WEALTH OF BIRD LIFE

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 42, 13 November 1941, Page 9

WEALTH OF BIRD LIFE

Mudflats At Mouth Of Hutt River A recent examination of the area between Lowry Bay and the mouth of the Hutt River, specially where mudflats have banked up to the west of Point Howard, showed a surprising wealth of bird life. In all, seven native birds were seen besides two interesting aliens. Though reclamation will probably drive some away, it is to be hoped that they will find another refuge on the harbour. Gulls, of course, were most conspicuous, but another gull-like bird, the Caspian tern, also attracted attention by its habit of carefully scanning the water as it searched for fish. These birds often fought with the small redbilled gulls, which chased them when they made a catch; these gulls also victimized a solitary oyster-catcher and forced it into the air, but the oyster-catcher seemed able to. look after itself and made several petulant digs. Its cry is symbolical of the lonely foreshore. When feeding, the bird took determined steps with bill pointing doryn. This oyster-catcher was the redbill or black oyster-catcher, and its name is misleading, for it does not feed on oysters. Besides the oyster-catcher, stoical blue herons and graceful black swans were seen, the swans skirling the edge of the mudflats. Native pipits were also present ou the stony foreshore. Alien bird life was represented by a Californian quail and blackbirds, which appear to eat marine food, while starlings fossicking over the mudflats added brightness to the scene with their green backs shimmering in the sun.