The fifth lunar month – Whiringa-nuku
In the fifth lunar month the earth has become quite warm. The crop work is in hand and so right on to the seventh month.
By late spring, as the ground warms, the forest trees are decorated with blossom. The people are tormented by rising numbers of sandflies during the day and mosquitos at night. Ngaio (Myoporum laetum) like many of the forest trees, is bursting into flower and covered in new young shoots. Smeared over the skin, the juice from these shoots is an effective insect repellent.
Piwakawaka, Fantail(Ripidura placabilis, R.fuliginosa, R.penitus) enjoys the harvest of sandflies and other attracted by human activity. Piwakawaka follows other birds or animals inorder to catch insects disturbed insects. There are so many insects available the piwakawaka can raise up to four broods a year on a diet of insects only, mainly flies. Maori mythology attributed to the fantail the responsibility for bringing death into the world. The fantail’s part in this occurred when Maui, thinking he could overcome death, tried to enter the sleeping body of Hine-nui-te-po through the pathway of birth. The fantail, watching, thought he looked so ridiculous that it burst out laughing and danced for joy. Woken by the noise, Hine-nui-te-po killed Maui.
Maori prized plants with highly scented oils. In late spring, the dark red, almost black Kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium) flowers are particularly fragrant at night. The fragrant oil from crushed leaves was used as a perfume as was the sweet-smelling, white flowered Tarata, (Lemonwood, Pittosporum eugenoides
As the ground warms, vines and creepers of all sorts put forth fresh growth. They can make passage through the bush a difficult affair. Tātarāmoa, Bush lawyer has heavily scented white flowers but lives up to its common name since it is so hard to get past the thorns.At the margins of the forest, Pōwhiwhi, is covered in large, funnel-shaped flowers attractive to the birds but its tangled stems make passage difficult as does Pōhuehue, (wire vine, Muehlenbeckia complexa) which has inconspicuous but sweet-smelling flowers. Piripiri, Bidibid (Acaena anserinfolia) is in flower, as the spiky seed balls develop they will attach themselves to any unwary traveller.
The Equinox
The stars of Whakaahu (Castor or Castor and Pollux in Gemini) and Rehua (Antares) were associated with the change of the seasons from winter to summer. This change was sometimes likened to a struggle between two opposing groups.
In one myth, the daughters of Day and Night, Opiri (or Pipiri) who represents winter and produces snow, and Whakaahu (the star Castor) ,who represents light, this world and summer, were taken to wife by Rehua (Antares, which rises in December’s dawn, but rules the winter night-time sky).
Oipiri (meaning shivering and huddled together) was acquainted with all matters pertaining to Night and Winter, while Whakaahu followed the paths of Day, and represents the world of light marama kehokeho (intense light). Her name of Whakaahu also was equivalent to summer, and to Hiringa. This latter is one of the names of Tane (personified form of the sun, who is the origin of knowledge). Both Opiri and Whakaahu were taken to wife by Rehua (Antares, which rises in December’s dawn, but rules the winter night-time sky).
The attendants of Oipiri and Whakaahu are ever contending with each other, but neither side ever gains a lasting victory.
The forest
The flowers and the berries crown the head of the god Rehua and their nectar, fruit and the insects that feed on them provide food for the nesting birds, such as the Weka (Gallirallus australis),Korimako, (Bellbird, Anthornis melanura), Kereru and Kea as well as a flock of smaller birds.
For Weka, nectar is only one part of their diet. They feed on a wide variety of animal and vegetable matter, including small birds and mammals.
True honey eaters in NZ include the tui, (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae),bellbirdand stitchbird and silvereye (waxeye, white-eye Zosterops lateralis). These birds have long tongues, branched and feathery at the tip, for sweeping up nectar from flowers. To catch the eyes of the birds are generally mostly red but sometimes yellow and tubular or cup-like to hold the copious nectar.
The brick red Rewarewa (New Zealand Honeysuckle (Knightia excelsa); the dark purple drooping flowersKōtukutuku, (Tree Fuchsia, Fuchsia excorticata); Flowering rata (Metrosideros carminea); the straggling Pohutukawa shrub(Metrosideros parkinsonii); the yellow to reddish, tubular flowers of Alseuosmia pusilla and the Kakabeak, (Kowhai ngutukaka, Clianthus puniceus) rely on birds to act as pollinators.
Other flying herbivores include the two parakeets Kakariki, Parakeets(Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae), red-crowned parakeet and (C. auriceps), yellow-crowned parakeet), Kereru, (Kukupa, parea), the native pigeon, (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)and thekokako (Callaeas cinera) and the extinct piopio (Turnagra capensis).These birds eat buds, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds and invertebrates in the breeding season. Tuis, Bellbirds and stitchbirds vary their diet with berries and insects, especially when nectar supplies are short.
In suitable sites, groves of the majestic forest giant, the Kauri (Agathis australis) dominate the canopy with Tairaire, towai and kohkohe nearby. Maori used kauri timber for boat building, carving and housing and the gum was used for fire starting and heating, If the gum was soaked in water and mixed with the sap of puha (milkweed) it was suitable for chewing gum.
Kauri trees usually grow widely spaced groves with spaces beneath and in between the trees occupied by kauri grass and the giant, sharp-leaved ghania, Akatea, (the white rata vine, (Metrosideros albiflora), Kirk’s tree daisy, hanghange (New Zealand Privet, Geniostoma rupestre var. ligustrifolium) and mingimingi (Cyathodes spp.).
The flowers and seeds of the undershrub provide additional food supplies for nesting birds. In the late spring, Mingimingi already bears small red fruits while Hangehange has maturing seed capsules. Most of the Akatea’s autumn-maturing seed capsules will have already been harvested by hungry birds.
On the forest floor, among the leaf litter, where Kauri grow or have grown, the rare, large carnivorous snail Pupurangi, (Kauri snail,Paryphanta busbi, P.b. watti) can be found feasting on worms.
Other important birds and animals found in kauri forest include the red-crowned and yellow crowned parakeets, brown kiwi, pied tit, kaka, and Hochsetter’s and Archey’ frogs. Colonies of bats have been discovered in fallen giants.
The mature Kauri also carries a crown of perching plants. For birds such as Kokako, they are safe nesting site, close to important food sources.
Another bird that prefers to nest in holes in trees is the Tieke, (Saddleback,Philesturnus carunculatus). In spring, Tieke raise the first of its two broods. They are a shy bird, rarely coming into the open, preferring to jump from branch to branch in dense forest feeding on spiders, caterpillars, beetles and other insects as well as leaf buds and berries. According to Maori legend, Maui having fought with the Sun, asked the saddleback to bring him fresh water, but the bird refused. The angry demigod seized the saddleback with his still fiery hand and flung it away, leaving scorch marks across its back which became the ‘saddle’ of chestnut feathers.
Karkariki, live in holes in tree trunks and branches or ground burrows. Their specialised beak is ideal to deal with seeds and berries, but they also eat flowers, leaves and insects. Kakariki are a lively, intelligent, alert bird that forages on the forest floor as well as the canopy.
In the South Island, in a good season, Tawhai Rauriki, the Mountain beech is still flowering and Kea are feeding there.In isolated mountain areas in Southland, the large, flightless parrot, the Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) roots among the leaf litter for berries, seeds, leaves, twigs and roots. The Kakapo only breeds when the food supplies are abundant.
The kereru is the only bird big enough to swallow very large fruit, and because it has a very large feeding territory (twenty-five square kilometres) it is particularly important in the distribution of the seeds of large berries of Miro, tawa, taraire, puriri and karaka.
The birds are feeding on the bright orange berries of the Porokaiwhiri, (Pigeonwood, Hedycarya aborea); the dark purple to black plum-like fruits of the Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) and in further north, the Taraire (Belischmiedia tarairi), the red fruit of the Mingimingi and the nectar from the tiny, white, sweet-scented, blossoms that decorate the Ti Kōuka (Cabbage tree) in large showy bunches as well as many other smaller fruits and is in prime condition for the nesting season, which is just beginning.
The migratory Shining Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus), Piwakawaka (Fantail, Ripidura placabilis, R.fuliginosa, R.penitus), Grey warbler(Geryone igata), Pipit (Anthus novaezelandiae) and Whitehead (Mohoua albicilla), weka, New Zealand robin and kiwi eat mainly insects.
The fat puriri grubs (Aenetus virescens) caterpillars could be found in holes in maire, beech, Makomako (wineberry, Aristotelia serrata) as well as puriri. They mature now into adult months, but live for only one day, making a particularly large and tasty feast for a quick bird.
At this time, the migrating Pipiwharauroa, (Shining Cuckoo,Chalcites lucidus) returns to the main islands and many offshore islands of Aotearoa for the summer. In autumn it will leave again for the Solomon Islands and Bismark Archipelago.
Pipiwharauroa announces its return to Aotearoa, with its distinctive call and lays its eggs in the Grey Warbler’s (Geryone igata) nests. The Grey Warbler acts as the foster parent to the cuckoo’s egg.
Grey warblernests hang from twigs and are enclosed found in trees and shrubs on the outskirts of bush, especially in manuka scrub, low second growth bush.
Another migrant, the Long-tailed Cuckoo(Eudynamys taitensis) is also returning to Aotearoa.The Long tailed Cuckoo uses Whiteheads (Mohoua albicilla) in the North Island and Yellowheads and Brown Creepers in the south island as foster parents.
Birds with shorter beaks and enjoy the nectar from Kōhia, New Zealand Passionfruit, whose white flowers are similar to a small garden passionfruit and the finger-like cluster of fluffy flowers born on the Kāmahi(Weinmannia recemosa) as well as smaller seeds and fruits.
Whiteheads feed mainly on grubs and insects, but also a variety of berries, mainly from the upper canopy of the bush, but sometimes feed low down and occasionally on the forest floor where amongst the litter, the native iris, Mīkoikoi, (Libertia ixoides & L. grandiflora) has put forth white three-petalled flowers and the ground cover Pānakenake, (Pratia angulata), is covered with white, starry half flowers larger than the leaves.
Freshwater fish
According to some traditions, nga pahore o Rehua (or karaha, hiwi, or pahore)are the parent inanga (whitebait) when they return to the rivers during the months of Matahi and Maruaroa, (the first and second months of the Maori year, May-July). Many of these old fish were taken as they returned, but it was the Kaeaea (koeaea or porohe), the fry, that came in September, that were more highly prized. The young fish ascend the rivers about September; these are called kaeaea, koeaea, porohe, thus we find in a song of yore “ Te kaeaea i tuku mai rara; i haramai koe i te tai honuhonu o Meremere.”
The Koaro (Galaxias brevipinnis) lavae are one of the types of freshwater lavae known collectively as whitebait. Shortjaw kokopu(Glaxias postvectis) is another. But the lavae most know as whitebait is Inanga (Galaxias maculatus) which also returns to the rivers in spring.
Various ranga (nets) and traps were used to catch the migrating fry. There were many methods of catching inanga. Sometimes traps were made from thin rush, sometimes nets were plaited of mat-like fabric of strips of undressed flax resembling a floor-mat, while sometimes a form of weir was erected, with a trap at the opening.
The inanga were sometimes dried on exposed banks of shingle in riverbeds, where the heat of the sun was greater than elsewhere, then packed tightly in baskets, a process described by the word whakahunga. As basket full of this delicacy was termed kete whakahunga.
Kotuku(White heron, Egretta alba) breed from September to October only on the banks of the Waitangiroto river in South Island. Their breeding time matches that of the upstream migration of whitebait. Nests are built in kowhai and kamahi or in the crowns of tree ferns. The British Queen was called:
Te kotuku-rerenga-tahi; the rare white heron of a single flight.
The seashore
The coastline is also blooming providing a rich food source for insects and birds. On the coastal dunes, pale bell-shaped flowers with darker pink bands dots Nihinihi, (Shore bindweed, Calystegia soldanella) holds the shifting sand. Its large pale flowers with darker pink bands are bell-shaped;
blue-tinged white blooms decorate the Koromiko (Hebe elliptica). The lively little Pipit (Anthus novaezelandiae) is busy among the blooms of dune, tussock and scrub gathering insects, grubs, earthworms and seeds for the first of two broods.
Tuis love the orange or yellow flowers of the Wharariki, Mountain flax (Phormium cookianum), and the Harakeke, New Zealand flax (Phorium tenax) and drink deeply of the nectar held in their throats. Sometimes the nectar ferments in the bloom and the tuis fall about totally “legless” after indulging.
The Maori found flax a very useful plant. The leaves and the extracted fibre were used to make clothing, sandals, mats, baskets, ropes, fishing lines and nets. Floats or rafts were constructed out of bundles of flower stalks (korari). To sweeten a fern-root meal, flax nectar was added. The plant was also highly valued for its medicinal qualities.
The sea, too, is responding to the increased warmth. This is a time when many terrestrial and seabirds nest, indicating an increase in the food supply to supply the young fledglings. The mud loving Mānawa, (Mangrove, Avicennia marina ssp. australasica) has small, star-shaped sweet smelling, dull yellow flowers. The mudflats are important spawning grounds and sheltered nurseries for many fish.
Kahawai, are a species of fish widespread around Aotearoa. They are found in open water, harbours, rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, estuaries and some distance upriver. They are migratory, and, at this time are thought to begin spawning. Snapper, too, are common throughout North Island waters. From spring they begin frequent shallow inshore waters and estuaries to spawn, moving out to winter offshore.
In sea coast tidal estuaries, harbours and rocky islets close to the coast the Reef heron (Egretta sacra) feeds on the increased supply of small fish and begins nesting. The Red billed gull(Larus navaehollandiae) a bird of beaches, inlets and tidal rivers, harbours and inland lakes, begins to congregate in nesting spots such as rocky headlands and islets close to shore.
Two swamp birds that begin nesting in late spring are the Bittern and the Banded Rail. The Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) is a well camouflaged, shy swamp bird feeding on frogs, eels, fish, rats, mice, insects and worms. The Banded rail(Rallus philippensis) also lives in mangrove forests and freshwater wetlands feeding on insects, worms, grubs, small crabs and marine life, also seeds and berries.
Migratory birds also move in to capitalize on the increased bounty.
White-faced Storm Petrel (Pelagodroma marina) who appears to walk on water when catching fish returns to Aotearoa from the seas near the coast of Peru and Ecuador.
Approximately 100,000Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit .(Limosa laponnica baueri) migrate to NZ in late September and October together with other waders after a nesting season in the tundra of the Arctic regions of Siberia and Alaska. The birds arrive in Aotearoa lean and hungry after their long journey and their drab plumage is ready to moult. They feed on the mudflats and sandy beaches of the harbours and estuaries which provide a rich source of marine organisms.
Titi, Sooty Shearwater or Muttonbird(Puffinus griseus)returnto NZ to nest each September to nest in burrows on many offshore islands, particularly the islands around Stewart Island and the Snares.
The nestlings are taken for oil, feathers and meat. For centuries Maori have taken the juvenile titi when they are at their plumpest. In the past, the harvest provided food for families to last a year. People crossed from the mainland on sometimes arduous and dangerous journeys to gather the titi. Once captured, the birds were cooked in their own fat (itit tahu) and preserved in kelp bags (poha). Not only were they an important food for the Ngai Tahu tribe, but titi were also traded with other tribes.
Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia) are found coastal waters, mainly along the east coast of the North Island. They feed on small fish and krill, which are caught by diving beneath the surface or by paddling forwards with heads submerged. From early September they congregate in dense colonies, nesting in burrows on numerous small offshore islands.