A REFUGE FOR BIRDS

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 33

A REFUGE FOR BIRDS

Kaikoura residents and visitors have a new attraction right in their township. On the west side of the main highway a small stretch of Lyell Creek has been declared a wildlife refuge and its population of birds is growing steadily. Ducks, geese and swans know where they are well off and seem to have spread the word. Lyell Creek used to have a very small duck population and eels took a heavy toll of ducklings bred there. Residents set eel traps and ' caught some monsters. Then enthusiasts started feeding birds. They brought in three baby black swans from Lake Grassmere and hand reared them. Domestic ducks and geese began to appear and then came more. There is only one white swan in residence, but the member of Parliament for Marlborough, Mr E. G. Latter, has undertaken to get another pair from the North Island. The white swan had its wings clipped but they grew again and recently it vanished. But life elsewhere could not have been so attractive as the tranquility of Lyell Creek because it returned to

Kaikoura only to find that it could not land in a cross wind. It spent some time at sea in the Kaikoura bay waiting for favourable landing weather and is now back home, with wings reciipped. The town’s active Lions Club has planted native shrubs on the banks of the creek, steps have been built to give easy access and benches will be provided for seating. Mr K. E. Pitman succeeded in getting the wildlife refuge recognised by the Department of Internal Affairs and Mr Cyril Stack a retired motel proprietor whose hor.-.e overlooks the refuge, has been appointed an honorary wildlife officer. When Mrs Noonan, the wife of Constable J. P. Noonan, who is shown in the photograph at right appeared with a bucket of bread, all the ducks (teal, mallard, greys, paradise) geese and black swans left the water to swarm around for their share and even the seagulls are quick to latch on to a good thing; but the white swan (above) retained her dignity by staying in the water and accepting the food thrown to her as a right.