds of paradise. It was also, reportedly, the best forest songster, with its call consisting of five distinctive bars, repeated in succession then followed by rattling sounds and some mimicry. Regretfully, it is a sound we shall never hear, because the Piopio faced the fate of mammalian predation. By the turn of the last century it was very rare in both the North and South Islands (there being two subspecies) and by 1963 is was declared officially extinct. Its diet was insectivorous, including also berries and it spent a fair amount of time flitting between the forest floor and low tree branches, without engaging in extended flight. It was relatively "tame" meaning that it was unafraid of the human immigrants and thus fell easy prey to their dogs and cats.