14 Wairarapa Midweek Extra Wednesday, September 1, 2021 ARATOI VOICES
Aratoi keeps shining
Extra
The sun is shining, and we are seeing the first signs of spring, but unfortunately lockdown has disrupted Aratoi’s entire schedule for a second time. Our popular Winter exhibition Pūkana: Te Karu o te Ika - Moments in Māori performance, which celebrates Māori performance and performers across time and genres, is extended – for now – until we can open again to the public. The exhibition highlights iconic moments in Māori performance and features luminaries such as Kiri Te Kanawa and Hone Tuwhare, as well as local heroes Warren Maxwell,
Jemaine Clement and Te Rangiura o Wairarapa. The strong local component was developed in partnership with the Wairarapa Māori community. A Year and More of Magical Thinking - New work by Linda Tilyard was inspired by Joan Didion’s book ‘The year of magical thinking’. It was a catalyst for her latest exhibition of 24 oil paintings. “In the book, Joan shares her intimate thoughts and memories and illustrates how our attention to detail, and often not quite rational preoccupations, help us through the early stages of grief. I was struck by
the parallel with art; how attention to paint and colour – magical worlds created on canvas – help to cope with and process life’s events.” This exhibition has also been extended until November 14. Aratoi has four new exhibitions planned from September 18, Wairarapa Camera Club - Drawn to the Light, a biennial exhibition of selected photographs by members of the Wairarapa Camera Club and Eye to Eye: Portraits from the Collection. Both will open on September 18 until November 21. The portrait is one of
the enduring themes throughout art history. A portrait is not merely a record of the subject’s physical features; it can offer a vivid sense of that
person’s presence, and their status, wealth, and character. Stay safe and we will see you all when Aratoi reopens in Level 2.
FEATHER REPORT
The dawn chorus, it’s heard the world over Oliver Druce On January 17, 1770 Joseph Banks, on board the Endeavour, wrote “This morn I was awaked by the singing of the birds ashore, the numbers of them were certainly very great who seem’d to strain their throats with emulation perhaps; their voices were certainly the most melodious wild musick I have ever heard….” As sunrise spreads around the world so does a great eruption of birdsong. It has been called nature’s daily miracle. To hear such a deafening dawn chorus as did Joseph Banks you probably need to be in an island sanctuary such as Kapiti. The engine-room of the dawn chorus would be the tui and bellbird with perhaps added kokako, whitehead, warbler, or hihi. But the suburban dawn chorus is also alive and well and spring is the time for it to swell. Plenty of birds that were silent a month ago are now singing. Blackbirds, dunnocks and chaffinches are all now limbering up for the nesting season ahead. A quick survey of friends in Wairarapa gave me an ensemble of tui, thrush, magpie, blackbird, warbler,
chaffinch and dunnock. Songbirds as different as the European blackbird and the NZ tui are both artistes of the dawn chorus despite their origins being separated by millions of years. So why do birds sing at dawn or let’s face it - way before dawn? Tui, like roosters, seem to get added kudos from being the first even if it is 4am. Firstly, singing is mostly aimed at your own species; communication to mark territory, to be sociable, or simply to say “here I am”. The male blackbird might be saying “If you are male, keep off, or else”. Or “if you are female “come on over some time”. It used to be thought performance singing was a male domain. But this has turned out to be more of a human presumption. Females of many bird species also sing, albeit often with different styles and different messages. Choosing mates for any species is a complex business and birds are no exception. There are several explanations why birds sing more strongly around dawn, rather than other
Dawn chorus – Tui style. PHOTO/TM DAVIDSON
times of the day. Sound generally travels better in the early morning. Night-time cooling and the formation of inversion layers means the air is often still and sound can be channelled to the widest possible audience. Also, most birds hunt and seek food by sight, so if you are awake in the dim light of dawn it makes sense to be doing something like singing. With improving light you may then decide to seek the early worm. Songbirds make up almost half the world’s bird species. Incidentally our own wrens [the
DURING LOCKDOWN, WALK THIS WAY Our dogs will be loving the attention during this lockdown but remember, at level 3: y you should be walking your dog close to home y you should walk your dog on a leash at all times, even in designated
‘off-leash’ areas. This will minimise the chances of you needing to break your ‘bubble’ to retrieve your pet. We are Local Government WWW.MSTN.GOVT.NZ
Giant, Stephen Allwood, 1981, etching. Collection of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History. Gift of the artist. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
rifleman and the rock wren] are the earliest and oldest members of the songbird family that now dominates worldwide. In New Zealand this family includes kokako, korimako [bellbird], tui, tieke [saddleback], hihi, popokatea [whitehead], mohua [yellowhead)] Globally songbirds include all the magpies, fantails, robins, larks, swallows, sparrows and finches. Perhaps the gold medal for endurance singing should go to the thrush. I have seen a thrush holding forth on the highest point of a tree for over an hour. The gold medal for variety should go to the tui, whose wonderful soundscapes include clicks, groans, wheezes, and chuckles as well as the sweetest serenades. Have you seen tui singing full tilt but with no apparent sound? The sound is too high for our ears. The “did not qualify” contestant is the house sparrow which has a short chirrup and that’s it. How would the world sound without songbirds? Other birds vocalise but one can’t really use the
word music for the honking of ducks or the screeching of gulls Birds certainly have many ways to make sure they are heard far and wide. NZ has quite a few boomers including kakapo and weka. Reconstruction of moa indicate they had a low mournful didgeridoo-type moan. Imagine hearing that in the bush. A sense of the beauty of music is a great bond between birds and humans. There are many parallels between birdsong and music - many composers have used birdsong in their works. Just as we have imitated them, so do birds imitate us. Have you heard the tui doing the cellphone or even the lyre-bird starting up a chainsaw? Perhaps birds will have the last laugh. • The Feather Report is supplied by the Wairarapa group of Birds New Zealand. • Our bird group is often out and about in Wairarapa seeing where birds are and what they are up to. If you would like to join us contact Oliver Druce, birds.wairarapa@osnz. org.nz
