ACCLIMATISATION

Grey River Argus, 23 September 1936, Page 6

ACCLIMATISATION

GREY SOCIETY. Tn the' annual report to be present e ( ] at to-night’s meeting of the Grey Acciima tisatiou Society, there appears tl*e following observations: —- New River. Here again mining -hike water is evident and reports -how that while the river remains in this state no fish will be faken. Teremakau. —Excellent fish were aken from this river, without excepon during the periods of clear water. The upper reaches provide fishing ■ imi’ar to that of the Upper Grey rd Ahuiira. and' the minnow account's nr the majority of the fish. On sevral occasions big fish have been observed rising readily to fly and grassoppers and during the heat of summer fly fishing will prove effective. The lower portion yielded well right from the start 1 of the season, some ‘ne bags being returned by rhe angle, s. The minnow was used on almost every occasion, but. here again clear rater only yielded results. 1 Shags; The bounty on shags heads Iras been raised during tins season to Is 6d eacli.. and numbers have been forwarded, to the Society. Howevr, ‘here seems to be as many of These .rsts as ever, and both shooters and , ng’ers are urged to destroy these '■ rds wherever possible, the heads to ’ <• sent to the secretary. SHOOTING. The season has proved the best for many years, the fine summer preceding the season allowing the birds to breed prolifieally. Shooters had excellent sport around the lakes, the best bags being taken, as always at the commencement of the sliooring. Later '.he ducks became wary and retreated to the far back waterholes. It is the -pinion of experienced men that, with more out, much better result’s will be had, for with a fairly limited number of shooters it is not possible o keep the birds flying. Indications are that a worthy increase in the number of men taking up i’his fine sport will be attained for the 1936 season. Black swan were scarce in most localities, but on Lake Brunner some tine groups were observed. (Pheasants.—Although several lots of these birds have been released little result has been so far shown. Aleagre reports are to hand, there being but one instance where a pheasant was observed nesting. lit is apparent that the results in this direction do not warrant the expenditure entailed. Hares. —The projection on these animals has been removed, and since then is appears that, a marked increase in numbers has occurred. Hares aro ,'ound throughout most of the district, md shooters may be assured of finding these animals on most cleared reas and riverbeds. Deer.—As reported to date, deer, both fallow and red, are being kept 1 back by steady shooting. Numbers of talkers engage in the sport right through the year and again several f nc heads were taken during the Easter season, these coming from the Koara locality. Opossumsj —The total yield of opossums has been poor, and as prices 'or the skins remain low, little incentive has offered for trappers to devote time to the work. This year, pre.es for the bulk of the West Coast -k'.ns have been unfortunately low., the demand for black and brown being lower than for any other colours. The majority of Ihe West Coast skins are black-; and browns. Native Birds.—Reports from onr Ranger and from other observers show’ that native birds throughout the district appear to be. numerous. A ■■emarkable increase in the numbers of white heron along the in the lagoons and tidal waters has taken place, the birds even taking up residence in the lagoons and. creeks jn and ■ round Grey mouth. The bush birds, wherever i«oug<ht, are certainly not R’cronsing. While the larger species, godwits, shoveller, mallard spoonbills, and mountain duck are comparatively rare, a distinct increase In the number.-: of teal and grey duck, as-well as native pigeon and the white heron is noted. Ranging.—Throughout the year the Ranger lias been constantly employed' : u patrolling die district, as well as in hatchery operations. The intensive attention to the outlying areas has ’•csu’ted in a decrease in poaching, and good work has been accomplished in the combating of this offence. Reports to hand si’ress t'he fact that persons who have been persistent offenders have deemed it wiser to cease, and the Society is gratified' to find that at last rhe money and care taken to foster -and introduce fish and game is mit wasted. Tn the carrying ’out of hi.-i duties the Ranger has proved keen and conscientious and in the operating of the hatchery he has attained a- high, standard of efficiency, very satisfactory results having been attained. The thanks of the Society is tendered' to the police for the assistance given in the suppression of poaching, and thanks is also extended to those keen supporters who have given valued assistance in the general work of ,thc Acclimatisation Society.