Some recent encounters with grasshoppers and katydids got me thinking about the differences between them, and with other invertebrates like crickets and locusts.

Investigating this turned out to be a lot more complex than I imagined.

• Confusingly katydids can also be called bush crickets and I have also seen them referred to as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are neither crickets nor grasshoppers

• Just when I thought I’d found things that were different or in common, I’d find there were always exceptions. For example, I read that some grasshoppers are flightless but some have wings.

• The biggest surprise was to realise how closely wētā are related to crickets.

What do they have in common?

• Grasshoppers, katydids and crickets are all in the Orthoptera order of insects, this order also includes locusts and wētā.

• Most make noises - stridulations - some by rubbing wings together, some by rubbing their legs against their body.

• Most but not all are vegetarian - they have chewing parts in their mouths.

• They go through several stages of development in their lifecycles, for example some develop wings as they move from one stage to another. They also moult to discard their old exoskeleton as they grow.

How to tell them apart

• The main difference between katydids and grasshoppers is the length of their antennae. See the pictures below.

Katydids

• Katydids are named after the sound that an American katydid species makes

• They often look like leaves

• They have antennae as long as, or longer than, their body

Grasshoppers

• Grasshoppers have short, thick antennae

• They can be different colours even when they are the same species

Other Related Species

More Information

• A simple explanation about Australian Orthoptera, some of which are also found in New Zealand https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/grasshoppers-crickets-katydids-and-locusts-order-orthoptera/

• A blog post about wētā https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2017/06/tree-weta-encounters-why-do-they-smell.html

On a blustery day, last November, I was walking along Moeraki Beach with some friends when we came across dozens of these strange black things. They are colloquially called Mermaid’s purses, which doesn’t give much clue as to their real identity. But my friends guessed they’d be shark or ray eggs. So I posted them on iNaturalist to find out.

We discovered that the first two images are the egg cases of Elephant fish, also known as Elephant sharks or Australian ghost sharks.

And the third one, is the egg case of a Carpet shark.

While some large sharks give birth to live young, others lay eggs which then hatch outside of the mother’s body. Often these eggs have tendrils that will entangle in seaweed or flanges that help them get wedged among rocks on the sea floor. That gives the baby shark a chance of hatching in a safe place.

The sharks that we found egg capsules from are not dangerous to humans, they are all bottom-feeders, like the shark below, that I found dead on a beach.

Read the most recent newsletter here https://gilliancandler.substack.com/p/before-you-go-tramping-read-this.

Puawhananga Clematis Paniculata

One of the exciting signs of spring in the New Zealand bush are the star-like flowers of the clematis vine Clematis paniculata or puawhananga. According to one reference I found, Māori legend says pua wānanga or puawhananga is the child of two stars - of autumn and summer - so heralding the spring. Another reference says the name means ‘the flower of the skies’. Such beautiful images for a beautiful flower.

If you are in the bush you might be lucky enough to spot a galaxy of these large but delicate flowers. They're usually high in the canopy but on the bush edges or on low regenerating bush they can sometimes be at eye height like the ones in my photos.

A galaxy of flowers

The native Clematis paniculata is easy to tell apart from the invasive non-native Clematis vitalba or old man’s beard as it has a different seasonal pattern. Old man’s beard flowers in summer not spring. By summer our native vines are sporting fluffy seed heads. Paniculata is also evergreen, whereas old man’s beard is deciduous.

Related Posts:

Male and female flowers of clematis https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2017/09/out-and-about-in-spring-clematis-and.html

References:

http://www.temarareo.org/TMR-Pua.html 

https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/see-bush-clematis/

Ruru in my garden

A few weeks ago I heard a commotion in the garden - the blackbirds were complaining, it sounded like they were giving another bird a good telling off. I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. That's when I saw a ruru sitting on a branch having its daytime nap. The owl didn't seem at all bothered by the blackbirds and eventually they gave up and moved into another part of the garden. 

I've heard ruru or morepork at night - their distinctive call echoes in the gully nearby - but I never imagined they might be hunting in our garden. These owls hunt wētā, moths, cicadas, small birds such as silver eyes, rats and mice. They need large trees with holes or cavities for their nests. We have some large trees but I don't know if any would be large enough for them to nest in.

There's something about their large eyes and piercing stare that is slightly unnerving, even when they are sleepy like this one. Meeting this ruru inspired me to write a little haiku.

Eye to eye

who will blink first

the owl or I?

Writers in Schools visit to Crofton Downs School, Photo: Justin Potter

I enjoy talking with children about them on my school visits using the pictures on pages 6 and 7 of In the Bush. They love my Tumbleweed Tees ruru T-shirt. Ruru are a bird that really grab children's imagination. Maybe it's the fact that they are nocturnal or maybe it's their wonderful haunting calls. 

Do you hear "ruuu - ruuu" or "more-pork"? The sound we hear is likely to be the one we have been told or expect to hear. I used to hear "more-pork" but now I use the Māori name I am more likely to hear "ruuu - ruuu". Because it is found in Australia, Norfolk Island and New Guinea as well as New Zealand it has many different names. In New Zealand it's called ruru or morepork, in Australia it's called boobook or mopoke. All these names reflect how different people interpret its call. 

I often show children this page from my Nature Journal, to demonstrate how they can record what they see in both pictures and words, and use these ideas later in their writing.

Ruru make a good writing or poetry topic. At Porirua Library workshop in their 2021 Summer Programme I introduced children to the idea of concrete poetry - that’s poetry written in the shape of the poem’s subject. After brainstorming what we knew about different native birds, I gave the children shapes of the birds and they could either write a poem or colour it in, making this a great activity for mixed ages. Unsurprisingly ruru was one of the most popular.

Ruru related activities:

Ruru outline to download

Papier mache animals https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2021/01/making-papier-mache-animals.html

Nature journal template  https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2018/07/create-your-own-nature-journal-for.html

Further information about ruru:

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/morepork-ruru/

https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/morepork

https://www.wingspan.co.nz/birds_of_prey_new_zealand_morepork_native_owl.html

Notes: Krummholz is a word that English language has borrowed from German to mean a tree that is stunted, bent or twisted. It wasn't that easy finding photos that were an exact match, as these haiku were written about moments of seeing that weren't necessarily captured by a camera.

Find out more about writing haiku

This is written as a guide for teachers, but is useful for anyone considering writing haiku, especially the definition and explanation of haiku on page 3:

https://poetrysocietynz.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/learning-to-write-haiku-a-teachers-guide-k-raine.pdf

Beachcombers, Pukerua Bay

We trawl along the shore

Our nets are tightly woven bags

We comb the pebbles and rocks

Seeking

bright reds and oranges

anything shiny, glinting,

perfectly rounded blues,

shards of bright white.

We lean closer,

Poke through the tangled seaweed

Searching out 

tightly coiled greens,

odd shapes

broken things.

Gifts of the sea.

Pearly fragments of iridescent shell

Catch my eye

I pick them up, examine them, return them.

They’re not for today’s catch of

Coca Cola cans

milk bottle tops

lolly sticks

discarded balls of fishing line

a left-foot jandal

a deflated balloon

shotgun wads

butts

hooks

and

disintegrating plastic bags.

The beach is swept clean

Until the next tide.

by Gillian Candler

The Volunteer

Empty trap

One weasel

Reset

One rat, snap, snap, empty trap

One hedgehog

Nibbled bait

Walking stick, lost and found

Next month

Another round

by Gillian Candler

The Bird Count

warm up

get ready

look out the window

one yellow hammer

in a flock of sparrows too many to count

step out

in the garden

two seagulls high in the sky

shadows of starlings and silver-eyes flying through

two resident blackbirds rustling under trees

one fantail flitting

one chaffinch perching

one tui coughing and chuckling

count me, count me

by Gillian Candler

Background:

I wrote the first draft of Beachcombers while taking part in the Lyme Regis Museum at Home project, it was inspired by the image of a fishing net. This final version includes some of the things I find while taking part in Litter Intelligence surveys at home in New Zealand. Read about the Litter Intelligence project in my blog post Counting Litter.

The Volunteer was inspired by a monthly trapping round checking pest traps. My trapping partner lost his walking stick and then found it again.

The Bird Count was written back in 2014 while taking part in the Garden Bird Survey.

Related Blogposts

Not poetry, but a Citizen Science inspired creative piece here:

Throwing Hedgehogs to the Wind

And other poetry here:

Reef Heron

Children writing about nature

White-faced storm petrel chick

Weighing in at just 40-50 grams, white-faced storm petrels are a small miracle. The chick is so tiny, so delicate. But when I loosen my hold, the Jesus Christ bird rockets out, its long legs springing it off into the bushes. Once fledged this bird will be walking on water, its long legs and webbed feet bounding across the waves. For now though, I must wrangle it safely back into its burrow.

It's February 2021, I'm volunteering for a week on Te Mana o Kupe (Mana Island), assisting with the

translocation of white-faced storm petrels

, takahikare moana - also known as Jesus Christ birds because the adults really do look like they're walking on the waves. 

This chick has lost most of its down and is closer to fledging

My job is 'runner', although I'm careful not to actually run. These birds are too precious for me to risk tripping on a tree root and dropping the specially adapted carry-box. We runners collect chicks from their burrows in number order and deliver them to the feeding caravan. A general health check follows, they'll be weighed, have their wings measured and then crop fed a teaspoon-sized serving of sardine smoothie. Then we carefully return them. Our handling training has taught us how to protect their long dangling legs and at the same time prevent them from springing out of the box, our hands or their burrows. 

It's anxious work. My movements are careful, deliberate, each step thought out. I kneel at each burrow, prepare the box, work out my strategy before I lift the lid. Even then I lift it only enough to see where the bird is, where its head is, just in case I need to reassess my strategy. The only time I relax is when the bird is back in the burrow.  

A moment of stillness as the chick waits to be fed

It's a relief to sometimes take a turn in the caravan as 'recorder', writing down weights, wing-lengths, feed quantities and other data. It's an opportunity to see the big picture, how many birds have fledged, how many are ready to have have their tunnels unblocked so they can venture out, which birds might need a second feed. 

As I do my rounds I'm in awe of the amount of volunteer energy and dedication required to get this project underway. Each of the hundred burrows has been hand dug, the box and tunnel within have been built to specifications. Sandbags (weight for lids and burrow insulation) have been filled by hand. Removable barriers to block the tunnels have been created out of number 8 wire, mesh, needle and thread. 

Artificial burrow - humans access the burrow using the lid,

the bird has a tunnel to the outdoors which is unblocked

when its wings are long enough to fly

Every burrow is numbered and matched to a banded bird

The burrows are in a shady colony close to the cliff edge

All this effort isn't to rescue a species. 

Takahikare moana

aren't a rare seabird, over one and a half million live on Rangatira in the Chatham Islands where these chicks were translocated from. It's to rescue an island. Mana Island needs the guano-rich diggings of seabird colonies to help restore its ecosystems. 

Evidence of a rich eco-system. Even in an artificial burrow - guano,

leaf litter, geckos, insects, spiders and other invertebrates abound

Because most adult seabirds return to the nest in the colony they fledged from, the strategy of translocating chicks can be a successful way of establishing a new colony. 

Sooty shearwaters, tītī; fluttering shearwaters, pakahā; fairy prions, tītī wainui; diving petrel, puaka are all established or becoming established on the island. 

Volunteer humour! The bird pictured is a diving petrel.

More information about the translocation

I took part as a volunteer for Friends of Mana Island. 

There's an overview of this and other white-faced storm petrel translocations on the Friends of Mana Island Website  

https://manaisland.org.nz/white-faced-storm-petrel-translocation-project-2019-2021

/

Radio New Zealand, Producer Alison Ballance put together a fascinating overview of the whole process, Alison put this programme together while also volunteering on the project during the same week 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/2018786615/more-seabirds-for-mana-island

Related Blogposts:

Volunteering on Fairy Prion translocations on Mana Island

https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2015/01/feeding-fairy-prions-volunteers-week-on.html

https://www.gilliancandler.co.nz/discovernatureblog/2016/01/sardine-smoothies-again-feeding.html

Reef heron from 2019

Reef Heron

The smooth grey rock

on the jagged shore

lifts up

separates from the shadows

two legs stalk

head darts

beak breaks the mirror

surface of the pool 

reef heron snaps and swallows

becomes rock again.

Yesterday I was down at Pukerua Bay beach, the water was glassy blue and the rocks dark shadows. I watched as a rock changed shape, became a reef heron, snapped some food and settled back again into it's rock-like posture. I'm having fun writing nature poetry!

My instagram contribution to the Our Other Mother campaign

Get Creative and Join in

Here's what Parents for Climate Aotearoa have to say about how to get involved:

Young or old, professional illustrator or child artist, everyone can contribute

Visit  https://www.parentsforclimatenz.org/our-other-mother for more details

At Risk - Forest Ringlet Butterfly

When I'm tramping in the bush, I'm always on the lookout for interesting things, berries on the forest floor, unusual fungi and so on. When I walk along the coast, I keep an eye out for copper butterflies. Now I added looking for butterflies in the forest. I was looking for a glimpse of fluttering orange - but the first butterfly I spotted in the bush was a red admiral. On another tramp I caught a glimpse of orange but the butterfly was gone before I could identify it. 

Then in January while tramping in a remote part of Remutaka Forest Park, I came across a forest ringlet! Again it was the fluttering glimpse of orange that I saw, luckily it settled on a stem right in front of me and I was able to take the photograph you see at the top of the blog. I wasn't quite sure it was a forest ringlet until I got home and looked it up - with its wings closed it looked different from my memory of the Wanted poster. 

Poster asking for reports of forest ringlet butterflies

I was excited to be able to report this sighting to the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust who are undertaking research into the forest ringlet. While the butterfly appears to be among Astelia leaves, the forest ringlet expert, Norm Twigge, confirmed that there were also Gahnia leaves in the photo (the host for its caterpillars) and the butterfly was most likely laying eggs.

The forest ringlet is New Zealand's only forest butterfly. The butterflies appear in January or February. Threats are thought to be loss of habitat, predatory wasps, flies and introduced birds. 

Sadly despite being At Risk these butterflies are not protected from collectors who buy and sell dead butterflies. 

Did you know you can take action to help our native butterflies and moths? 

Most people know that we need to take action to help our native birds, but butterflies and moths aren't often thought about as animals that need conserving. Yet our native butterflies and moths play an important role in our ecosystems, as pollinators and as part of the food web. New Zealand has around 1800 different species of butterflies and moths, most of them moths. Some are listed as threatened and at risk, such as the forest ringlet butterfly. 

Pūriri moth - pepetuna 

Pūriri moths are New Zealand's largest moths with a wingspan of up to 15 cm, they are only found in the North Island. I've blogged about them before, but was delighted to come across some last spring in the bush. This is a female. The males are generally smaller with white markings rather than black.

New Zealand red admiral - kahukura, looking rather battered

New Zealand red admirals can overwinter and lay eggs in the spring. I imagine that might be why this one looks so battered?

What can we do to help? One of the problems is that scientists don't have enough information about some species, especially those that live in remote places. This is where Citizen Science Projects are helpful.

Butterfly Counts

Just like the Garden Bird Survey, counting butterflies every year is encouraged. It's good to do counts like this at the same time each year. The Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust suggest counting in November. Follow this link to find out more: Big Backyard Butterfly Count.

Scientists use transects (marked or unmarked lines) to do counts, so that they survey the same place each year and can compare data from year to year. You can find out more about how to do this on Science Learn. The results would then be reported on the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust website.

Maui's copper butterfly

Any butterfly count I do along the coast always features copper butterflies. There are many different species of copper butterfly, including Rauparaha's copper and Maui's copper and it's hard to tell them apart except from examining photos. I've blogged about telling the difference between them here. Despite the excitement of finding the forest ringlet, these are still my favourite butterflies.

Reporting Butterfly and Moth sightings

When I have photographs of butterflies and moths I upload them onto iNaturalist . This is a great place to report sightings and get help with ID. I've joined two projects 'NZ Moths and their caterpillars' and 'NZ Butterflies and their caterpillars'. Unfortunately some of my photos aren't sharp enough to get more than a general ID. It's good to take photos from different angles too. I found this unusual-looking native Plume Moth which I thought might be Amblyptilia repletalis. 

Plume moth 

But the expert helping with ID had this to say about my photo, which was the second one I'd put up hoping it was clearer. 

So clearly I have a way to go with my moth photography!

Creating a Butterfly Garden

I'm not sure that creating a butterfly garden quite counts as citizen science, but it's still a great thing to do. Here are some tips of what to plant to attract native butterflies in the garden. You might be surprised to see nettles on the list! That's because our native admirals lay their eggs on nettles, and they are a great food source for the caterpillars. It's important to consider both food sources for caterpillars as well as for the butterflies. It's tempting to plant non-natives but it's always a good idea to check with Weedbusters as to whether a non-native is an invasive weed. For example, Buddleia is known as the butterfly bush, but it is an invasive weed in many parts of New Zealand.

Yellow admiral - kahu kowhai feeding on tauhinu

Yellow admiral butterflies introduced themselves to New Zealand around the mid 1800s, they prefer to use introduced nettles for their caterpillars, unlike the native red admiral that uses onga onga.

Monarch butterfly - kahuku

Monarch butterflies introduced themselves to New Zealand around the 1870s. It's thought they were introduced to New Caledonia from where they travelled to Australia and New Zealand. Because they introduced themselves they are described as native.

More information

ID guides

• Butterflies of New Zealand Guide on iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1417?view=grid

• Downloadable moth guides for different regions of New Zealand can be found on MothNet.org.

• Butterflies of the South Pacific by Brian Patrick & Hamish Patrick, Otago University Press 2012

Books

• An Exquisite Legacy: the life and work of New Zealand naturalist G. V. Hudson by George Gibbs Potton & Burton 2020

• The Monarch Butterfly in New Zealand by George Gibbs, Entomological Society of New Zealand 2013, available from the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust.

Organisations

 and interest groups

• Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust https://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz

• NZButterflyinfo, a site for butterfly enthusiasts https://nzbutterfly.info

• Entomological Society of New Zealand has regional branches in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin https://ento.org.nz/regional-branches/otago/

Meredith's Tūī

Tūī back view

The tūī looking out my window 

At the Imagine This! Festival

You can make all sorts of animals out of papier mache. Last year a friend set me a photo of her grandson Luca making a green gecko. Luca made this during lockdown. He used one of Ned's illustrations from Animals of Aotearoa to help him.

Luca painting his green gecko

What is papier mache?

The words are French and mean "mashed paper". Papier mache is the layering of paper and glue over some kind of frame or structure to create a sculpture. 

How to make a sculpture out of papier mache

1. Make a frame or structure in the general shape of the animal you want to create. If it has a round body you could use a ball of crushed up newspaper. If it's long and thin perhaps you could use cardboard rolls from the inside of toilet paper rolls. An odd shape could be made from chicken wire scrunched up. The inner structure is be a good way to make art from junk, perhaps using something that is non-recyclable and would otherwise have been thrown away.

2. Once you have created a structure, start layering on strips of newspaper or other soft paper with glue. Keep building this up in a way that creates the shape of the animal - thicker in some parts, thinner in others.

3. Let your sculpture dry between layers. This is a project for several days or even weeks depending on your patience and the level of detail you want to include. It's an ideal project for school holidays or lockdown, or simply doing a bit each day after school.

4. Once you've finished the shape and it's dry, paint it in the colours of the animal.

Tips 

It's a long time since I've made anything out of papier mache myself so I asked my artist friends for tips on creating animals.

• Make your sculpture strong by overlapping the pieces of newspaper, criss-crossing them to ensure the inner structure is completely covered. 

• Meredith suggests using wallpaper glue, but you could also make paste out of flour and water.

There are lots of You Tube videos and instructions online with lots of different techniques. Here are two fun projects:

• Here's the simplest papier mache project I found, this would be a good one for beginners https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/paper-mache-animals/

• Krokotak always has cool craft ideas. These instructions show how to create a skeleton structure for a dinosaur, they use PVA glue but you could use any paste. http://krokotak.com/2013/03/papier-mache-dinosaurs/

MORE INSPIRATION

Luca's finished papier mache gecko

A papier mache ruru made by Meredith Thorpe

Blue mushrooms and kiwi made by Meredith Thorpe

Many thanks to Porirua Library for the photo from Imagine This! and to Luca and Jane for the green gecko photos.

Postscript 2023

Meredith Thorpe was an inspiration. In 2017, she created a whole window display for Illuminate Nelson City in Whitcoulls based around my book "In the Bush: explore and discover New Zealand's native forests". It even had a glow-worm cave! Ever since then, her tūī has been keeping me company in my writing studio. Sadly Meredith died in 2023. Her beautiful animals accompany me on school visits and continue to inspire children and adults alike. Thank you Meredith.

Nature pop-up cards are a great way to re-use greeting cards, scraps of paper, used Christmas or birthday wrapping paper, and images from old calendars and magazines. This activity worked well with age 6 and up.

How to make the Kiwi Pop-Up

You will need:

• brown wrapping paper or origami paper 

• a circular object to trace around, about 5 or 6 cm in diameter

• scissors

• stapler

• glue stick

• recycled greeting card or new card

• colouring pens 

• magazine or calendar pictures 

HINT If you are using a recycled greeting card, cover any writing or messages inside with a piece of paper or an image from an old calendar or magazine.

1. Use your circular object to trace circles on your paper, you will need 6 circles. Hint: you could consider stacking paper and cutting out three at once.

Step 1: Cutting circles

2. Fold each circle in half, then open out again. Stack the circles on top of each other so that the folds line up. With a stapler, carefully staple the pile of circles together along the fold. 

Step 2: Stacking and stapling circles

Your circles form the kiwi's body

3. Cut out a kiwi beak and place this between the flaps of the middle circle. Glue the middle circle together with the beak in place. You now have a 'kiwi body'.

4. Glue the outside circle of the 'kiwi body' into the card, making sure that the fold of the circle matches the fold of the card. Draw some legs below the kiwi. 

Steps 3-4: Glue a beak between the middle flaps, and glue the body into the card.

5. Decorate the card, inside and out. Put in your greeting.

Some of our kiwi were black, so were called All Blacks! Popular greetings were "From one kiwi to another." "You are a cool kiwi"

How to make the Pīwakawaka/ Fantail Pop-Up

You will need:

• origami paper

• scissors

• glue stick

• stapler

• colouring pens

• recycled greeting card or other card

• pictures from magazines or old calendars

HINT: If you are using a recycled greeting card, cover any writing or messages with a piece of paper or an image from an old calendar or magazine.

1. Fold two pieces of origami paper into fans - do this by folding the paper back and forth always keeping the same width. Then glue the two fans together along the long edge. (You could glue the two pieces of paper together first before you start folding if you think that will be easier).

2. Fold the fan in half, put a staple in at the fold.

Steps 1-2: Make 2 fans, glue them together to make a larger fan. Fold and staple

3. Make a pīwakawaka body out of a scrap piece of paper. Glue the body between the middle two pieces of the fan.

Steps 3-4: Make a body, glue into the middle of the fan. Glue fan into card.

4. Glue the lower edge of the pIwakawaka into the card, making sure that the fold of the bird sits in the fold of the card.

5. Decorate and add in a greeting.

Popular greetings included: "I'm a fan!" "You're fantastic!"

How to make a Kākā, Kākāpō, Kea Chick Pop-Up

This is an easier one suitable for younger children who will enjoy colouring in the image, they'll need an adult to help them finish the card. 

You will need:

• large recycled greeting card or a piece of A4 card

• a print-out of the parrot chick download (see below)

• colouring pens

• scissors

• glue Stick

• magazine and old calendar pictures 

1. Decide whether your parrot chick is a Kākā, Kākāpō or Kea and colour in appropriately.

2. Fold the finished picture down the centre. From the folded edge cut across the beak opening.

3. Open out the picture again and score the four sides around the beak.

4. Use a finger from behind to carefully push the beak outwards.

5. Now glue the image into the card.

6. Add a greeting and decorate the outside.

FREE DOWNLOAD 

Pop-up Parrot Chick

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

Dara McAnulty is a young nature hero. His book Diary of a Young Naturalist is a must read for nature lovers, whether teens or adults. 

This book stands out head and shoulders above other books by young people on their nature experiences or activism. Dara is a talented writer and writes with extraordinary perception and intensity about his relationship with the natural world around him.

I am buoyed by the life springing out everywhere, in the garden, in the school grounds, even on the streets around the house. My heart crashes less against my chest. I feel in rhythm with nature, and I start becoming immersed in every moment again, letting each wave hit me and seep in. (May 11)

Don't be misled by the term 'Diary', this is much, much more than dates and nature observations. Yes it's presented as a seasonal diary, one year in Dara's life, but what a year! It's the year he turns 16, moves house and changes school. A year in which he gets to do field work with goshawks. A year in which he joins in the first gathering of the Extinction Rebellion movement in Ireland. He doesn't just record what he sees, he questions what is happening around him.

Imagine seeing curlew or corncrake everyday, bitterns booming from the callows. Just think of cranes on Irish soil – they were a popular pet here on the island of Ireland in the Middle Ages, before they became extinct in the 1500s. Bitterns went later, in the mid-1800s when the wetlands were drained for agriculture, and then the curlew and corncrake followed. Will I ever get to experience abundance? Are we wrong to assume that our ancestors had a stronger connection to nature? (October 13)

And he writes frankly about what it's like to experience school and other social interactions outside his family as an autistic teen. 

Nature sparks creativity. All we have to do is start with the question, Why? The way my mind whirrs and whirls in nature, or even when ‘daydreaming’, is way more productive than the work I do in school. (December 6)

All readers will get a deeper understanding of what life is like living with autism. And many people, autistic or not, will relate to to his experiences of being bullied or misunderstood. These themes might be unexpected takeaways from a nature book, but I hope they also ensure the book is read and enjoyed by a wide audience. 

I did wonder how much the unfamiliar landscape, animals and plants would affect my reading enjoyment. But the descriptions of different bird species and plants intrigued me and I put the book down wanting to learn more about this part of the world. Most of all I was inspired by Dara's determination to take action for nature. I'm sure all readers young and old will feel the same.

Highly recommended for 12 years and over.

__________

How to be a Good Creature: a memoir in thirteen animals by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Rebecca Green

Sy Montgomery is a nature journalist and adventurer, she's written books and articles about wild animals, such as snow leopards, tarantula, octopus. This book however is a very personal look at her own life, through the animals that she has had a close connection with. She writes about the life lessons she has learned from each creature. As you might expect a close connection means some are pets, several dogs appear as does a domestic pig, but she also talks about wild animals that have inspired her. 

Some other reviewers described this book as 'sweet'. I'd agree. At times it was a bit too sentimental for me but young people who are devoted to their pets will relate to Sy's reflections about her relationship with her pets. They'll also, I hope, see how wild animals can be an inspiration in people's lives. 

As a child, my father read aloud to our family, from what I thought of as adult books, but which were of interest to all ages. This is just the sort of book that he'd have chosen.

Age 10 and over, younger children may enjoy having this read to them.

__________________

Bushy Park 

Bushy Park has long been a Forest and Bird reserve, but perhaps what's less well known is that it has been a fenced sanctuary since 2005. (Fenced sanctuaries have pest proof fences around them which are designed to keep out possums, stoats, rats and other introduced pest mammals.) Sanctuaries are often thought of as safe havens for endangered birds and other native animals, however, a standout of the Bushy Park experience is the ancient lowland forest and its spectacular trees.

A giant Northern rata loaded with epiphytes

This lowland forest remnant is peppered with giant Northern rata (Metrosiderus robusta). The most famous is called Ratanui. At one time it was thought to be the largest Northern rata. According to the Notable Trees Register it is a massive 36.2 metres high and has a diameter of 3.8 metres. (The Akatarawa giant rata beats this at 39 metres with a diameter of 5 metres.) That there are larger rata doesn't detract from the majesty of Ratanui. Impossible to photograph in one shot.

Ratanui trunk - showing the many roots that the original epiphyte sent down

Northern rata start off life as an epiphyte in the crown of another tall tree such as rimu. While most epiphytes get all the nutrients they need from the sun and rain, as the rata grows it sends down roots to the ground to get more nutrients from the earth. These roots also send out girdling roots which encircle the host tree. Over time it sends down more and more roots, and by the time the host tree dies the rata may well have completely encircled it. The roots form what is called a pseudo trunk which supports the flowering crown and which is hollow inside.

An example of a rata vine at its early stage with a root on the right heading to the ground and encircling the host tree as it does so.

Once Northern rata become a tree in their own right, they then may host many other epiphytes including perching lillies, ferns, puka and other small perching shrubs. Possums damage and eventually kill rata, as they are one of their preferred trees to eat. So the sanctuary fence has come just in time to save this giant.

A view of Ratanui's canopy

Other large tree species in the forest include: tawa, rimu and pukatea.

Buttress roots of a pukatea tree

Tree fern silhouettes

One of the pathways surrounded by nikau palms

The rich forest floor - fallen branches and trees are left to lie, providing habitat for ferns, orchids, invertebrates, lizards and birds.

The fence surrounds and protects a 98-hectare lowland forest remnant. Within the fence is also a historic homestead where guests can stay and enjoy the bird song. 

The six-bedroom homestead

A second lower fence within the sanctuary aims to protect the forest from any rodents that might hitch a ride in a car or camper van that drives in to visit.

The inner fence

Birds that thrive here include: tieke - saddleback, hihi - stitchbird, toutouwai - North Island robin. These three bird species all struggle to survive in the presence of introduced mammals. Both the tieke and hihi had been reduced down to small numbers living on offshore islands before the introduction of fenced sanctuaries.

toutouwai North Island robin

These aren't the only birds to do well here. Large numbers of kererū - New Zealand pigeon, korimako - bellbird, and tūī were seen and heard on my visit. 

Kererū graze on the homestead lawn!

It's always a pleasure to see and hear the birds, and to be aware of the thriving network of other animals - insects, spiders, snails, lizards, etc that form part of this ecosystem.

Visiting Bushy Park:

• Visiting the sanctuary during daytime is free. 

• Accommodation in the homestead is comfortable and reasonably priced, a cheaper self-catering option is the bunk house.

• There are educational displays in the old stables.

The official website:

http://www.bushyparksanctuary.org.nz/visit/visiting-bushy-park

Yet in New Zealand where almost every native tree is evergreen, the emphasis on trees changing colour and losing they leaves could seem to favour introduced trees over native trees. Here are some activities and ideas for studying native tree leaves in New Zealand. Autumn is still a good time to study leaves as it is interesting to compare deciduous and evergreen trees.

ACTIVITY: Go on a leaf hunt to find different colour leaves and identify whether trees are evergreen or deciduous. 

Deciduous trees - those that lose their leaves in autumn - do so to survive a cold winter, saving energy and getting rid of leaves that might pick up diseases. The trees draw back into their branches and trunk all the goodness that was in the leaves, such as water, nutrients and the green substance chlorophyll. So the leaves change colour, dry out and fall.

There are some parts of New Zealand where many deciduous introduced trees have been planted. Even in a warmer climate they continue to loose their leaves in autumn.

Autumn leaves of deciduous trees in Nelson, New Zealand

Generally it isn't cold enough in New Zealand for our native trees to have adopted this method of survival. Instead, evergreen trees lose a few leaves all year round - discarding old leaves and making new ones. Here's a collection of pōhutukawa leaves I picked up in my garden. The discarded leaves show just as much of an array of different colours as the autumn deciduous leaves, and all while the tree itself is covered in green leaves. So don't be tricked by the colour of the leaves on the ground, check to see whether all the leaves on the tree are changing colour.

Pōhutukawa leaf collection - despite the range of colours found, pōhutkawa is not a deciduous tree, always look up into the tree itself to see whether the leaves are all changing colour

ACTIVITY: hunt for a leaf skeleton

Dead leaves form leaf litter on the forest floor. Eventually these leaves rot and breakdown along with other plant matter to form soil. The last part to rot is often the vein structure.

Leaf litter under mahoe and kohekohe trees

In skeleton leaves, the leaf's structure of veins is really obvious.

The fine detail of a skeleton leaf

ACTIVITY: Making Leaf Art - clay impressions, leaf rubbings, leaf prints

If you look closely you'll see how different trees have quite different arrangements of veins in their leaves. Veins carry food and water back and forth. The green substance in leaves - chlorophyll - turns the sun's energy into food. The tree also gets nutrients and water from the ground some of which would go to the leaves.

Some leaves have very clear veins, sunshine through a pukanui leaf highlights the vein structure. This structure also means you can make interesting art out of leaves!

Leaf impressions in clay used to create pottery bowls and plates

Leaf impressions can be used to decorate clay or even cookie dough (to be safe use leaves that are edible if making impressions in something that will be eaten).

Leaf rubbings in a nature journal, the pencil colours match the colour of the leaves

To make leaf rubbings, choose leaves that lie flat and which have clearly defined veins. Put the leaf under the paper so that its underside faces upwards. Start by carefully rubbing a crayon or a coloured pencil along the outline of the leaf and then, keeping the leaf in one place, move inwards until the whole leaf has been covered.

Rangiora leaf print

Kawakawa leaf print

To create leaf prints, cover the underside of the leaf with paint, and then press it down onto the paper. Experiment with different paper, some is more absorbent than others and also with different amounts of paint.

ACTIVITY: Go on a leaf scavenger hunt to find leaves of different shapes and textures 

Did you know?

Did you know tough leaves of mutton bird scrub were used to write letters or postcards and mailed from Ulva Island in Rakiura/ Stewart Island? The ferry to Ulva Island still uses these leaves as tickets today. The underside of the leaf is soft and white, making a perfect writing surface.

Reusable ferry tickets (and compostable when they get too worn out)

Rangiora is related to mutton bird scrub. It has a similar white underside, and is a softer leaf. It is found around other parts of New Zealand, and is often jokingly called 'bush toilet paper'. You could also use its underside for writing messages.

Rangiora leaves have many uses but they are poisonous

The Meaning of Trees by Robert Vennell has interesting information about what different leaves have been used for over the years, such as medicines, tea, for making toys, for weaving. This book is a good place to check whether trees/leaves are poisonous.

Trees and shrubs that live by the sea, such as mutton bird scrub and pohutukawa, often have tough or shiny leaves to enable them to survive the salt spray and strong winds. Another common example is taupata.

Taupata can survive salt winds

Some trees have leaves that are made up of several leaf blades grouped together, the general name for this is compound leaves. When they look a bit like fingers, the name for this is palmate. An example, is five finger, here all five leaf blades count as one leaf.

Five finger or whauwhaupaku

Another tree with compound leaves, is kowhai, in this case the leaf blades are grouped lengthwise and are called pinnate

Kowhai

Some trees have leaves that are not all the same shape, young horoeka /lancewood trees have one shape leaf and as they get older the leaves change. Occasionally you can see both types of leaf on the same tree.

Kotukutuku, native tree fuchsia is one of the few native trees that is deciduous.

Trampers walk through bare kotuktuku trees in the spring

Kotukutuku flowers and leaves

More information about trees and native plants:

On Science Learn for schools

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1102-what-is-a-plant

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2634-identifying-native-plants

On NZ Plant Conservation Network clear training module on plant ID

https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/conservation/training/module-1-plant-life/

iNaturalist for identification of your observations

https://inaturalist.nz