NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 85, 20 October 1928, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

AT AKATARAWA ' ■ MANY NATIVE BIRDS PRESEKTj (By It. H. D. Stidolph, E.A.0.U,) \ Around Wellington there are. many localities in which native birds may. bp observed in fair numbers. A visit to the Akatarawa Valley and to the road which traverses the mountain range and leads to Iteikoraugi and Waikanae will reveal the presence of quite a number of species. Although the bush along the Akatarawa Valley itself is now a thing of the past, even in the few scraps left, notably in the gorge, the bell-bird is to be occasionally heard. This species appears to.be increasing in numbers. : It is ,not many years ago. that naturalists and bird-lovers generally were deploring the fact that the beli-bifd was fast disappearing, but happily this Bpeciea has reappeared in recent years in many districts, and is now often seen in settled parts of the country adjacent to forest lands. The bell-bird is generally distributed around Wellington, occurring at Paekakariki, where it visits eucalypts (when in flower), the Wainui forest reserve, which embraces the headwaters of the Whakatiki Eiver, a tributary of the Hutt Eiver, and the Tara,rua and Bimutaka Ranges. It is evea said to appear at Day's Bay and the Hutt Valley on occasions. It would not be surprising if in a few years' time this species will be found inhabiting such localities as the Botanical Gardens and Wilton's Bush. In parts of the South Island it is a regular frequenter of town gardens, where it is even said to breed. In the forest reserve which borders both sides of the Hutt-Wai-kanae road a number of bell-birds can. be heard almost at any time. Other birds to be seen in the Akatarawa Valley include the tomtit, a study in black and white; the fan tail, which, as usual, fusses about in search of insects; the grey warbler, a bird of sombre plumage but with sweet notes; the pipit or ground lark, a very friendly little bird, and the white-eye, a useful blight-eateri *■* * . . i In the forest clothing the range over which the road passes the wild screech of the long-tailed cuckoo is to be: heard, during the summer months. This species is not at all uncommon in this locality, and sometimes is to be' heard quite close to the city of Wellington, notably in the Hutt Valley and at Ko'rokoro. On one occasion the writer heard, a bird of this species in the early hours of the morning, flying round the hills on the coast of Fitzroy Bay. Usually! two or three will be seen or heard 'in, the Akatarawa watershed, where the notes of the shifting cuckoo are also to be picked out from the chorus of bird notes. The shining cuckoo, by the way^ leads a much more respectable life than the larger long-tailed cuckoo, which is known as a marauder, robbing other birds' nests of .their eggs and young. The beautifully-attired shining cuckoo is one of the few species of birds which feast on black hairy caterpillars, and in that connection it performs a most useful service in the destruction of.:a pest. Another notable inhabitant of the forest at Akatarawa is the white-head or bush canary, as it is sometimes called by the settlers-and bushmen. Whiteheads are incessantly on the move, subjecting the foliage of forest trees to * close inspection in search of insect food. The white-head is one of the most likeable birds of the forest, and some of "its notes never fail to charm, the listener. The small rifleman wren is also present, and there, as elsewhere,, it is ongaged in ■scrutinising the crevices of tree trunks and branches for food.;: The tui and pigeon also make their way from tree to tree with noisy, flight, and. other smaller fry, warblers,, fantails, tomtits, and white-eyes, lead * happy life. ; * * #.'■■•' The bird-life in the AVellington City;,' Council's water catchment area at Wai-nui-o-mata and Orongorongo is.not very plentiful. On the the native. grey duck and a few of the introducedj mallard duck are to be found. One or; two black shags also pay visits. ; The bush birds inhabiting this area are the more common species, pigeons, whiteheads, pied fantails, white-eyes, tomtits,: grey warblers, bell-birds, and riflemen. . Occasionally some kakas. and parrakeets may be seeu, and blue ducks are reported to bo present at least in ono portion of the reserve. Moreporks are in fair numbers, and the two cuckoos pay visits in the season. The day of the weka and the huia, the robin and the crow, is, however, gone. Although a few hulas were present about twentyfive years ago, these birds have now entirely disappeared from the reserve. The weka lingered a few years longer, and then vanished. On. the outskirts of the reserve the harrier and pipit are met with, and occasionally in the forest itself the bush hawk makes an appearance. In the lower reaches of thfi Orongorongo Eiver the bird-life is much the same as far as numbers and species are concerned. On one occasion, when the writer visited the Korokoro Ecservoir, a noted beauty spot near Petone, one of Nature's tragedies was witnessed. A flock of starlings was feeding on a paddock adjacent to the road, but suddenly th© birds took flight. A bush hawk had made its appearance, and immediately: gave chase. Its swiftness soon enabled it to overtake the starlings, and in the ■ twinkling of an eye it struck one of tho birds to earth, and then flew down to : enjoy a feast. The bush hawk is a. species that, appears to prefer a bird for a meal. The stomach contents of several specimens of this bird have been examined by the writer. In one case : the legs and feet of the pipit or ground lark were found, and in another the remains of a yellow-hammer. Another bush hawk was shot' recently in. tho East Coast district of the Wairarapa, and this bird had a skylark clenched in its claws. By waging war on such' species as the skylark and yellow-ham-mer the bush hawk is probably doing? good service by keeping in check species which are injurious if too numerous. In the case of the pipit, however, it is destroying one of the most useful in-sect-eating birds that the Dominion. possesses.