NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 88, 14 April 1934, Page 11

NATURE NOTES

NEW ZEALAND'S OUTPOSTS :

BIRDS ON ISLAND SANCTUARIES

(By B. H. D. Stidolph, K.A.O.U.)*

Proclamations permanently reserving them for preservation •of native fauna and flora have been issued affecting the . Kermadee Islands, and tho hitherto unreserved portion of tho Auckland Islands, the latter area estimated to contain 129,600 acres. Birdlovers and others will welcome this action on the part of the Government, as the islands aro rich in bird-life of considerable interest. The only.area excluded in the Kermadee group is one of 275 acres on Baoul or Sunday Island, which is about twenty miles in circumference and at one time boasted seven inhabitants. Baoul Island is estimated to contain 7200 .acres, and the others of the group, Macaulay, 704 acres; Curtis, 128 acres; and li'Espevance or French Bock, 12 acres. Tha various islands of the group are a considerable distance apart, and the principal one, Baoul, is over 600 miles from Auckland. A depot for. shipwrecked crews is maintained on Sunday Island by the Government. The rainfall .it the group is described as plentiful but not excessive and the climate as mild.

The islands of the Auckland group affected by the proclamation are Auckland, Bose, Disappointment, Enderby, and Ewing, Adams Island having previously been, reserved. This group is nearly 300 miles south from Bluff and contains several good harbours, notably Port Boss, on the principal island, said to be one of the best harbours of refuge anywhere. The largest island of the group, Auckland Island, is about 28 miles long and 15 miles across and rises' to a height of jabout 2000 feet. Bold and precipitous on the west coast, it has several inlets on the east and is largely clothed in vegetation which is of a scrubby character, owing to the prevalence of strong winds. A depot is also maintained by the Government on this group for shipwrecked sailors and at' least seven wrecks are known to hava occurred there, but these were in tlioi days of sailing ships and nowadays there is little likelihood of wrecks, as the islands are far removed from any, trade routes. The Auckland Islands have been more frequently visited by, scientific parties than the Kermadees, and more is known of their natural history.

The Kermadoc Group is the breeding ground of about twelve species.of seabirds. Prominent among these ai'3 several petrels, some of which breed there in immense numbers, notably tha wedge-tailed shearwater, a bird somewhat akin to the rare Buller's shearwater of North Auckland waters. Then there are the allied shearwater, which also breeds in New Zealand; the blackcapped petrel, which has not been reported except from the Kennadee Islands; the Kermadec petrel, a bird, of wide distribution but breeding freely; in the groupj the Phoenix Island petrel like the previous species a surfacebreeding bird; and the black-winged petrel, a bird ranging over the South. Pacific. Another interesting breeding species is the red-tailed tropic bird, while the blue-faced booby or gannet, which lives principally on flying fish, also resorts to some of the islands to rear its young. Tour species of terna frequent the group for breeding purposes,, the sooty tern, -white-capped noddy, white tern, and grey_ noddy.* Tho most interesting of these- is the-.white tern, which lays its solitary egg oa the bare lateral branches'of the pohu< tukaw-a. ": ' . ■'■■.-,

The, Auckland group is inhabited by, a far greater number of birds than the Kermadecs, including such birds ' as penguinsy-petrels, albatrosses, and shags. Both the yellow-crowned and the Victoria penguins breed at the group, tho latter species being found in large numbers on. Disappointment Island. Some o£ the smallest and the largest of the petrel family are recorded there, from the .diminutive storm petrels (three species) and diving petrel to the giant j petrel and the magnificent royal and wandering albatrosses. Altogether fourteen species of petrels and albatrosses breed at the group, which also claims some species peculiar to the island. A shag, a duck, and the merganser are all cherished possessions. of this southern outpost ,of the Dominion, and do not occur* elsewhere, while tho Auckland Island snipe is also found on the Antipodes Island. There is also believed to be a rail indigenous to the island but only one specimen has ever been obtained. The merganser is the sole representative of its genus in this part of the world; four species arc found in the northern hemisphere and one in Brazil. Some of New Zealand's most familiar birds are also found on both the Kermadees and the Auckland Islands. In the former group the tm, silver-eye, pipit, kingfisher, long-tailed cuckoo, red-footed parrakeet, harrier, spotless crake, and banded rail have been recorded, all apparently breeding there except the cuckoo and the harrier. According to Mr. W. E. B. Oliver, Director of the Dominion Museum, the harrier visits the Kermadecs, which are 600 miles from.'New Zealand, every; autumn, returning to the Dominion m the spring. He also states that a few long-tailed cuckoos remain in the group throughout the year. Besides such birds as the black-backed and red-billed gulls, the -white-fronted tern, and sea hawk, the Auckland Islands are inhabited by the- bush hawk, the red-fronted parrakeet, pipit, yellow-breasted tomtit, silver-eye, tui, and bell-bird, so that the group also claims some interesting land species as well as its wealth, of sea birds. The chief menace to the rarer birds of the group is the collector, who should be- banned altogether from these islands. _ ;__.