Bird sanctuary lagoon suffering from drought

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 8

Bird sanctuary lagoon suffering from drought

St Annes Lagoon, an attractive beauty spot on the Main Highway two miles and a half north of Cheviot, has almost dried up, resulting from the present dry conditions of the county and preceded by the two mild winters with below average rainfalls.

Normally covering about 52 acres, but now with only about two acres of inch-deep muddy water, St Annes is surrounded by picturesque trees and shrubs. The lagoon is a public reserve and bird sanctuary controlled by the Cheviot Domain Board.

Two white swans have glided over the lake for many years, until one died recently. The remaining swan was found wandering on the main highway covered with mud but is now on a small lake on the nearby property of Mr B. W. Stewart until it can be returned' to its normal habitat. The flocks of Canada geese and Paradise ducks are still hovering over the cracked, dried up mud which forms a firm surface to cross the lake by foot. The domain board proposes to take the opportunity to clear the exposed bed of a lot of the rapau and lake weed which have been threatening to overgrow the

lake. Trees will be trimmed and a general burn off will improve the area for the time when the lagoon will again be filled with water and wild life. On a survey last November, conducted by the Lands and Survey Department and the chairman and secretary of the Cheviot Domain Board, the lake was showing signs of drying and the water had receded several feet from the edges. This lagoon is spring fed and will repair itself only when the winter rains .commence.