Courtship Etiquette

"How necessary it is that the utmost caution should be exercised in forming our attachments."

Although the weather gives no hint of spring anytime soon, all avifauna is proclaiming it. 'The Etiquette of Love and Courtship' is a small pocket-book which carries advice for lovers, collected from the 1850s onwards. I feel a certain overlap between its' intended human audience and the more feathery-covered class of animals.

Some birds change their plumage in order to attract the best mate, and most often it is the male who is more brightly or intrically coloured:

"If the lady to whom you are paying your addresses is possessed of taste and discernment, you will act properly in submitting to her judgement with regard to your dress."

Some birds choose a different partner every season:

"The man who obtains the good graces of woman in general, is seldom worth the regard of any one in particular ... Of all before our observation, the most loathsome is the female coquette. Men are flirted with, and true affection becomes a sport."

Some birds* have (ahem) interesting mating behaviours:

"Some men are ever ready to disguise their real character and it is no easy matter for a lady to scan it. He may have all the traits of a gentleman - a handsome exterior and well-skilled in points of etiquette - but these are not sufficient to constitute an agreeable home companion."

* read up about stitchbird (hihi) mating behaviour sometime

Some birds mate for life:

"Domestic happiness can be secured by endeavouring to meet with a companion whose disposition, temper and whole deportment will bear the strictest scrutiny."

Birds cannot write, but instead sing to communicate with each other:

"Express your meaning as freely as possible. There is still something requisite towards the writing of a polite and agreeable letter and that is an air of good breeding."

Yes, just over a month to daylight savings, and those of the hollow bones are already preening, displaying, courting and ......... it seems some have been at it for a while!

Birdology

Today's been cold, grey, windy and frankly a rather dreary day. Putting the weather to good use, I curled up on the couch with a book I've been longing to read for a while. Birdology, by Sy Montgomery, is an exploration of the essence and nature of all things avian. Swaddled in a cosy blanket and fortified with a cup or two of chai, I have been lost in a world of hummingbird rehabilitation, pigeon racing and cassowary chasing.

If you have seen the YouTube phenomenon of Snowball, the sulphur-crested cockatoo dancing, you'll be interested to read the chapter regarding him and other parrots that talk or have a notion of rhythm, something which has only recently been accepted in the scientific world.

But by far my most favourite of chapters was on raptors (surprise surprise). As the author writes, "Birds are wild in a way that we don't experience in our relationships with our fellow mammals. And nothing, I found, brings us closer to the pure wildness of birds than working with a hawk."

Reading this section brought to mind all the times when I have been awed by these carnivores of the sky and the realisation of being privileged indeed to study them and try to understand a part of their world.

Indulgence

In the last couple weeks, two friends have been kind enough indulge my weirdness and complete change into scientist. Transcripts of the conversations follow ...

'J' sent me a text message about how he was driving down out of Auckland for work for the day. I reply with a comment on all the harriers to be seen out in the country. J responds with "I almost hit one with the ute."

Me: um, ok, so I know this is a bit weird, but if you should hit one, or if you find one ... could you collect it for me?

J: yeah no worries

'S' tells me "I think I saw a dead harrier just before the motorway onramp on my way home."

Me: oooh, I'd love it. Can you drive by slowly tomorrow and get a better look?

(The next day)

S: sorry, I didn't get a chance to stop this afternoon. I was gonna go at lunch, but then I thought what would I do with it for the afternoon.

Me: don't you have a freezer at your work??

S: yes, but I don't think my workmates would be very happy if I did that

What surprised me the most about these two conversations was that both friends were quite unconcerned about it all. It is not a normal, everyday occurrence to collect dead birds off roadsides and neither of them seemed to bat an eyelid over my request. In the end there was no collection of specimens, which I feel is a good thing for our friendships, as I'm sure they both secretly think I'm mad and delivery of a bird carcass would have only served to confirm their suspicions!

The Leg Bone's Connected to the ...

Rainy day = no birds flying; but somewhere in my freezer the vomit awaits . . . "To the laboratory!"

Pellet analysis, I have learnt, is a very time-consuming task (and, in all honesty, can be a bit whiffy). At least 2-3 hours per pellet, up to 5 hours if it's a biggie. I have also learnt that you can bruise your eye sockets from getting too up close and personal with a microscope for long periods of time.

Painstakingly pulling apart masticated fur and feather barbs, tiny treasures (we're talking small amounts of millimetres here) such as claws, teeth, vertebrae and leg bones have been discovered. It's kinda like delving into your santa stocking on Christmas morning (kinda), you don't know what you're gonna get.

I've spent quite a few sessions in the lab now; each time I come away with little specimen jars containing an assortment of bird and rodent bones, fur and feathers, all bagged and labelled before return to my freezer (my flatmates are very understanding).

Here's a small selection of photos to share my lab-time fun with you (NB: the rat skull was not found in a pellet - it is there for comparison purposes only!).

Science Makes the World Go Round

Over the first week of the school holidays, science teachers from around the country descended on Nelson for the bi-annual SciCon conference. Not having attended this before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Memories of college teachers and stereotypes abounded, with my plane companion and I joking about lab coats and sock, sandal and walk-short combinations. Shame on us, there was none of this to be found.

Instead, we were riveted by tales of box and irukandjes jellyfish (the world's most deadliest animals), mesmerised by fantastically engaging chemistry and physics demonstrations and tried to get our minds around the awesome power of the soon-to-be-built Square Kilometre Array.

After several days of talks and workshops, eating and drinking, making new acquaintances and building friendships, an optional field trip to Maud Island finished the time perfectly. We visited on a beautifully crisp and calm winter's day; and although it was very chilly we enjoyed it immensely. The resident DoC ranger provided us with insight into the history of the island and its' current role in conservation. Among other invertebrates, we got to view the endemic Maud Island frog and Cook Straight weta before taking a walk to one of the headlands.

Being immersed in all things science for five days has made me itch with anticipation of transferring my new learning back to the classroom. Seeing as I'm still on fellowship, I'll have to take over a colleague's class if I can't hold back until next year. Sure they'll have to surrender their students to the mercy of a mad scientist, but one who is mad keen on enthusing the next generation of scientific thinkers.

Watching the Watcher

By now, I'm very used to being subject to strange glances whenever I'm out harrier-watching. Most days bring nothing unusual to this occurrence, however this week has seen two occasions that have been different to the norm.

Monday saw me heading up Mt Hobson, which, being a volcano, offers both the opportunity of a fantastic vantage point for me and a possible hunting area for local harrier. I spent some time walking around the mountain searching for the best observation point and whilst I only came across three other people, my whole time up there I was observed by a herd of cows. It may have been that I was following their grazing tracks and routines by coincidence, but everywhere I went, the cows went, too. It was like a strange, unwanted version of The Pied Piper and not surprisingly, rather disconcerting.

Yesterday saw me heading to East Tamaki where I discovered a couple of harrier hunting over a grassy patch behind a new business development area. This was a perfect chance to observe them in urban settings; using land that has been human-modified to create opportunities for themselves. My viewing point was from a public park adjacent to the business area, and yesterday just happened to be the day when the park was being mowed.

Running all over the place with backpack on, camera round my neck, binoculars glued to my eyeballs, pen in my mouth and field diary clenched under my elbow, I provided a great deal of entertainment to the men on the large ride-on mowers. Of which there were four. It was a precarious balance between keeping track of my birds (which Murphy's law dictates were not staying put in one place, but constantly moving backwards and forwards, near and far, up down and everywhere in between) and checking to see whether I was running into the path of a mower (yes, I know they are noisy, but when fully engrossed in watching I don't pay as much attention to my other senses!).

A quick glance in the direction of one of the men confirmed what was in the back of my mind as I kept track of my charges: the way I looked and my antics were hilariously ridiculous. How could I explain myself?? Would that even help me at all?? Nope, I learnt a lot earlier in the year not to worry how others perceive you when you're doing your science ... just suck it up and get on with it, your results will be your reward. I only hope that when I go back to visit that site again that the lawns will have already been done!!

A-Birding We Will Go

Over Queen's Birthday weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the OSNZ conference in Nelson. Aside from hearing about studies and projects from around the country, covering all types of birds from migratory waders to our smallest wren, there was the opportunity to take a field trip. "Falcons and Grapes" was on the list and, although I admit that the grape/vineyard part was appealing, it was the falcons that I truly wanted to see.

A fantastic, conservation-minded approach has seen Marlborough vineyard owners pair up with the Falcons for Grapes project, to reestablish New Zealand falcons into the areas of their former range. This benefits the vineyards, as falcons are fearsome avian predators specialising in taking down prey mid-flight. They actively kill pest birds such as starlings, blackbirds and silvereyes, as well as being the best scare-tactic nature has to offer. Travelling in a group where every single person is an avid birder, it is needless to say that our enthusiasm upon seeing several falcons was limitless and we were all in raptures.

An early finish at the vineyards saw us dash across to the Waihopai Valley in search of the sole black kite that inhabits the area. Although our mini-van was packed with eager and talented bird-spotters, the lone kite eluded us and we headed back to Nelson.

Not far from my thoughts (particularly when focussed on birds of prey), we observed many harrier en-route to the vineyards (an hour and a half drive from Nelson); some when there was no rain, some when there was light rain, none when there was heavy rain. Another thing to explore further back here in Auckland!

All in all, a very worthwhile weekend with enough birding delights to keep me going until next year's conference.