NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 23968, 20 August 1941, Page 2

NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB

HOLIDAY EXPERIENCES Interesting and varied fare was provided when various members recounted holiday experiences and country members sent Nature notes. Miss Roberts recently spent a long holiday at Paradise, doing a considerable amount of climbing and botanising in the district, and the account of this holiday was a delightful one, being illustrated by some very fine photographs, as well as by specimens of some of the rarer plants found growing up to a height of over B,oooft. Miss Parry spoke of a visit to Cape Kidnappers and the gannet colony there. Her interesting photographs showed these birds at various stages of growth, and illustrated how tame they are and how little they resent visits from tourists. Miss White’s paper on Akaroa dealt with points of historical and geographical interest, and the charm of this delightful sppt was portrayed in tho description of some of the gardens to be seen there. Nikau palms, bougainvillea, grapes, and oranges flourish out of doors, bearing witness to the mildness of the climate enjoyed there. To add to the interest of this talk Miss White exhibited'some very fine water colour sketches of beauty spots in the Akaroa district. Mrs Moore’s presentation of an account of a recent tour of Franz Josef and For Glaciers was a very novel one in that the whole trip was described in blank verso. Mrs Evans, a country member, sent a paper on Nature notes from Greymouth, in which she described the trees and shrubs to be found in the bush there, accompanying this description, with specimens of many plants which are unknown in Otago. Miss Finlayson’s Nature observations from South Otago spoke of the changes observed in recent years, including the passing of the grey duck and the increase of the mischievous opossum. Very few waxeyes had come to tne feeding table this winter in contrast with the large flocks usually to be seen there.