BIRDS OF THE MILFORD TRACK

Evening Star, Issue 23864, 19 April 1941, Page 13

BIRDS OF THE MILFORD TRACK

[By E.F. and A.D.]

_ For bird lovers the Milford Track provides a wonderful opportunity for seeing some of the rarer New Zealand birds in their native habitats. Some of the more interesting species, interesting because of beauty of plumage, size, or call, are distinctly rare, and, although still known to exist, were I’.st seen by our party at all. In this category was the kiwi, which, because of its nocturnal habits, is always difficult to locate, but its whistling cry and its footprints had been recently observed by those living at the huts ou the track. The first day’s walk is on the east of file divide, and rises but 500 ft above the level of Te Anau ; the second day’s walk is over tho Mackinnon Pass (3.400 ft) ; and tho third day’s walk takes tho tramper to sea level again at Milford Sound. It was of interest to note the variations in bird life on the different stages. From Glade House to the Pompoloua Huts tomtits and riflemen (the bush wren) were frequently seen; indeed, the tomtit would appear to be the commonest bird ou the whole walk. Of course, he is exceedingly friendly and curious, and with his conspicuous jetblack head and yellow breast ho is most easily seen. The female bird is dressed in much more sombre hues, and it would seem that she is mistaken by many for the South Island robin. The robin was not seen, and one wondered if it was too damp, for he is plentiful in the drier beech forest of Paradise. However, on the other hand, the robins are found in the Eglinton Valley, where conditions are more nearly akin to the Milford Track. The robin has exceedingly bright black eyes, is a darker grey than the female tomtit, and holds itself in a much more erect position.

On this first stage, as well ns the tomkits and riflemen, grey warblers, fankails, bellbirds, and pigeons were recorded High up in the trees parrakeets were heard chattering, and as they rarely come down from the treetops, it was by the chattering notes only that we could detect their presence at all. Both the shining and long-tailed cuckoos were heard, but here, owing to tho ventriloquistic quality of tho shining cuckoo’s voice, and the extreme shyness of the longtailed cuckoo, it is often impossible to locate the bird when one is heard.

Nearing the Pompolona huts, footprints of a large bird were observed, and, as expected, a rustling in the bush betrayed the presence of the weka, which is rust-brown in colour, and about the size of the domestic hen. Ho is very curious and thieving by nature, and is nearly always found near civilisation, where he may pick up any bright object that takes his fancy. These birds seem fairly plentiful, and although they scuttled away at the approach of the trampers they would even venture into the huts if all were quiet. The call of the wekji appeared to vary according to the distance from the bird, but it resembled a shrill whistle rising to a high note, and then sharply descending again. This bird walks with measured tread, lifting one foot high, and then with seemingly much thought, lowering it into the new forward position

It was said that towards dusk, from the point overlooking the river at Pompolona, blue ducks could usually' be seen. While bird lovers patientlywaited one flew by, but was out of sight before any but the keenest eyes hud recognised it. No more were seen that evening. On the return triip, at the same spot, the news circulated that a pair of blue ducks were to bo seen in the river To the eye, this pair appeared as two rounded grey stones, and except for an occasional dip of a beak into the water, or a lift of a wing, they did very closely resemble the stones in the evening light. Next day, on the Clinton River, excellent views were obtained of blue ducks. They are large birds, larger than the grey or brown ducks, and they can be distinguished by their almost white bills and the slate-blue colouring of the body. Introduced birds seen on the first day’s walk included the thrush, chaffinch, red poll, and the self-introduced silver-eye. Others noted during the whole trip were the blackbird, yellowhammer and cirl bunting; and, except for the silver-eye and the finches, these birds were not at all common.

On the second day’s walk, while still in comparatively low country, tomtits, riflemen, grey warblers, bellbirds. and long-tailed cuckoo' were reported, but two newcomers were seen on the heights of the pass—the rock wren and the koa. The rock wren is the second smallest of our New Zealand birds, only the rifleman (or bush wren) being smaller. It is probably one of the least known of our native birds, and it was good to be able to report its presence both on the outward and homeward routes. As its name implies, it lives among the rocks, and whenever observed it was above the bush, about 3,000tt above sea level. The following is a description of this little bird by one of the party:— “ I was quietly descending the long zigzag_ track towards the bush line after taking snaps of Mackinnon’s Cairn. Three of us were well in the rear of the others, and 1 was the first of the three Just above the bush I saw a bird alight on the stony track in front of me. It was a little wren, with the merest apology for a tail—a little rock wren, slightly larger than the rifleman of the bush I stood very still and called to it. It came up the track towards me in quite a friendly manner, so that I saw it clearly—olive green in colour, rather dark about the head, and with a fawn breast. Then it flew up into a shrub close by, and hopped from one twig to another. The sight of it certainly added to the thrills of that wonderful afternoon.” (To be continued.)