Auckland Writers Festival 2014: "The Great Avian Chase" with Brent Stephenson

Guest post by Carol, Information Services, Central City Library.

Quite a large crowd assembled outside the doors of the Art Gallery, patiently waiting for opening time. From the buzz of conversation, most were going to attend this session. Snippets of conversation heard centred on their own experiences of bird photography or observation. Could we get any hints from this talk, perhaps?

Brent Stephenson epitomises someone whose hobby became their career. An enthusiastic birder and photographer from childhood, Brent regaled us with stories of his early experiences around Hawke’s Bay. He confesses he was inspired by Geoff Moon’s photography. Included in the commentary were some of his early photographs of birds taken with his mother’s small Kodak camera. “Some of these are not that great," he apologised, as he indicated a smudgy small dot in the middle of a light grey area of sky. “There’s the bird,” he added. Needless to say, his photography is now much better, and he was one of the first photographers in New Zealand to use digital cameras.

Brent has a full-time guiding, photography and birding career, and has done some work assisting the Department of Conservation. He also holds the current record for the most bird species found in New Zealand in a calendar year.

His main passion is seabirds, and he was involved in the recent rediscovery of the New Zealand Storm Petrel. He spent some time researching where the breeding area was, by catching and tagging them. How do you catch birds at sea? With a net gun, of course. It turns out they were breeding on Little Barrier Island, and their entry in Tennyson’s Extinct Birds of New Zealand has now been removed from the latest edition.

The New Zealand biogeographical region has lost 41% of its endemic species, most losses occurring since human habitation. New Zealand developed as a land almost mammal-free. Many of the ecological niches normally occupied by mammals have been filled by birds, reptiles or insects. Because of this, some birds have developed some quasi-mammalian characteristics eg the kiwi, with its coarse, almost hairy feathers, cat-like whiskers and, unusually for a bird, a sense of smell.

Sprinkled throughout the lecture were some gems of information:

• You would probably not want to have met the Haast’s Eagle – now extinct, this was the primary predator of moa, before humans colonised NZ. It was the largest bird of prey to ever have lived, with talons the size of tiger’s claws, and was able to take prey probably up to 200kg in weight.

• The little fantail that accompanies you on your walk through the bush is not just being friendly. It stays close by because your large body is disturbing insects and delivering up food.

• The kea is one of the world’s most intelligent birds – also the bane of South Island car rental companies.

• The Grey Duck (also known as the Pacific Black Duck) now seems to be extinct in NZ due to hybridisation with the numerous Mallard ducks. However, other birds of this species can be found elsewhere in the Pacific area.

Despite the losses, there have been many success stories : e.g. the Black Robin, Takahē, Kākāpō; the South Island kokako, thought extinct, may still be residing in small numbers near Reefton, as there have been recent sightings. We must celebrate the successes, yet still remember that New Zealand had a much richer biological diversity. We are all interconnected with the environment. Most of these birds have been lost since human habitation due to habitat change, competition and predation from introduced species.

A final word. If you do spot anything unusual, contact the Ornithological Society of New Zealand : www.osnz.org.nz They will be able to assist with identification. Did you know that over half of our native birds can be found in the Auckland region?

As I waited in the queue for the author-signing, I flipped through my copy of Birds of New Zealand.  It is extremely comprehensive, listing endemic, introduced, and occasional visiting species. There are notes on identification, behaviour, bird calls, distribution and conservation status. Brent’s photographs make up about 90% of the more than 1000 images in the book. It would be a somewhat weighty tome to carry with you on birding expeditions; however, the information is also available on an app.Visit http://www.mydigitalearth.com for more about it.

And Brent’s advice for budding bird photographers? “Just keep practising, and have patience.” Thank you, Brent. It obviously worked for you.

The strangest bird at AWRF 2013

Carol from Information Services at Central City Library came away impressed with all she learned when she went to hear writer, photographer and documentary filmmaker Quinn Berentson talk about his book Moa : a history of our strangest bird. Here's her report.

Who would ever have thought that science could be so exciting? Like in a good mystery novel, intrigue, jealousy, controversy and intellectual property theft played a part in the discovery of the moa in the 19th century. And yes, there was also a villain, in the form of the esteemed English naturalist Professor Richard Owen.

In the intimate atmosphere of the Art Gallery auditorium, we were entertained by Quinn Berentson on how New Zealand's moa captured the imagination of the world. Through a series of illustrations we were told a very twisted tale of human frailty, rivalry and controversy.

It began with a small piece of bone given to a European trader by local Māori from the East Coast, with the accompanying story that it came from a monster bird which haunted the area in times past. The bone arrived in England and was handed to Professor Owen. Owen realised that such a small sample did not provide enough evidence to go on, but he realised that this was a momentous find. Because of the structure of the bone, it must have come from some sort of giant bird.

This was all happening during the era of scientific and philosophical debate regarding creation versus evolution… the time of great scientific discoveries and theories from the likes of Charles Darwin, and the discovery of fossils, proving that indeed giant monsters did roam the earth millions of years ago. Owen was introduced as an "evil professor", with a reputation for destroying his rivals and stealing their ideas. He had locked horns with Charles Darwin, and now argued with Gideon Mantell, a physician and obsessed amateur fossil collector. Mantell had come up with the idea of an "Age of Reptiles". True to form, Owen swept Mantell aside and made the official announcement himself. He coined the term 'dinosaur' (meaning terrible lizard) and became rich, successful and famous.

With more European exploration in New Zealand, more moa bones were discovered and duly shipped off to England, into the hands of Owen. The moa was officially 'discovered' on 19 January 1843, Owen naming it Dinornis novaezealandiae. For the general public of Europe, this was their first introduction to a place called New Zealand.

 Moa bones are not rare, and are found the length of New Zealand. Every large museum in the world has a collection of moa bones due to Julius Haast, who exported them worldwide. The moa can also boast that it was one of the first museum specimens to be photographed.

Although New Zealanders are now known as Kiwis, in the 19th century the moa was recognised as the symbol of our country. Illustrations of moa have appeared on stamps around the world, and there was a hilarious moment as Quinn showed a comic strip with Superman battling a moa.

Quinn concluded with current research findings. The 'youngest' moa bones are about 500 years old, and there is no definitive proof of when the moa actually became extinct. DNA testing has identified nine species of moa - three unique to the South Island. The many variations initially discovered may have actually been age and gender differences.

An intriguing final remark: the moa is actually at the top of the list of creatures that could be cloned and brought back to life. There has been sufficient DNA discovered to potentially do this.

I found the entire hour captivating. Drawing on his experience as a documentary maker, Quinn Berentson is an excellent storyteller, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of the book, which went on to win the Royal Society of New Zealand's Science Writing Prize. An announcement was made at the conclusion of the "Issues of Science" session later on Saturday.

-- Carol, Information Services Librarian 

"Issues of Science" at AWRF 2013

Carol's portfolio as reference librarian at Central City Library includes the sciences, so who better than she to tell us about the "Issues of Science" session at AWRF 2013?

This session with Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, interviewed by Sean Plunket, replaced "Bad science, bad pharma" with Ben Goldacre, who unfortunately was not able to attend the festival. Gluckman, who is currently the Chairman of the Prime Minister's Science Advisory Committee, began the discussion with the comment that science has a central role in our future. Technology has led us to where we are (not always for good), but it is also the method for our solutions. First World countries need to be generators of knowledge for growth, and New Zealand also needs to do this - we are not going to get rich by selling milk!

 In a measured and logical way, Gluckman answered every question posed by Sean Plunket. The only time there was a hint of the discussion getting heated was on the topic of journalists. Most decisions in society are based on values, and they need to be made against the background of underlying knowledge. Science, Gluckman explained, is about reducing uncertainties, and the media play a game of balance and bias. Even if there is a majority of 99% agreement on an issue, the media have the need to include the 1% opinion as well. They also want to be commercial, so sell stories using controversy.

So how can we go down the track of science and still be competitive?

 Innovate! Most innovation occurs at the interplay between disciplines, through merging of ideas. For example, what won us the America's Cup? It was the capacity of New Zealand science to work together, with good engineering. New Zealand has the advantage of our small size to get interdisciplinary research working.

 It was also emphasized that we need more people trained in science; just like numeracy and literacy, it is a critical skill set. Everyone should be encouraged into science by removing the "boring bits" and gaining an informed understanding of the issues of the day using scientific principles.

Returning to the topic of scientists and journalists, Gluckman admitted that in the past, some scientists have been arrogant, with a patronising attitude. Scientists and technologists have mostly gotten into trouble when research has forged ahead and not told the public what they have been doing. Communication with the media tends to be about breakthrough stories. Scientists tend not to be good at communication, and the media needs to recruit reporters who are trained in science.

The event concluded with the announcement of the winner of the Royal Society of New Zealand's Science Book Prize for 2013. It was Moa : the life and death of New Zealand's legendary bird by Quinn Berentson.  Professor Sir Peter Gluckman commented, referring to the author Quinn Berentson, "Here is a scientist who could communicate and tell a story".

-- Carol, Information Services