NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 25470, 28 April 1945, Page 8

NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB

SHALL NATIVE BIRDS At the last indoor meeting of the Dunediu Naturalists' Field Ciub, Mrs H. S. Tily gave an illustrated' address on. 'Native Birds'in a Suburban Garjdeu.' The speaker said that 20 native birds had been recorded from, her garden at Maori Hill, but it was of the smaller, birds, only that she would be speaking. The rifleman, the smallest of all New Zealand birds,, had so far not been recorded in the garden, though at times it probably was present, for it was to be seen in other gardens only a short distance away. Two pairs of grey warblers remained about the garden all the year round. 0 The shining cuckoo frequently deposited its eggs in the cosy hanging nest of this bird, and grey warblers had been noted feeding young shining cuckoos. The silvereye, though it had comparatively recently introduced itself into New Zealand, was' now the commonest and most widely distributed of native ■ birds. Silvereyes came readily to a bird table", sticky food and vessels with bulging sides should not be put on a bird table, for. both, might cause casualties. The ringing and recording of silvereyes was described. Mrs Tily having assistediii this ■ investigation, which was being carried out by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Reports of ringed birds: had been received from localities as far distant fr,om Dunedin as .Mount Peel and Wanaka, but morfi information was required from neonle noting ringed birds. : New Zealand had two specifs of tits* nommohly. known as tomtitsj the North Island species having a white breast and the South Island a yellow. About 12 years ago the yellow-breasted tit was a frequent garden visitor, but now it was quite an event to see it in the. garden. Brown creepers, which like to. feed iu little flocks moving along the tops of trees, were birds often overlooked unless their calls and songs were recognised. During the'past two years the speaker had recorded theni on an average of about once a week.' Faritails were popular and well-known birds, for their airy flights and pieremg; notes iisually attracted attention! Twice' within the past year their call* had been heard above the noise of traffic at the Octagon. Records kept seemed to indicate that there were approximately four or five times, as mahv pied as black fantails in the neighbourhood of Dunediu. Throughout the lecture coloured oil* tures and photographs were screened. EXCURSIONS. An enjoyable outing was held on Saturday afternoon, when ' members visited Smaill's Beach for the purpose of studying .still life. : Unfortunately, very few shells were to be found, but limpets, chitons, jelly fish, and the spawn of the limpet Simponar.ia Zealandica. were noted.

The natural rock garden at the end of the beach contained a good collection of native shore plants.