NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 84, 9 April 1938, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

BIRD LIFE ON A LAGOON

DUCKS, SWANS, AND OTHER

SPECIES

(By R. H. D. Stidolph.)

Some of the lagoons around tho Wairarapa Lake' appear to carry a fair variety of bird life. One extensive sheet of water, visited the other day, was inhabited by some hundreds of swans and some thousands of ducks, besides birds of several Other kinds. - Most of the ducks and swans were resting on a narrow spit, on which they were crowded thickly together. Here they appeared to be content to pass away the time, evidently finding safety in numbers, though the presence in the middle of the lagoon of several duck-shooting shelters indicated that in~a month or so this peaceful haven would be disturbed somewhat rudely by the opening of the shooting season. Ducks are fairly intelligent birds, and many thousands, even days before shooting starts, find their way to some known sanctuary, where they spend the hours of daylight and leave at night for their feeding grounds. Adult ducks that possess wisdom gained by experience almost invariably anticipate the opening of hostilities and seek refuge, whereas the younger birds fall much more readily to the sportsman's gun. Cattle and sheep browse right up to the edge of the water of this lagoon and much duck food has been destroyed in consequence. PARADISE DUCK. By far the greater number of the ducks in the assembly were the common grey duck, New Zealand's principal sporting bird. Occasionally, small flights of this bird joined those already there, when perhaps there would be a readjustment of positions. Among the vast concourse of the grey duck could be seen fair numbers of the paradise duck, the females, with their white heads, being especially conspicuous. Although the paradise duck is better represented in.the South Island than in the North, there are considerable numbers of this bird in the Wairarapa Lake region and in the ea?t coast area. As this bird is wholly protected in the North Island there is no reason to expect any great diminution in its numbers, unless, as the result of draining, its haunts are destroyed. The paradise duck is the most easily recognised of all native species of water-fowl. The female has a white head and the male a black one, and there is a most conspicuous white .area on the wings, which shows up most distinctly when the birds are in flight. The call also is peculiar. The male bird utters a gruff note that suggests he is saying "hook it, hook it," and his mate replies with a piercing cry of "quick, quick." THE SHOVELLER, OR SPOONBILL. Another native duck present on the lagoon is the spoonbiill. The male bird is as handsome as any duck can be and rather puts his mate" in the shade. His plumage is a richly variegated one of many shades of. grey and brown and black,, ornamented with a dark! greenish, head and a- crescent-shaped white mark in front of the eye, whereas the hen bird jS, attired in a much more sombre plumage of grey and brown. The bill is shaped at the end very much Hke a spoon and is larger than that of other species of duck found in New Zealand. The spoonbill, or shoveller, as some people prefer to call it, is more confiding than the grey and in consequence i 3 more easily shot. These three species, however, are about the only native kinds now met with around Wairarapa Lake. Both the black teal and the brown duck, which at one time were abundant, have disappeared. It must be many years since the brown duck has been met with in the district and there is every reason to believe that it is extinct in this region. Now and again the black teal puts in an appearance but this bird is probably only a visitor from other parts. THE YAPPING STILT. A long-legged bird, aptly named the stilt, is to be seen at the present time feeding in small N numbers around the edge of the lagoon. It invariably attracts attention by its yapping cry, which is very much like that of a puppy. The pied stilt is one of the few native birds that has accustomed itself to the conditions of settlement and has extended its range. It is.now generally distributed in suitable localities through'/ut both islands and has actually been attracted to areas ths' have been cleared of forest The pied stilt performs a migratory movement that has not been satisfactorily explained. For instance, in the Wairarapa district, it inhabits the shingle river-beds from about August to February and then disappears, although it is nearly always to be seen around Wairarapa Lake. Although the pied stilt is quite common, the black stilt, which at one time was often seen in the Wellington • district and elsewhere, has vanished. It must be many years since this bird has been recorded in any part of the North Island, though it possibly is still to be met with in some of the more remote South Island localities. There appears to be some justification for the belief that it is a mutant of the common species. OTHER SWAMP INHABITANTS. The handsome pukeko likewise enjoys life among the marshy borders of this lagoon and squawks out with much peevishness when a passing harrier beats the rushes rather too closely for the comfort of the swamp hen. On account of its size, the pukeko is a fairly conspicious bird. No doubt some of the smaller rails are also present in this locality, though they are seldom seen, as they are denizens of the thick swamp vegetation and rarely show themselves to man. At one time the land rail, for instance, was comparatively common in the whole of the Wellington district and occasionally was found even in Wellington itself. Closer settlement has adversely affected it, and nowadays it is generally regarded as a rather rare bird in v the southern half of the North Island and in the South Island. It is, however, still fairly numerous in the Auckland district. The two small species of rails, known as crakes, have been recorded from the Wellington district. As these birds are so secretive their presence in an area is often not suspected until one happens to fall a victim to the household cat.