NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 124, 21 November 1925, Page 13

NATURE NOTES

KAPITI ISLAND SANCTUARY/ •FURTHER OBSERVATIONS

(ByR : H.p. Stidolph, E.A.O.UJ

Mr. A. S., Wilkinson, the custodi»i» of Kapiti Island Bird Sanctuary, h« sent some additional and interesting notes in the plant and bud Ufa of thi» historic UUad. Writing of th». pl»nU, Mr. Wilkinson state* that mttuk* ajii tuhinu ar« gradually spreading and reducing the areas in grass. Beneath these plants countless seedlings of all sort* are growing, the most prominent being the ake-ake, - the houhou, - the horoekst, the tarata, and the'matipo. At.on* place, the shrubby nqthopanax ■ anom« alum is sweeping down to the. bottom of a gully, in spite of, the heavy''westerly gales which sweep down" the valley. This shrubby panax .likewise, pror vides shelter for a large number of young bush trees, the most abundant being the mahoe. On the southern portion of the island the, small-leafed daisy tree,- one of the. Olearias, is ■ growing so thick iri places that brie has. to crawl on hands and. knees to get through. The past season apparently was an abundant fruiting one for many plant* or. Kapiti,! so.that bird feed was plentiful. The karaka, the mahoe, the ngaio, and the kaikomako all provided an abundance of .food. Mr.-: Wilkinson states, that very, green. ,adult, trees, of the native fuchsia are tp bel seen, but dead ones can be noted in nearly every valley oh the "sanctuary;; The titoki, als<j appears to be affected in the same way, but to a somewhat lesser.. extent. The flax, when in flower, • is'frequented by dozens of tuis and bell-birds, 1' all eager to .sip. the! cherished nectar..., In. several i 'wind : swe,p t; localities, specimens -of ;th c kowhai occur, but these can- rieverl attain to--the,dimensions of. those growing, iv .more.favoured. \si,tuations,, ■, ! ; . x> _,„ ;^ '.' - ' «... .»i.'» ".'*. ..'.mi'..:..*., .' "' , Passing to the bird life, Mr. Wilkin« son is surprised at the scarcity-of •the grey" "warblery as" this "bird!' is" so" aburid,'il.iltoh"thfe'mainland: It is. I.all the more noticeable as large - areas- of manuka •occur oil- the -island, and this'tree is, .usually., especially .. frequented "by.," this bird: The tomtit, however, is quite -> common, and one male bird last- year would take grubs from the garden and fly straight to the nest to feed the everhungry youngsters. He , bathed regularly in the spouting over the verandah: The pied fantail, like the grey warbler, is also scarce on the island; but the noisy whitehead. is. particularly abundant, but is troubled with the attentions of the long-tailed^ cuckoo, which foists its domestic worries to care.:. The auiet..little pipit or .groundlark occurs in,all open parts of the island. The tui is one of the most plentiful of birds,". and breeds freely, ' and the .charming bell-bird'is. also very common. ■•■ The kingfisher, mournful and a»dfUe, can be'sieri 'nearly' every dayj .'sometimes three" c&nld be seen at once: The screeching long-tailed cuckoo apparently left the island in the last week of March, as none were beard after that time. The kaka, Mr. Wilkinson believes, flies to and from i.he mainland, as he has noticed this bird. coming .to the island from the direction of Waikanae. The red-fronted parrakeet is faftly plentiful,, but the small, yellowfronted species is somewhat scarcer. Harriers, can be seen every day, and morepokes can be heard every night. The beautiful native bush pigeon is plentiful, and very tame, and the weka is as inquisitive, as cheeky, and as bold aa" ever, and is quite abnndant. . One of the most notable inhabitants of Kapiti, however, is the New Zealand robin, and it is. pleasing to note that iit is far from "being uncommon. It has rapidly disappeared from.; many districts of'the mainland, -so- that-it is gratifying 'to'know that if is thriving on this island sanctuary. ;'.,.. The North Island, robin, mentioned by Mr. Wilkinson; was formerly one of the most familiar and friendly denizens of 'the"'mainland":b'fish: .: "Its ..tameness' was proverbial. " Many years-ago the laW Mr. J. C. M'Lean, of Gisborne, a noted onilhologist,: studied.iliis:.rare bj r <i in ' that district. He was surprised to find the robin inhabiting a large sheltered valley of poorer soil amid the ridges of Mount Maunga-Haumia. This valley was clothed in smaller trees of manuka, tawhera, and nei-nei, and was intersected by. numerous: creeks. ..: Although Mr M'Leari observed some twenty pairs of robins in this valley, he never found the bird outside-its confines, not even. in "the tawa country of. the. slopes or in the beech of the ridges adjoining. _Mr. M'Lean graphically described Ah' 6 bird « habita. %he charm of the robin lies in its taraeness and in its song," he wrote. "As one enters its domain the bird, with, soft, . silent flight,.'. Hits:, to some do\r branch .nearby,, and, after a moments gaze, drops to the ground, and, tripping about in front of the, observer with short elastic steps, soon stops to pick among; the fallen leaves, where, judging by the frequent captures made, much insect lif« lies hidden. . At lunch-time it is,occasionally, an interested onlooker, and ha* been seen to pick up crumbs and pieces •of biscuit thrown towards it. It was amusing to Bee a bird. one. day • raising itself on its long legs to peer over my boots as if to ask for more. But it has not the inquisitiveness of the tomtit and once satisfied with its inspection resumes its avocations in the scrub. Neither does it wander through the bush in the restless manner so peculiar to that bird, but is, perhaps, our qnietest.and most stay-at-home species. "It" was' almost invariably .seen in pairs, each having its own particular stretch' of scrub-,- ■ and it allowed no intrusion whatever of others of its kind. "This was rathex remarkable from so quiet a bird. Its song is of exceptional sweetness, and is loud and clear and long sustained. As^ a rnle only heard in. early morning, .up" to about 10 o'clock, the song may sometimes be listened to at a later hour, and .'in the 'breaks' showerß','-"/wHe tt 'the Bun. shines through, the robin. is induced to mount to the top of some taller shrub, < and there,' in the. afternoon,, to "sound its melody. ,Thongh. rarely,heard, in winter, the clear notes of this bird were audible in the distance from.many "parts of the .vaUey throughout./. thei spring." Mr. M'Lean was fortunate in finding several nests ©f. this rare bird.' He described , the nests' as being Very handsome, and three eggs appeared to -form a clutch. The nests were found in tawhera, and nei-nei, and in V creeper on a manuka tree. . However, as this bush has since been felled, the robin can no longer ; exist ■■thetw. The-bosh, constitutes its home, and "with its destruction this tame and confiding bird must pass away. . . ,